Chapter 1647 The Appointment
"Your flaws? I haven't noticed any yet," Laura pondered for a moment. "Sometimes I feel like you're a bit too deep, hard to read, but men need to have some depth to survive in society, or they'll get pushed around."
"Being too deep is my flaw," Derek said softly. "Many women don't like being with a man who's too cunning, afraid they'll end up with nothing. So, I guess many women, after getting to know me seriously, wouldn't consider marrying me. Plus, I don't like brushing my teeth, have smelly feet, a bad temper, I drink and smoke, and I'm lazy and bad-tempered."
"Alright, stop fooling me. You're not that kind of person," Laura interrupted him with a smile.
"I'm serious. I just don't act that way with you. With other women, I might," Derek said gently.
Laura fell silent, feeling a mix of sourness and sweetness in her heart.
"Laura, my mom might come to see you tomorrow. She won't say anything harsh, but she'll try to persuade you to leave me. My mom is very eloquent, sometimes even I feel inferior."
The more Derek spoke, the more uncertain he felt, and he smiled bitterly. "Can you hold on a bit longer for me? Don't give up, okay? I've already reached an agreement with Julia. With her support, no one can force me."
"I agreed to you tonight, didn't I? You're trying, and I will too," Laura said firmly. "Let's get some sleep."
"Okay, goodnight."
After putting down her phone, Laura couldn't sleep at all.
Her mind was filled with thoughts of what Violet might say to her tomorrow, making her feel ashamed and embarrassed.
Laura really liked Violet and even wanted to be like her. She didn't want to break ties with Violet.
She kept thinking about it until she finally fell asleep in the middle of the night.
When she woke up the next day, her head hurt.
After washing up and heading out, she ran into Elliott coming down the stairs.
Elliott's cold gaze swept over her, and Laura shrank her neck, awkwardly shaking Maeve's hand. "Good morning."
Elliott's eyes softened for a few seconds when he looked at Maeve, but quickly turned cold again when he looked at Laura. "Is the Jude family the only family with men in this world?"
Laura squinted and smiled. "Then is the Jude family the only family with women? Do you look down on other women?"
The air was still for a few seconds.
Elliott narrowed his eyes and suddenly pulled Laura against the wall, questioning in a deep voice, "Did Julia say something to you, or was it Derek?"
"Derek did say something, but a long time ago, I heard you and Julia arguing at Whispering Pines Manor," Laura said, lifting her long eyelashes and looking provocatively at Elliott. "And last time when you were drinking, you were so drunk with Julia around."
"Shut up," Elliott couldn't listen anymore, his face turning as hard as a statue. "I'm not like you. I'm not married. It's not because of Julia; I just haven't met someone I want to marry."
"Well, I hope you find someone you want to marry soon."
Laura blinked and slipped out from under his arm.
"Stop," Elliott grabbed her collar and pulled her back. "I'm warning you, don't tell Mom and Dad about this."
"If you stay out of my relationship, I won't," Laura said, raising her chin and meeting his gaze.
Elliott looked at her quietly for a moment, then smiled coldly. "Even if I don't interfere, there are plenty of people who will. Let me think, Julia would be the first. She loves doing this kind of thing."
"You're overthinking it. Julia supports us, and she knew about us a long time ago." Laura shrugged helplessly. "I think you have a big misunderstanding about Julia."
"Misunderstanding?" Elliott almost wanted to knock on Laura's head. "Are you not holding a grudge? Have you forgotten that if it weren't for Julia switching that birth control pill, if it weren't for her threatening you, you wouldn't have gotten pregnant and married someone like Michael? Julia is ruthless and selfish, doing anything for her own benefit and to please the family."
"I did hold a grudge against Julia back then."
Laura sighed and looked down at Maeve. "But after Maeve was born, I stopped hating her. Maybe she is ruthless, but some things would have been done by someone else in the Jude family even if she hadn't done them."
"You have a pretty open mind," Elliott said coldly. "No wonder you get bullied by people like Michael, Megan, and Benjamin."
Laura's face turned ugly. "You're being too much. But I had no choice. Julia helped me a lot in getting a smooth divorce from Michael. Besides, from her position, she has her own difficulties."
"You're still defending her?" Elliott's deep eyes flashed with anger. "You've been influenced by Derek, haven't you? Yes, Derek helped our Miller family before, but do you know why? He wants you to like him."
Laura rolled her eyes at Elliott. "Elliott, isn't that normal? If he wants me to like him, he has to be good to me and my family. Otherwise, what would I see in him? Did you not try to please the women you pursued? Did they just like you for standing still?"
Elliott was left speechless.
"Don't worry. If this relationship affects you, I'll break up with Derek. I won't neglect my family for a relationship. I know very well that you are my real support." Laura smiled at him ingratiatingly.
Elliott snorted coldly. "I've had my say, it's your life."
He turned and left. "Actually, I think Julia is helping me this time because of you," Laura suddenly said to his back.
Elliott's tall figure paused. "You think too highly of me."
He didn't look back and left straight away.
After breakfast, Laura was about to go to work when her phone suddenly rang. It was Violet. "Laura, are you free? A new breakfast place opened near your office. Want to try it together?"
Violet's voice was as gentle as ever, just like before.
But Laura felt a lot of pressure.
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
