Chapter 17
Sleetford was already snowy in December. It was exceptionally cold.
On the streets, people wrapped their clothes tightly around themselves and walked in a hurry.
But in the courtyard of the Gale’s house, Kelvin was in the snow on his knees, his clothes thin.
Seeing him so lifeless, Albert couldn’t help but slap him in anger.
“For just a woman, you neither work nor go home now. You just spend all your time at the Kellet’s place, like a dog.
“Kelvin, you must’ve lost your mind. How dare you mess with a family like the Kellets? Are you trying to ruin your whole family?
“I shouldn’t have let you go to that woman, Tiana, in the first place. Then we wouldn’t have had so much trouble now.”
Hearing these words from Albert again, Kelvin found it very ironic.
He was grateful back then when his grandfather agreed to his marriage with Tiana, so he worked hard to achieve good results to repay his grandfather.
But he didn’t expect that his grandfather would set him up and drugged him, which gave Miranda the chance.
When he woke up, what had happened had already happened. And Miranda held all the evidence against him.
He explained it to his grandfather countless times only to get the same response.
“An irresponsible person is not a Gale.”
Albert used this thing to force him to break up with Tiana.
He was unwilling. He secretly approached Miranda and reached an agreement with her to keep this matter secret.
But Miranda was not easy to deal with. Although she agreed, she repeatedly threatened him to agree to her request to show affection in front of Tiana. Originally, Kelvin had pinned his hopes on patiently waiting until he married Tiana, thinking that then his grandfather would be unable to do anything about it.
But on the day of their wedding, the news of Miranda’s suicide reached Grandfather’s ears.
His grandfather warned him that if he didn’t take good care of Miranda, he would stop Tiana’s mother’s treatment.
Despite his retirement, Albert still held the ultimate power. Kelvin was no match for him and had no choice but to submit once again.
But putting up all this was pointless.
Tiana still left him.
Kelvin closed his eyes tightly, suppressing the sour feeling. With a slightly hoarse, trembling voice, he said, “Grandfather, since childhood, I’ve always listened to you so I can relieve you of your burdens, so you can leave the Gale Group with me and rest assured.
“But when you did those things, did it ever occur to you that I am a human being, and I would feel sad and upset?
“I just want to see her once, why is it not possible?”
Tears rolled down from his lifeless, gray eyes. Albert stood still for a long time before he asked in a deep voice, “Have you ever thought about the Gale family? The Gale family needs a strong alliance to save its increasingly declining situation. If you marry Tiana, then what about the Gale family? “Taking a step back, the employees of the Gale Group would face unemployment. What about their families? What about the children sponsored by the Gale Group?
“Kelvin, it’s not just about you, you had to consider the whole family.”
The word “family” was both a gift and a shackle.
He was given an enviable background but was also firmly trapped within it.
He couldn’t leave; he couldn’t escape, he could only rot within it.
He could only be swallowed by snow.
On the first snowy night in Sleetford, Kelvin cut his wrist and committed suicide at home, Erica and Albert had a flerce quarrel.
“Albert! Kelvin has been without parents since he was young When he finally had a home, you had to do all those horrible things to him. Will you only stop when he is dead?”
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Chapter 17
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“Is that what you think of me? Take a look for him at the other families like us! Marriage is about matching social and financial status for all of them! And none of them have happy marriages! Everyone else can tolerate it, why can’t he? Why can’t he do it for the whole family’s sake?”
Erica was enraged by these words, and she raised her voice.
“Don’t even start with the family interests talk. You married me for the sake of the family back then, but can you honestly say that you have ever cut ties with your first love all these years? You keep saying that it’s for the Gale family, but isn’t Miranda the granddaughter of your first love? I think you’re just trying to give her granddaughter a good life.
“But I advise you not to even think about it. If you dare to stir up any more trouble, just wait for the board’s judgment!”
After the quarrel, Erica gasped for breath and pushed open the door of the ward.
Kelvin had already woken up, but he stared blankly out of the window with a lifeless expression.
Erica had never seen him like this before, as if there was no trace of vitality in him. Her heart ached, and her eyes turned red.
“Kelvin, no matter what, you can’t joke about your life, right? What if you and Tiana still have a chance?”
Her last few words trailed off, as if she knew like Kelvin that the chances were slim.
“Grandma, do you know? Every time I saw Tiana upset, I got upset too. I really wanted to hug her and comfort her.
“But I didn’t dare. I was too much of a coward. I only dared do as Grandfather told me and only dared to sneak a few more glances at Tiana when it was late and quiet.
“We were together for seven years, she had long been a part of my life, and now I really miss her and want to see her again.”
Kelvin was too choked up to speak. Erica, listening, felt the same pain in her heart.
Who wouldn’t want to spend their whole life with the person they love? Her family forced her into this marriage and to live this passionless life for decades.
Having a child with a man she didn’t love was also tormenting for her.
But she understood that some people and things, once missed, were gone for good. There was no turning back. It wouldn’t work even if there was.
The snow was still falling gently, and the once joyful and harmonious Gale family gradually fell into silence over this winter.
Chapter 17
