Swapping a Broken Heart for a New Start novel Chapter 1214

Walter figured she was just playing around. He grinned and said, “Come on, stop messing with me. Weren’t you here to talk business?”

But Audrey wouldn’t let him off that easy. She fixed him with a look and asked, “What’s wrong, Walter? Am I not good enough for you or something? I mean, I’m not exactly ugly. My only issue is my health, right? Are you worried I’m so weak I might just drop dead one day?”

Walter’s smile faded. He frowned, his voice suddenly serious. “Don’t say things like that. Your health isn’t something to joke about.”

Maybe it was because of everything that happened with Camila Davis, but Walter really couldn’t handle talk like that anymore. He just wanted the people around him to be safe and well.

Audrey saw she had his attention and decided to push a little further. She’d been curious about what he really thought. “You didn’t argue with me about the other stuff,” she pointed out. “So if you really liked someone, you wouldn’t care if they had health problems? Or even if they couldn’t have kids?”

Walter didn’t seem interested in the conversation at all. He just answered, “That’s a hypothetical question.” He didn’t even have anyone he wanted to marry yet, so talking about kids felt a bit much.

Audrey wasn’t about to let go of this chance. “But what if it wasn’t hypothetical?” she pressed. “You’re the only son in your family. Don’t you feel pressure to carry on the family name?”

Walter saw how caught up she was in the topic, especially about kids, and couldn’t help but tap her lightly on the head. “Aren’t you supposed to be some genius? Didn’t you even study abroad? How do you still have these old-fashioned ideas? My family might have money, but we’re not royalty. There’s no throne to inherit. I’m my own person, not just here to keep the family line going. I’ve got my career and plenty of things I want to do. What makes you think I’m stressed about this stuff?”

Audrey’s eyes sparkled at his answer. “Seriously? No pressure at all? What about your parents, then? Most parents want grandkids. Even if you don’t care, what if they start pushing you?”

Her own parents had fought with her brother about having kids, and Audrey had seen it all. With her own health issues, she couldn’t help but worry.

So he said, “I honestly don’t mind. Nobody’s perfect. Everyone has their issues, no matter how great they seem. If someone was too perfect, it wouldn’t even feel real. And if I really liked someone, knowing she had health problems wouldn’t make me push her to have kids. The most important thing is who she is, not whether she can have children. If I had to choose between her and a child, I’d choose her every time. I couldn’t let her risk anything for that.”

For the first time in a long while, Audrey felt completely at ease. The thing she’d worried about for so long finally had an answer. She beamed at him and nodded. “I’m glad you think that way. You’re right, loving someone means loving who they are. If you’re only with them to have kids, then you’re just treating them like a baby factory.”

Since Walter and his family didn’t care about kids, Audrey felt like she really had a chance. If she just put in a little more effort, she was sure she could win him over.

Feeling happy, Audrey grinned and said, “All right, let’s talk about work first. Once we’re done, dinner’s on me. After that, we’ll head over to your place!”