Chapter 383
Penelope walked over and noticed how haggard Mrs. Stapleton looked. Her eyes
were unfocused and trembling, as if she were deeply frightened. But when she saw Penelope, she took a sharp breath, straightened her back, and put on her usual imperious air.
“You’ve done quite a number on me, turning my own son against me.” Her voice was raw and hoarse.
Penelope frowned. “If you’re here to yell at me or cause trouble, I’m afraid I don’t have time right now. I need to get to the office.” She started to head back upstairs to change.
“I surrender.”
The words stopped Penelope in her tracks. She turned to look at Mrs. Stapleton.
She surrenders? Just like that?
As if the admission had drained all her strength, Mrs. Stapleton’s shoulders slumped. The arrogance was gone, replaced by a raw vulnerability. Her eyes reddened, and she looked utterly helpless.
“Theodore… what did he say to you?” What could he have possibly said to make her change so drastically, to the point where she would… cry in front of her?
“He said,” Mrs. Stapleton’s body trembled at the memory, “he said that if I were to force him to divorce you, even on my deathbed, he would do it. But
“But what?”
“But he would die, too.”
Die…
Penelope gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. Theodore hadn’t told her that part.
Mrs. Stapleton hugged herself tightly, her eyes wide with terror. “He knows I’ve already lost Lorraine. Half of my world is gone. He’s all I have left. But he said I would drive him to his death. He knew it was my greatest fear, and he said it anyway. For you.”
Penelope sank onto the sofa, her chest tight with a pain that was almost physical. While she had been wallowing in self-pity, talking about divorce and refusing to compromise her pride, he had been telling his mother he would rather die than lose
her.
“So, I surrender,” Mrs. Stapleton said, shaking her head. “I can’t lose him, too.”
“You didn’t lose, and I didn’t win. But we both hurt Theodore.”
“I already hurt him so much because of Lorraine. How could I do it again?
I must have been out of my mind He’s the person I love most in this world.” Ná´‡w É´ovel chaptá´‡rs are published on
“If you’ll trust me, I will love him alongside you.”
Mrs. Stapleton let out a long sigh and turned to face Penelope. “They told me so
many terrible things about you. That’s why I
“Those things aren’t true.”
“It doesn’t matter if they’re true or not. All that matters is that your love for my son is real.”
“Of course. There’s no question about that.”
Mrs. Stapleton was silent for a moment. “I apologize.”
Penelope offered a small smile. “I accept.” For Theodore’s sake.
Mrs. Stapleton nodded, her expression softening with relief. “But there is one thing I must still ask of you.”
“What is it?”
“Theodore said that having children is no longer a consideration for you two. Is that true?”
So it still came back to children. “If that is still a concern for you, then I can only say I’m sorry.”
“Can’t you just let nature take its course?”
Penelope blinked. “What exactly are you asking?”
Mrs. Stapleton sighed. “The truth is, I don’t care that much about having grandchildren. But Carson does. I. wronged him a long time ago. So when he came to me and begged me to let Theodore marry you initially refused. But my guilt over what I did to him made me agree in the end.”
“He wants an heir for the Johnson family. It’s his greatest wish, and I want to see that wish fulfilled.”
Penelope was taken aback. She had
always seen Mrs. Stapleton as a proud, unyielding woman. But here she was, apologizing for Theodore’s sake. She had thought her mad with grief, but now she was calmand rational She had assumed she felt nothing for Mr. dahinson but she carried a deep sense of guilt and a desire to make amends.