Chapter 574: [Bonus - ] Lost embrace
[TRIGGER WARNING: THE Chapter CONTAINS SENSITIVE CONTENT. READ WITH CAUTION.]
When Silas witnessed how his father hurt his mother, he instantly hated him. Even though Olivia told him otherwise, he just didn’t want Leon anymore. What he witnessed was unforgivable and, even at a young age, it scared him that his mother might die in Leon’s hands. Therefore, he didn’t look for him even when they lived somewhere far from the environment he grew up in.
Olivia and Silas lived on a farm somewhere far from the city. He didn’t know how far they were, but he did remember riding a ship for days and then taking a long bus ride before reaching this place. Their house stood in the middle of acres of land. There were already workers on the farm, but only Silas and Olivia lived in the lone two-story house.
His mother knew some of the people already and, according to Olivia, they were some people who used to work for her grandfather on the same farm. Grandma Zhu continued the business on the side just to carry on the memory of her good friend. Therefore, Olivia was deeply grateful to Grandma Zhu for keeping her grandfather’s memories alive.
Grandma Zhu offered her many things, as she wanted to keep supporting them even if the divorce was settled. She wanted to do this to compensate her for what her son had done and also to make sure Silas wouldn’t have to struggle. However, Olivia refused everything except for this piece of land Grandma told her to keep it.
"It was yours to begin with. And I’ll be more at ease to know you have a livelihood. I’m sure you can manage that," was what Grandma Zhu said, and with that, Silas and Olivia lived a peaceful life away from the noise of the city and the tricky family matters of the Zhu family.
They were happy. Silas could say that with confidence. His mother started smiling again. The people on the farm were also very kind to them. His fear that Leon would come home and beat up his mother also disappeared.
They thought this peaceful and simple life would continue for a lifetime. They truly believed it would be. After all, they were very far and thus, they should be safe. Grandma Zhu also promised to keep their whereabouts a secret, just like how she kept her promise to help Olivia get the divorce she wanted.
Months after Olivia and Silas moved into this place, she received a mail that contained her approved divorce papers and Silas’s birth certificate without the Zhu family name in it. Silas remembered celebrating it with his mother. He still didn’t know what was there to celebrate, but he knew those papers meant good news and that his mother was elated.