Lily can clearly feel that something is wrong with Rex. It is as if he has completely sealed himself in another world. All of his thoughts and feelings remain in that world. He can't stop regretting—even regretting what he had done back then.
"It's not like that. Rex, you've already done enough. If I were you, I wouldn't know how to face my family. We all only live once. No one can live forever. Reality is cruel, but you have to accept it." She hugs him tightly, trying to pull him out of the abyss of self-blame. She adds, "Adonis’ death has nothing to do with you. He is sick. What you need to do is to stay with him and walk him through the last journey of his life. You've done nothing wrong. Adonis is proud of you, and he understands you. If you don't want him to have any regrets in his last days, please stop acting this way!"
Rex listens. Light appears in his glassy eyes again. He mutters to himself, rather than asks Lily, "Seeing me like this will only trouble him more..."
"That's right. You have to cheer up and be the grandson that he is proud of again. Only then can he leave more calmly, rather than full of regrets."
Rex looks out of the window at the lights in the distance. Clusters of bright lights turn into blurry flowers in his misty eyes. Red, green, yellow... They sting his eyes, but also illuminate his heart.
That's right. What's done cannot be undone. He can't be selfish anymore. Adonis should leave this world peacefully, and he'll see to that. If he can't even make sure of this one thing, he doesn't even deserve to be sad.
Lily's words seem to have pulled Rex out of the deep seabed where there is nothing but darkness. He wakes up. Only then does he feel a little cold from the wind blowing outside the window.
Just now, he didn't even feel all of this from the outside world. He only felt his heart filled with self-blame and guilt.
He straightens up again and turns around to look at the woman standing behind him. It is already late at night, and Lily's face is full of exhaustion. He has been suffering these days, and Lily is no better than him. She's always by his side, yet at the same time, she still has to take care of Adair. It's obvious that she has lost a lot of weight.
Rex raises his hand painfully to touch the dark shadows under her eyes. He rolls his apple before saying, "I'm sorry. You must have suffered with me a lot these days."
"What are you talking about? You're my husband. If I don't stay with you now, what else can I do?" Seeing that he has finally started to listen to her, Lily heaves a sigh of relief. She raises her hand to hold his arm and says, "Let's go home. We'll bring Adair here to spend some time with Adonis tomorrow morning."
Rex follows her arm. He finally feels a little warmer, "Alright."
At the very least, Lily is still beside him late at night.
-
Ever since they have had this conversation, Lily can clearly tell that Rex has spoken a lot more when he is with Adonis.
Before, he was not good at expressing himself. He is always listening to others and rarely takes the initiative to speak.
However, these two days, he has been accompanying Adonis in the hospital. Not only is he being considerate, he is also trying to do something together with Adair to please Adonis.
Yet, it's looking pretty bad for Adonis. During this period of time, Adonis has become less conscious than before. He sleeps most of the time. When he opens his eyes, he is also dumbfounded. The brilliance in his eyes diminishes, and he merely speaks anymore.
Rex sits beside him and listens quietly. He does not say anything, but lowers his head and eyes. He seems particularly obedient.
Adonis hasn't seen Rex behave so obediently for a long time, and he can't help but mutter, "Don't try to shoulder all the responsibilities. How can you do all the things on your own? It's already good enough that you are in good health and that you haven't suffered from any natural or man-made disaster. I know you always feel guilty about our family. Rex, it is us who should say sorry to you..."
Back then, Amelia and Rex's biological father were always quarreling, and Rex was always the victim. It is perfectly normal that Rex would get beaten, and one can imagine that the harm he gets will stay with him all this life.
Therefore, Rex has been an introverted person from a young age. He is not outgoing at all. For a long time, Adonis and the others are afraid that the child will be depressed or distorted.
Later on, Rex becomes a lawyer. This also has something to do with his childhood. The first thing he does after he succeeds in his career is to announce that he will not take any cases related to divorce.
Those things are too heavy for him after all.
Afterwards, Amelia moves on and remarries. With Florence, everything is back on the right track again. However, Rex's feelings have been ignored. He is estranged from his family, but whenever he has time, he is always the first to go back to them.
Adonis knows all about this. The older he gets, the cleverer he becomes. He is just being silent.
Rex hesitates for a moment, then still reaches out and grabs Adonis’ hand. He says, "Don't say that. I'm fine now, aren't I?"
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Let's Get Married