Chapter 13 No More Chances
I went without makeup, wearing a loose T-shirt and jeans, with my hair casually tied up.
I looked nothing like the Mrs. Lu from the past, who always had exquisite makeup and proper attire.
Lu Shijin stared at me for a long time before he finally confirmed it was me.
Joy spread across his face at having found what he lost. To get to me faster, he even let go of Lu Mingyu's hand.
"Wen Ruotang, I finally found you! I've been searching for you these past six months, but I was always one step behind."
"Before the divorce, you asked if I loved you. I didn't give a direct answer then because I felt guilty toward Yining and feared that answer. It wasn't until you left completely that I understood my own heart."
His deep eyes never left me.
"I love you. I've loved you for a long time! I've already cleared things up with Yining. Can you believe me one more time? I promise I won't disappoint you again."
He spoke earnestly and reached out to pull me into his embrace.
I sidestepped him, my voice calm.
"You say you love me. Then can you name even one of my hobbies or food likes and dislikes?"
He stood frozen, unable to reply for a long while.
"Do you know that I hate being trapped in so-called high society?"
I went on. "I hate hosting endless banquets to expand your connections. I hate following all those complicated dining rules. I hate forcing myself to listen to the guzheng I despise most... Lu Shijin, you know nothing about me."
"The person you love is the perfect wife who served you and the child wholeheartedly, not Wen Ruotang."
Lu Mingyu was still young and couldn't understand the adults' roundabout words. He just thought I was still angry and didn't want to go home with them.
"Mom... Auntie, please forgive Dad, okay?
He found out everything. The butler told Mrs. Qiao which store to order the cake from.
She wanted to make it bigger but didn't know about my allergy, so she didn't tell the staff to skip the peanut powder.
The cake thing was an accident. It had nothing to do with you. "
Lu Shijin's eyes shifted away. He didn't expose it.
Lu Mingyu gently pulled my hand. "Mom, I've actually seen you as my Mom for a long time. But Grandma said that would wrong Mrs. Qiao, who almost died giving birth to me. She also said you were only nice to me for the Lu Family's money..."
"But if you were really like that, you wouldn't have taken such care with my meals. You wouldn't have cried in secret when I got sick. You wouldn't have spent a whole year finding that limited edition Spider-Man Lego I mentioned and given it to me on my birthday."
I looked at the hopeful eyes of the father and son.
The irony of it all nearly overwhelmed me.
I had given everything in that house for years, only to be neglected.
Yet after I left, they began to love and miss me?
It was too late.
I crouched down to look him in the eye. "Lu Mingyu, I once truly saw you as my own child. But my heart is flesh and blood too. Hurtful words are still hurt. After too many injuries, I became completely disappointed."
"If you were my biological son, I might forgive you one last time for the blood tie. But you're not. You have your own biological mother. Your dad and I won't remarry. So from now on, let's act like we don't know each other."
Lu Shijin spoke unwillingly, his voice rough.
"Wen Ruotang, we can start over. This time I'll try to understand you. I'll support whatever you want to do. I won't hold you back. Just give us one more chance..."
He rarely showed his emotions so openly in front of me.
In the past, I would have been ecstatic.
But now, I only smiled and looked past him toward the free birds on the distant tiled roofs.
"No need."
I said quietly, "How could a bird that had seen the vast sky ever be content returning to a cage made of gold?"