Klara still wanted to continue, but was interrupted by Jonny, and she had to agree.
"Okay, I'll make dinner."
She was not going to continue, but she would look for another opportunity to talk about it, and Jonny's
company had always been mysterious and desirable to her.
If she saw his company, Klara would be more at ease.
Brian was looking forward to Winnie's return for the Thanksgiving Day. He felt that his relationship with
his father had been improved and Winnie might be happier when she returned.
So he had dinner and was to talk to his father.
Brian found his father in the pavilion in the courtyard. When he walked up to his father, he didn't know
how to speak.
"Where are the kids?"
Rufus asked, speaking first.
"Doing homework in their rooms."
Brian replied in a low voice, but his was still thinking about how to start that topic that he didn't want to
bring up.
"Is Winwin coming back for the Thanksgiving Day?"
Rufus had been thinking about Winnie, if she could come back and brought Vanessa over, he would be
happy.
"She's not sure, and right now she won't tell me anything."
Brian said, he had tried but she was still estranged to him.
"Still no progress?"
Rufus hadn't asked about Brian and Winnie, not because he didn't care, but because he believed that
they could handle it well on their own.
But after all this time, he was still disappointed.
"No, she has not forgiven me. But don't worry, I'll spend my life trying to get her back."
Brian had this confidence and had to be confident, or else Winnie would really stay away from him.
"I'm just afraid you'll consume your whole life, and you'll be alone like me for the rest of your life."
Rufus knew how hard and how lonely it was to wait for a lifetime. He didn't want Brian to end up alone
like him, he didn't want Brian to spend his life waiting.
Brian always used to listen to his father's words with hatred taking over his brain nerves, but at this
moment he more or less appreciated how difficult it had been for his father for so many years.
"You've had ...... her in your heart all these years, haven't you?"
Brian asked the question, but it was still unacceptable for him, so he did not speak out her name.
"Who? Isobel?
Rufus found it particularly surprising that Brian mentioned that.
For over twenty years, Brian had never once mentioned Isobel. Today, although Isobel's name wasn't
spoken, it still made Rufus excited.
"Right."
Brian replied in a cold voice. He hated this woman so much that he did not want to think about her or
hear her name.
"What you feel for Winwin is what I feel for Isobel. There is love and guilt, but you still have a chance to
make it up to Winwin, but I ......"
Rufus took a sigh of relief.
"You always say you felt indebted to her, but she is a mistress, you should felt indented to Mom."
Brian's heart ached, trying desperately to be clam, if it wasn't for Winnie, he would have been furious.
"I've told you many times that I don't feel indebted to your mother."
Brian held his breath without letting it out, but Rufus was agitated.
He didn't have the patience he used to have, afraid that it would be too late and he had the urge to say
what he really wanted.
But at this moment he was still wise enough to know that the truth would hurt Brian and Stella.
"She's dead, because of you and the mistress. Why can't you admit you were at fault after all these
years?"
Brian couldn't stand such excuses from his father.
He had been a stranger to his father for so many years, but he had always admired his character. He
was not a man without responsibility, not a man without a sense of duty.
But he just couldn't understand why his father didn't think until now that he had done something wrong
and that he had caused the death of his mother.
"Am I the kind of person who is afraid to admit when I'm wrong?"
Rufus didn't answer but asked Brian instead. He couldn't tell Brian the truth directly, and he could only
let Brian think for himself.
Brian didn't know how to answer because the frankness in his father's gaze made his heart tighten
inexplicably.
His father was not the kind of person who was afraid to admit his mistakes, so what the father means
was that he was not at fault in this matter. But here was the thing, of the three people, if his father was
not at fault, so the one who was at fault should be the mistress or his mother.
Yet what was wrong with his mother?
"Isobel is indeed a mistress in a sense, for your mother and I were legally married. But I have to tell you
Isobel was not at fault, she was cheated on by me."
Rufus repeated the truth once again, he had said this matter several times, but Brian had never thought
about this matter in a different way. His deep-rooted thought was that his mother died in front of him
and it was caused by Rufus and Isobel.
"You were not wrong, the woman wasn't wrong, so you mean my mother was wrong?"
Brian's voice was cold again, his father was shirking his responsibilities, and he had the nerve to say
that he was not at fault.
"Brian, listen, I'm not at fault for what happened between your mother and I. It's my fault for what
happened between Isobel and I. I'm not sorry for your mother, the person I'm sorry for is Isobel."
Rufus' repression really wanted to be released all at once, and he really wanted Brian to open his ears
to hear the truth properly. But thinking about his dead wife, he buried all his impulses again.
"You're confusing me, why are you talking as if it had nothing to do with my mom."
Brian didn't understand, and his anger teetered on the edge of venting.
"It's two different things exactly, because your mother did not care if I had an affair."
Rufus's reply shocked Brian, and he stared at Rufus with wide eyes of incredible anger.
"Since she didn't care, how could she jump down from a building?"
Brian finally couldn't hold back his anger, he had never thought of his father's way of shirking his
responsibilities like this. It was disrespectful and unfair to his mother that he shifted all the blame on
her.
"All I can tell you is that it's not because of me, and it's not because of Isobel your mother died."
"Brian, I'm saying it again. The only victim of what happened between me and Isobel is Isobel, and your
mother's death has nothing to do with me."
Rufus was also agitated, but he was still able to control the last bottom line and still allowed himself to
keep the secret.
"You ......"
Brian's hands were shaking with anger at his father's "passing the buck", but he didn't say anything
more outrageous but chose to turn around and leave.
Not saying anything more outrageous was not because his own sanity was still there, but because he
could not bear to hurt his father.
He could see the wrinkles on Rufus’ face and heard his occasional cough.
All of this was a statement of the fact that he was getting old and he could not withstand the ravages of
time little by little.
Brian was still breathing heavily in anger after he went back to his room. Not knowing who to vent his
emotions with, he could only call Stella.
"I had a quarrel with him ......"
When the call was answered, Brian couldn't wait to talk about what had just happened. It wasn't until all
was said and done that the anger dissipated a bit.
"Brian, Dad said to me the same things the other day. I didn't have control over my attitude and I had a
quarrel with him too."
After hearing Brian's words, Stella spoke calmly and peacefully.
She could understand why Brian was angry, but didn't know why his father would say those things.
"None of us understood why Dad was shirking his responsibilities ......"
Just as Stella continued to speak, Joshua's voice came.
"Dad isn't the kind of person to pass the buck, it's your preconceived notion that it's Dad's fault. Isn't it
too cruel to let Dad alone bear the consequences of this thing? You guys put the blame on Dad for
Mom’s death, so if it was Dad who jumped off the building, would you guys hate Mom for the rest of
your lives too?"
Joshua's voice was loud, and laced with emotion as well.
Just now Brian and Stella's words were heard, and when he listened to them, he couldn't help the
unevenness in his heart. No wonder Winnie didn't care about them, it was that they were a thorn in this
matter, and Winnie knew that this thorn was difficult to pull out.
"What do you mean by that?"
It was Stella who spoke, and Stella was displeased with Joshua's words.
"Stella, Brian, I know you heard what I said. I'm asking you guys not to look at Dad in such a nasty way.
When you guys think about it in a different way, maybe things will be different."
"Don't just blame Dad for not taking responsibility, but think about why he doesn't take the blame. He is
your father, and you know better than I do whether he will shrink his responsibility."
Joshua was tempered, but he had by no means changed his mind, for fear of Stella's agitation.
Joshua's words made both Stella and Brian fell silent.
They were thinking an outsider believed in their father, so why should they doubt him, just because
their mother died?
So if their father, the responsibility for this matter was all on Isobel?
"Brian, don't be angry with Dad. Dad hasn't been well since the last time he had a cold and is always
coughing. He refused to go to the hospital even when I ask him to."
"So don't bring it up for now, we'll talk to him about it together when he's better."
Stella gave these words after the silence. To be honest, Joshua's words left her speechless, even if it
was her father's fault, it was time to let go of it after so many years.
But doing it was it difficult.
Brian couldn't accept the mere mention of what happened back then, and if he knew that his father was
looking for Isobel, he might break down.
Stella reminded Brian of his father's occasional coughing, and a twinge of regret surprisingly ran
through his mind.
"I know sis, we'll talk about this later when we have a chance."
After Brian's call hung up, Stella sat there sighing uncontrollably.
And that's when Joshua opened his mouth.
"Stella, the key to things is you. Figure out what you should do yourself first, and Winwin will figure out
what to do about Brian."
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