Vanessa did it at once.
"Megan, Luke, go and play with Grandpa, and I go out with you too, okay?"
"Ok, I'll go get Grandpa and we'll go play outside."
"Sis, Joshua, you guys talk, I take them out."
Megan took a quick step and ran out to find Grandpa, with Luke following steadily behind, holding his
aunt's hand.
Vanessa took the two children out, and the living room was instantly much quieter. Only the four of
them were left sitting in the living room.
Joshua felt that this was a good opportunity for him and Winnie to persuade the siblings together. So
he opened his mouth.
"Dad and the kids are out, and there's something I want to talk about."
"Dad's bad health this time has a lot to do with his mood, Stella, Brian, you should know the reason for
that."
It wasn't just Stella and Brian who knew, Winnie also understood as soon as she heard Joshua's
words.
"Joshua, it's thanksgiving, so it's better not to talk about this topic."
"Why?"
Joshua was puzzled, he thought Winnie would be of the same mind as him and thought this was a
good opportunity. But her words surprised him.
"He and I get into fights when we talk about it, and we're all in a pretty good mood today, and I'm afraid
we'll upset everyone if there is a fight."
Winnie said her reason, with Rufus and the kids around, she truly didn't want to fight with Brian.
"I won't fight with you, you and Joshua can say whatever you want, I'll control my emotions."
Brian hurriedly took a stand after hearing Winnie's reasoning.
These days he thought it over and tried to work it out. But it would take help from others, and he
couldn't break free just by himself.
"Brian has taken a stand. Winnie, you don't have to worry, if Dad comes in, we'll stop this
conversation."
Joshua was surprised that Brian was positive. It seemed that Winnie was more effective than he had
thought.
Winnie wasn't objecting. Since Brian had ensured that he wanted to face the matter, even if she was
reluctant, she should not stop him.
Since so, Winnie had nothing to worry about.
"The exact thing that happened to your family isn't very clear to me or Winnie. But I think that things are
in the past, if you dwell on the past, there doesn't seem to be much meaningful."
"Stella, Brian, I know that you two have knots in your hearts, Winwin and I don't know how we can open
them. My opinion is that no matter what happened in the past, you guys let all these things go without
any conditions. Don't make it hard for dad and step to make everyone in this family worry about you
guys."
Joshua said his thoughts.
The details were not spoken by Stella and Brian, so trying to help was not feasible. He could only
persuade the siblings to forgive Rufus unconditionally.
But Winnie had said the same to Brian, and unfortunately, it was in vain.
"I can't ask in detail since I'm an outsider, so I agree with my Joshua."
Winnie's phrase "I am an outsider" completely excluded herself.
In fact, this issue was a sensitive topic. Winnie did not want to get involved, but Joshua brought her in.
"Stella, you and ......"
Winnie didn't want to be persuading Brian, thinking that things could be much better if Stella was talked
through first. But she inevitably had to mention Brian, but how should she address Brian in front of their
family?
Winnie hesitated for a moment.
"In this matter, you and Mr. Bennet may not feel the same way yet. At that time you could more or less
understand some of your father's feelings, and your trauma was not as deep as his."
"It's impossible to make you forget the past, but can you forgive your father for the sake of him being so
old, for the sake of him being alone for twenty years?"
Winnie knew that it was easy for her to say it, while it was hard for Stella to do it. But while they forgive
Rufus, it would be much easier.
"Winnie, since you said that, I have a few words."
"First of all, none of us treat you like an outsider, and if we do, we wouldn't talk to you about something
so private."
Stella knew that Winnie said that because she wanted to keep her distance from Brian, but looking at
the attitude Brian just had, that distance just couldn't be there.
"I've thought countless times about letting this go, but you have to know that even when I say I forgive
him, my heart is still not comfortable."
"It's better to get to the root of the matter, so the problem can be solved."
Stella had her own ideas, and if it was to be resolved, she and Brian had to be made aware of all the
details, otherwise they wouldn't understand things and it wouldn't be resolved.
Winnie understood Stella's statement, and she guessed that Brian was thinking the same thing.
Winnie looked sideways at Brian beside herself.
"That's what you think, isn't it? You don't feel good inside even if you forgive your father, do you?"
"Yes."
Without hesitation, Brian gave his answer, even if he was more uncomfortable than his sister and had
no way to forgive unconditionally.
"But have you ever thought about the discomfort in your father's heart? He's been uncomfortable for
over twenty years now and which of you has ever cared? I think it's selfish of you to say that, to think
only of yourselves without any consideration for your father's feelings."
Winnie hadn't wanted to say this, for saying it would make both Stella and Brian unhappy. But they did
only care about themselves. Such selfishness on their part made Winnie unable to control her mouth.
"I've never been through it, so maybe you guys will think I'm talking out of my ass. But if it were me, I'd
take it for what it is and not dwell on it, at least not for so many years."
"Mother is a family, and father is a family too. Their place in your heart is important, and you've hated
your father for so many years because of what you saw. It's not fair."
Winnie didn't bother too much with outsiders, let alone make things difficult for her own family.
She felt that Brian and Stella were acting irrationally and were overwhelmed by hatred. They were
obviously smarter than anyone else, but they had to stick to it.
"Winwin is right, you two siblings are too selfish. Let me say something you don't like to hear. What do
the elders have to do with you? Why are you trying to measure who is right and who is wrong? Why do
you hate your father?"
Joshua chimed in, if Brian and Stella were as amiable as Winnie, this matter would have been resolved
long ago.
"We are selfish, but we are victims. It's because he is our family that can hurt us, and our mother died
long ago."
Stella's pain might not be as clear and profound as Brian's, but she had been hit by a strong shock. Not
to mention who was right and who was wrong, losing her mother had kept her from breaking free from
the pain for years.
She cried when she woke up at night. She even wished to dream about her mother every day.
How could anyone who had not experienced this pain possibly feel it?
"Your pain is a lot, and I know that. We're just asking you to forgive unconditionally."
"Stella ......"
Joshua felt that he had encountered a barrier and felt that he and Winnie were thinking clearly, but
Brian and Stella were still bent on their own suffering.
Just as he was about to continue his persuasion, Brian coldly interrupted him.
"None of you understand any of this and are in no position to ask for our unconditional forgiveness."
Brian's angry words directly caused Joshua and Winnie to be embarrassed and unable to say a single
word.
Winnie, in particular, couldn't understand why she had gotten involved when she had already thought of
the outcome.
Joshua hadn't experienced it and couldn't feel it, but Winnie had already told Brian about her
experience, and now he was saying that she couldn't appreciate his feelings.
So did he care about her feelings?
Brian's words caused a sudden silence in the living room. Joshua's thoughts were interrupted while
Winnie had decided not to speak up again, because there was no point, because Brian would never
care about her feelings.
At the beginning, it was Brian who said that he would control his emotions, but he failed in the end.
Sorry, there was no way Winnie could accept this attitude of his.
"Brian, since you can't forgive your father unconditionally, so what terms do you want?"
Joshua continued to ask, after all, he was his brother in law, who should have the responsibility to take
care of the problems.
Joshua's question made Brian speechless, and he didn't know what terms he wanted.
"What about you, Stella?"
Joshua asked Stella.
Yet the answer Stella gave was also silence. If she had known, the problem might have been solved
long ago.
And with that, the living room fell silent for the second time.
Meanwhile outside.
Vanessa noticed after she went out that Rufus’ face didn't look right and that he coughed more
frequently.
"Rufus, are you sick?"
While playing with the two kids, she asked with concern.
"No, it's fine."
Rufus replied, warmed by Vanessa's concern.
This was his daughter, and she cared about him, which made him gratified.
"But you don't look well and you have a cough. You even seem to have lost weight these days."
Vanessa watched Rufus carefully, and the more she observed, the more she felt that Rufus was
unhealthy.
"It's okay, it's normal for people to have some problem in their old age."
Rufus continued to deny that there was nothing wrong with his health, if he had said that he was
unwell, they would all be worried.
"Go to the hospital and have it checked out, it's reassuring for everyone. If you don’t feel well, it's better
to get treatment earlier."
Vanessa was really worried about Rufus and wanted him to go to the hospital.
"There's no need for that."
The worry in Vanessa's eyes made Rufus's refusal begin to waver, for he couldn't bear to let her worry
about him.
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