Miss Pendleton (Update to C.222 END) - Chapter 96
When Laura first discovered this painting, she recognized Mr. Dalton at a glance and was utterly charmed. A fair face with rosy cheeks. Soft, cloud-like baby fat. Clever black eyes. Small lips pressed together earnestly.
He was the most striking little boy she had ever seen. If he were a neighborhood child she knew, she would have bought him a candy every day and pinched his cheeks.
Laura turned her head to look at Mr. Dalton. He stood beside her, hands in his trouser pockets, gazing at the water striders gliding over the lake.
Dressed in a teal suit complete with a vest and a black tie, he was the perfect young gentleman. The profile revealed beneath his neatly combed hair was sharp and chiseled, with no trace of the innocent boy from his childhood.
A smile flickered across Laura’s lips. Her heart jolted like a faulty engine.
Lately, this had been happening often. As if she were ill, her heart would race wildly whenever she saw him. Since he had cried for her sake, her emotions had become something beyond her control. Though she tried to keep them locked away, they leaked through the cracks.
With superhuman effort, she ignored her feelings. Thus, the emotions she could not express turned into a clawing pain in her heart.
Laura frowned at the stinging ache in her chest. At times like this, she keenly felt the absence of her father. If she had learned to handle emotions as Mr. Dalton had, she might know how to cope properly.
Her approach to emotions had always been to control, ignore, and regard them with suspicion. Having lost that control, she felt like a foolish parent watching helplessly as a strictly raised child, now grown and wayward, caused trouble. She could only endure her emotions’ chaos.
Laura sighed softly and closed the sketchbook. Then, in her usual calm voice, she asked, “What are you thinking about?”
“I was recalling the stone-skipping contest with Miss Hyde,” he replied. “Looking at the water reminded me of that humiliating defeat.”
Laura laughed softly. “It was a fun contest.”
“How is Miss Hyde doing?”
“She seems well. She sent a letter saying she finished Mary Rotis’s manuscript successfully and received a special bonus. She even included a small pearl brooch as a gift.”
“That’s impressive. Then again, a lady who can skip stones beyond the horizon could accomplish anything.”
My Step-brother Is Obsessed With Me (Female-dominant)
A gentle female protagonist vs pitiful in the early stage, and a sick male protagonist in the later stage
Cheng Songer transmigrated into the body of a vicious cannon fodder female supporting character with the same name as her in a female-dominant novel.
In the original story, the cannon fodder female supporting character was inhumane, committing domestic violence, gambling excessively, being lustful, and even wanting to sell her stepbrother to a brothel for money.
As luck would have it, she just happened to transmigrate at this time.
Seeing Cheng Qingzhi biting his lip, enduring the tears in his eyes, looking pitiful, her heart softened.
She stuffed the money back into the Madam’s hand and reached out to him.
“Brother, come home with me.”
It’s progressing a bit slowly, but nicely… I hope there won’t be unnecessary distances between them due to misunderstandings.
I think this trip to Bath will be good to Laura. Meeting these women will inspire her to be more confident. I just hope her ex and Mr. Dalton don’t ruin it.
Each chapter leaves me in suspense for the future. Although the readers are given assurance from Laura’s feelings since the carriage kiss, I can’t help but doubt the next steps for this couple! Ian’s feeling are deep and tumultuous like waves against a cliff. I can only hope that when the two finally meet, he will remain level headed.