The Man Who Never Looked Away novel Chapter 22

The moment Lavinia left, Judith's eyes sharpened as she fixed her gaze on her grandson. "Garnett, be honest. How are things really going between you two?"

Anticipating the interrogation, he smiled easily. "We're doing perfectly fine."

She stared him down. "Then tell me, what exactly do you love about her?"

He thought about it for a moment. "She's pure-hearted, kind, well-educated, and completely indifferent to fame and fortune."

Judith patted his hand. "In this life, you can fight for a lot of things and win them, but you can never buy or force genuine family. You need to cherish the person right in front of you."

Garnett didn't reply.

Cherish the person in front of you? He had wanted to cherish Sigrid once, and look how that turned out.

"Grandma, you can't force feelings," he finally replied, his tone subdued.

"You spend a lifetime nurturing them, and even if nothing comes of it, you still have her by your side for a lifetime." She shot him a stern glare. "I won't accept anyone else as my granddaughter-in-law."

He opened his mouth to argue, but ultimately just gave a quiet hum of acknowledgment.

Standing just outside the doorway with the fresh supplies, Lavinia caught those last few lines.

She forced a smile and walked back in, seamlessly interrupting the conversation. "Grandma, I found some of that Formosa Oolong Tea you love in the pantry."

***

Since they were staying the night at the manor, the two of them naturally shared a room.

Emerging from the shower, Lavinia was surprised to find him still in the bedroom. He was leaning over the bed, plucking up the symbolic dates and peanuts scattered across the mattress and tossing them onto the nightstand.

"We've been married for two years, and they're still pulling these old-fashioned fertility stunts..." he muttered irritably.

She froze in place.

Garnett caught sight of her from the corner of his eye. "Can't you tell? It's a blatant hint for a baby. She's dying for a great-grandchild."

Then go have one with the woman you actually love.

"I don't care about any of it." She enunciated every word. "Believe what you want, Garnett. It doesn't matter to me anymore."

She couldn't keep arguing. It wasn't time to show her full hand just yet.

Turning her back on him, she sat down at the vanity and began applying her skincare.

He stood behind her, arms crossed, his voice turning cold. "You don't care, huh? Before the wedding, who was the one hand-writing every single invitation until she gave herself tendonitis?"

Her hand paused in mid-air, her thick lashes fluttering down. "That was me. But there's no need to bring up the past. It's a mistake I will never make again."

She had genuinely held out hope for their marriage in the beginning.

Having lost her parents at twelve, she had spent her life yearning for a warm, stable home of her own.

She used to believe that if she married a man she truly loved, her parents looking down from heaven would finally be at peace.

Now, her only prayer was for her uncle to live just a little bit longer.