She Was the Treasure All Along novel Chapter 993

Swain didn't answer. The heavy silence stretched on for several excruciating seconds. Helena watched his eyes, reading the truth in his hesitation.

"Just give me a little more time," he finally murmured. "I'm a mess right now, and I don't know how to handle this."

She looked down, taking a slow sip of her coffee. "You promised me they were open-minded. You said they would understand. Now you're telling me you need time. How much time, Swain?"

He opened his mouth, but his voice was weak. "They're really emotional right now. I can't force this down their throats. If we just lay low and hold on for a while, they'll come around."

"Hold on until they decide my toxic family isn't a dealbreaker anymore?" Helena interrupted, her tone eerily calm. "Or hold on until they magically suffer from amnesia and forget what they saw on the street?"

For Helena, the dream of an ordinary life—finding a decent man, getting married, and settling into a quiet existence—was already crumbling to dust. Dragging out the inevitable felt entirely pointless.

The quiet hum of the coffee shop filled the space between them. Helena didn't add anything else. She simply rested her fingers against her ceramic mug, watching the dark liquid that had long since gone cold.

Swain opened his mouth, closed it, and finally pushed the words out. "I'm not trying to break up with you." His voice was strained, lower than before. "I just... can't you just give me a little grace here?"

Helena looked at him, her gaze unflinching. "How long do you want me to wait? Until your parents graciously give you permission? Or until you finally decide to stop letting them dictate your life?"

Swain swallowed hard. "I will fix this. I know they overreacted, but they're my parents. I can't just cut them off or scream in their faces. If I talk them through it slowly, they'll realize they're wrong."

Her voice remained steady, stripping away his excuses. "They've already decided I'm a liability. When you say 'talk them through it slowly,' what you really mean is stalling. Stalling until they decide it's not a big deal anymore, or stalling until the pressure breaks us and we drift apart on our own."

Swain's jaw tightened. "I am not going to let us drift apart."

He reached across the small table, covering the hand she had resting against the mug.

"I don't want to lose you. I just need to figure out a way to make them see it," he pleaded, squeezing her fingers gently. "Please?"

Helena stared down at his hand covering hers. Despite her better judgment, the exhaustion in her chest gave way to a sliver of hope.

Martha set her nuts down and locked eyes with her husband. The silent agreement passed between them instantly.

The very next afternoon, Swain's phone rang.

Martha's voice came through the speaker, sounding infinitely more relaxed than she had in days. "Swain, your aunt Clara knows a lovely girl in the city. She's an accountant, comes from a wonderful family. I want you to go meet her."

Swain, who was currently bent over his desk finalizing lighting blueprints for a new stage production, frowned deeply. "Mom, I haven't broken up with Helena."

"You call that mess a real relationship?" Martha's tone sharpened. "I am looking out for you. You aren't getting any younger, and you can't waste your life waiting on a disaster waiting to happen. Clara met this girl personally—she is fantastic. Just go have one dinner with her. If you don't feel a spark, fine, we'll drop it. I'm not putting a gun to your head."

Swain ran a hand through his hair, lowering his voice. "I don't want to go."

"Swain." Carl's gruff voice suddenly cut in from the background. "Have you proposed to her? Are you married? No. You haven't even met her parents properly, and you saw exactly what kind of people they are. Your mother and I stayed up all night talking about this. We cannot accept this relationship. If you want us to still call you our son, you will listen to us this one time."