When Her Death Couldn't Break Him (Cecilia and Nathaniel) novel Chapter 2201

Her words tangled Jason's thoughts into a knot of relief, guilt, and longing he could not hope to untie.

"Chelsea, listen." He drew a shaky breath. "Go back to the Rainsworth family. Give me one year. In twelve months, I'll build something that convinces your parents I'm worthy. Then we can be together openly—no more hiding, no more struggle."

He yearned to spare her from the grinding poverty of his fledgling dreams.

Chelsea shook her head. "That won't work."

She rose to stand toe-to-toe with him, eyes blazing with conviction.

"Why do you call this suffering? I want to be here—right here—with you. Leaving now is the last thing I want. Do you understand?"

She curled her fingers around his. "If I return home, my parents will drag me into blind dates and a rushed marriage. After that, what chance would we have left?"

"Besides," she added gently, "starting from nothing means you'll never match my family's status in a single year. They still won't approve, Jason."

Her logic was unassailable, and Jason knew it.

Silence enveloped them once more. Jason searched for an answer, but every word dissolved before reaching his tongue.

Chelsea tightened her arms around him once more, her cheek pressed into the warm hollow of his shoulder like it was the last safe place on earth. "I know you're trying to keep me from suffering," she murmured, her voice soft but unwavering. "But I honestly don't care about any of that. What we have right now is already enough—already good. Isn't it?"

After a heartbeat of hesitation, Jason lifted his hands and folded them around her slender frame. The gesture was slow, deliberate, as though he were accepting a fragile gift he wasn't sure he deserved.

"Chelsea, have you really thought this through? One day we'll marry, start a family, and once a child arrives, the bills, the sleepless nights, the responsibilities... They'll all multiply. Money and energy will become necessities, not options."

Jason had grown up an orphan, so he understood in his bones how irreplaceable biological parents could be. Because of that, he swore he would never bring a child into the world until he had the savings—and the strength—to give it everything he never had.

"Mom, I'm sorry, but I won't divorce him. If you truly love me, let me live my own life," Chelsea quickly said.

"Then listen to me," Elena continued, her patience fraying. "Enjoy yourself for now, but do not—under any circumstances—get pregnant. Protect yourself, understand? A child would make regret arrive far too late."

Chelsea knew exactly what her mother feared, so she answered with teasing defiance. "How could I do that? I'm already his wife. Of course, I'll give him a child."

"You silly girl," Kingston called from the extension line at last. "Once there's a baby, regret will be too late."

"Dad, Mom, I won't regret it," Chelsea repeated, steadier than before.

Faced with their daughter's unshakable resolve, her parents had no answer. Chelsea ended the call and lowered the phone.

She stared at the dark screen for a long, silent stretch, then whispered, "Dad, Mom, I'm sorry."