Chapter 389: Too Many Tears

"I have some money. I’ll transfer it to you so you can get a hotel room. It was written clearly on the paper—I can’t stay at their house anymore either. If you follow me, you’ll just be a total embarrassment. And you know Grandma isn’t in good health. Bro, if she finds out you’re here and causing trouble, what if she gets sick from the stress... I really have to go. Let me leave first. As for everything else, we can talk about it later."

Seeing her tone soften, her two brothers thought she had a point and stopped trying to force the issue.

The only problem was that they were still using old-fashioned button phones. They didn’t have WeChat or Alipay, so Amina couldn’t transfer the money to them.

Her eldest brother said, "I found out you were in Veridia from Linden, and we’ve been staying at his place these past few days. We’ve been freeloading off him for a while now, so we really should settle the bill. Come on, you know we don’t know how to handle this stuff. Come with us to pay him back."

Amina was a little surprised.

’No wonder they managed to find their way to Veridia, and even to Zeke Walton’s house. So they had an inside connection.’

Linden was Amina’s elementary school classmate. His parents had left to become migrant workers when he was very young, and he did the same after graduating from middle school.

Everyone in the village said Linden’s family had struck it rich and that’s why they never went back.

’So they’re in Veridia, too.’

Amina’s family wasn’t related to Linden’s, yet her brother had been staying with them for so long.

Feeling awkward about the situation, Amina went with her two brothers.

It turned out Linden’s parents had started out working on construction sites years ago. After saving up some money, they opened a small restaurant near a construction site and had been running it ever since.

Even though they hadn’t seen each other in years, they were very warm and friendly when they saw Amina.

Especially Linden.

His eyes were glued to Amina, who had blossomed like a flower.

Amina didn’t ask why they had taken her brothers in. She just added Linden on WeChat, transferred the money, and left, making the excuse that she had something to do.

Back home, for the first time, she went to sleep in broad daylight.

This sudden upheaval left her feeling completely lost about the future. Drained of all energy, she lay in bed as a jumble of thoughts ran through her mind, replaying everything over and over.

From the first day she met Zeke Walton to their parting this morning, and his mother’s words—giving her just one week to come up with a reasonable excuse to break up with him without causing him pain.

They hadn’t even truly broken up yet, but Amina could already feel sharp pangs of pain seizing her heart.

She couldn’t think of a single good excuse to bring up a breakup.

It was agonizing. She cried and cried in bed until, exhausted, she drifted off to sleep without realizing it.

When she woke up, Zeke Walton was already back.

He had come straight to the bedside to find her. Seeing her sleeping soundly, he wrapped his arms around her from behind, pulling her into his embrace and leaning down to kiss her lips.

Amina loved being held by him like this and desperately wanted to return his kiss.

But the words of Zeke’s mother, and the despicable behavior of her two brothers, were like a repeating curse in her ear, reminding her that she couldn’t be intimate with Zeke Walton anymore.

Amina twisted her head away and buried her face in the pillow. Zeke Walton’s lips met empty air.

"Hey, not even letting me kiss you now? What’s wrong?" he teased. "The housekeeper said you’ve been asleep for a while. It’s time to get up for dinner. If you sleep any longer, you won’t be able to sleep tonight. Get up."

Though he hadn’t gotten his kiss, Zeke Walton wasn’t angry. He spoke as he started to pull her up.

Swallowing the pain in her heart, Amina shook his hand off.

"I’ll go on my own."

Zeke Walton just assumed she was cranky from waking up and didn’t think much of it, leaving the room ahead of her.

During dinner, he chatted with his grandmother and the housekeeper just like always, acting like an ordinary boy next door.

Everyone was so happy and harmonious. Amina thought mournfully, ’I’ll never be part of a scene like this again. Maybe not for the rest of my life.’

’Zeke Walton, thank you for everything you’ve given me.’

Amina was normally an active participant in their conversations. During meals, the four of them would usually chat enthusiastically about any topic that came up. But today, she hadn’t said a word.

Zeke Walton watched as she stared down at her plate, not eating, just listlessly poking her chopsticks into her rice. He placed a piece of food into her bowl.

"Why aren’t you eating? Are you waiting for me to feed you? Did you complete your mission for today? Did you gain a little weight? You don’t look any different to me. You can’t start slacking off before the mission is complete. That’s not allowed. Now, eat up."

The housekeeper chuckled.

"It’s because you gave her that ’mission.’ Amina has been eating like she’s trying to finish homework these last couple of days. She’s been so serious about it, I feel stuffed just watching her. Gaining weight isn’t something you can rush. There’s plenty of time. As long as she eats well, she’ll fill out eventually. If you keep scaring her like this, she’s going to upset her stomach."

Zeke Walton smiled and nudged Amina with his elbow.

"Are you that silly? That earnest? I told you to hurry up and gain weight, so you’ve been stuffing yourself at every meal? You have to take it easy, you know? Pace yourself. Eating is about enjoying the food... What’s wrong? Why are you crying?"

Amina had been trying to hold it in, but Zeke Walton was just too good to her, too gentle. She really wanted to respond to him, to talk to him. She couldn’t bear the thought of leaving him.

A sting pricked her nose, and tears began to fall uncontrollably.

Zeke Walton was startled when he saw her suddenly burst into tears. Too ashamed to stay at the dinner table any longer, Amina blurted out an excuse.

"My stomach hurts a little. I don’t want to eat. You guys go ahead."

She rushed back to her room.

’Stomach ache?’

Zeke Walton quickly put down his bowl and chopsticks. "It’s fine, you guys eat first. I’ll go check on her."

Back in the room, Amina was sitting at the vanity, wiping away her tears.

Zeke Walton walked over, hugged her, and began rubbing her stomach.

"What’s wrong? Is the pain so bad it’s making you cry? Why didn’t you tell me sooner? Has it been hurting for a long time? Are you on your period, or... no, that’s not right, isn’t your period at the end of the month? This won’t do. I’m taking you to the hospital. We’re two grown adults surrounded by hospitals, and you’re just sitting at home crying in pain? People would laugh themselves sick if they heard about this."

Zeke Walton was doing his best to cheer her up, but the kinder he was, the more Amina wanted to cry.

Zeke Walton held her, and seeing her cry even harder, he turned her around to face him.

"Don’t just keep crying. If something’s wrong, tell me. What is it? Is it really because of a stomach ache?"

Amina truly didn’t know how to bring up the breakup. She sniffled and hesitated for a moment.

"No, I just... don’t want to eat."

"If you don’t want to eat, then don’t eat. Was it really worth crying over something so small? You scared me."

Zeke Walton let out a sigh of relief and patted her on the head.

"Alright, alright, stop crying. I won’t force you to eat anymore. From now on, you can eat as much as you want. Geez, I never realized you had so many tears in you."

Zeke Walton coaxed her for a little while longer, and Amina finally stopped crying.

She went to the bathroom to wash her face, and Zeke Walton followed behind her. Looking at her fair, soft face, freshly washed with water, he couldn’t resist hugging her again.

"We haven’t seen each other all day, and you’ve been so unhappy ever since I got back. It’s killing me. Come here and give me a hug."

He was so handsome, so radiant. The way he stood there with his long arms outstretched, asking for a hug, was so cute, so heart-flutteringly sweet. Amina really wanted to throw herself into his arms.

But...

Heart-wrenching tears almost welled up again. She turned her head away.

"I’m in a bad mood. You should go. I need to take a shower."

"I need to shower too. Isn’t that perfect? We can go together."

Zeke Walton grinned and moved closer to her, but Amina suddenly reacted, shoving him forcefully.

"No! Please, get out!"