Chapter 303 No intention

Alana shook her head, wanting to continue. Now that she had started, she had no intention of holding back.

“There’s one more thing, the event that left the deepest impression on me, the one that marked the complete breakdown of my parents’ relationship.”

At the time, her mother had taken her, still a child, to a hotel to catch her father in the act.

She and her mother had witnessed her father in bed with another woman, both of them completely naked.

As a child, she didn’t understand what was happening. She only knew that her mother seemed to lose her mind in that moment, she stormed in like a madwoman, pulled them apart, and then started throwing things at them.

The scene was chaotic.

The two women wrestled with each other like shrews. Her father did nothing, turning a blind eye to it all and watching coldly from the sidelines.

He saw her, a young child, standing helplessly at the doorway, expressionless, as if he didn’t even consider her his daughter.

It was only when the hotel staff arrived that this farce finally came to an end.

It was precisely because of this incident that her mother and father fell out, eventually leading to their divorce.

“So, I used to think what was the essence of marriage? Was it the starting of love and end with mutual loathing? Stephan, I’m so afraid. I’m afraid that one day, our relationship will end up like that too...”

Stephan’s Adam’s apple bobbed painfully. So, she didn’t want to marry him because she had witnessed her parents’ unhappy marriage firsthand, that was why she had so little hope for marriage.

Was she afraid that if she married him, she would go through the same thing her parents had?

But he wasn’t like her father.

And she wasn’t like her mother either.

So, their future together would certainly be different from her parents’ outcome.

Stephan cupped her face and kissed her repeatedly. “Lana, I’m truly sorry about what happened to your parents. But trust me, we won’t end up like that. I know you won’t believe me when I say this now, but I’ll prove it through my actions.”

Alana nodded slightly, then wrapped her arms around him, unable to hold back. “Stephan, no matter what happens to us in the future, if you stop loving me, please tell me. I won’t cling to you or act hysterically like my mother did. I’ll choose to let go. I won’t put us both in a difficult position...”

Hearing this, Stephan’s heart ached deeply. “Silly girl.”

Next, Alana planned to take Stephan back to their rural neighborhood to dig up the wooden box her grandmother had hidden under the peach tree.

But before they left, she hired two caregivers to look after her grandmother.

Mainly because she didn’t feel comfortable leaving her grandmother in the care of those relatives.

Once everything was settled, she set off with Stephan.

Since their neighborhood was a bit far from the hospital, the only way to get there was by bus.

So Alana and Stephan bought two bus tickets and boarded the bus together.

The bus had a strong, pungent smell, and it was packed with people, a jumble of various odors.

Stephan had never ridden on a bus like this before, and for a moment, he found it hard to adjust.

He was mostly choked by the various odors.

To make matters worse, the road back to the neighborhood was bumpy and uneven; the wheels would occasionally hit a pothole, causing the bus to bounce up and down and sway from side to side.

Several times, Stephan felt as if he was about to be flung out of his seat.

Alana, on the other hand, was used to it. She usually took this kind of bus when she came back, and when passing through these rough stretches of road, it felt like bouncing on a trampoline.

When she first started riding them, she used to get terribly carsick and even vomit, but now she felt she’d gotten used to it.

She just hadn’t expected that, after all these years, the road back home would still be so bumpy and uneven.

Hadn’t the government allocated any funds to repair it?

She noticed that Stephan didn’t look too happy, and she wondered to herself if a wealthy young master like him had ever ridden in a vehicle like this before.

He... surely wasn’t getting carsick, was he?

With that thought, she couldn’t help but ask with concern, “Stephan, are you okay?”

His handsome face remained tense. “I’m... fine.”

Alana said earnestly, “If you’re feeling sick and need to vomit, just let me know. I’ll have the driver bring a bag so you can use it.”

Stephan blinked.

Vomit?

He, Stephan Hudson, had never done anything so outrageous or undignified.

But the next second, the car jolted violently again.

Stephan’s body was jolted up and down once more, and instantly his stomach churned violently. It felt as though something was churning and writhing wildly inside him, making him feel absolutely miserable.

The veins on his forehead throbbed as he seemed to be struggling to suppress something.

Seeing this, Alana thought to herself, “Oh no...”

“Um, Stephan, if you can’t hold it in, you can ask the driver to pull over. You can get out and relieve yourself...”

Stephan clenched his teeth tightly and ground out, “I’m fine.”

“Are you really okay?”

“I’m fine.”

“Alright, but if you can’t hold it in, you absolutely, positively have to let me know.”

Stephan sighed, heavily.

He was a real man...how could he possibly not hold it in?!

He had to hold it in no matter what; he couldn’t lose face in front of his girlfriend.

But as the minutes ticked by, the bus showed no signs of arriving anytime soon.

He gripped the armrests of the seat tightly and asked through gritted teeth, “When will we get there?”

Alana wasn’t sure. “Probably... about ten or so minutes.”

There was no greater sorrow than a heart that has given up hope.

A few minutes later, the bus pulled into the station.

The moment the bus came to a stop, Stephan could no longer contain himself; he shot out of the vehicle like a spring.

Alana froze for a second, then immediately ran after him. “Stephan?!”

When she caught up, she saw Stephan standing by a trash can, vomiting violently, his chest heaving painfully.

Alana’s heart ached at the sight. Unable to resist, she pulled some tissues from her bag and moved closer.

Stephan seemed to sense her presence and said without turning around, “Don’t come over.”

Alana stopped in her tracks and asked, puzzled, “Why?”

Stephan furrowed his brow and took a deep, ragged breath. “I have a reputation to maintain. I don’t want you to see me looking this miserable.”

Alana felt a pang of bittersweet emotion.

He was vomiting like this, and still so concerned about his image.

Besides, she loved him... no matter what he looked like, she would still love him.

However, out of respect for his dignity, Alana didn’t move any closer.

Instead, she waited until he had mostly recovered before stepping forward, picking up the tissues she’d prepared, and gently wiping his mouth.

Stephan gripped Alana’s wrist and said with a touch of self-deprecating humor, “I never thought a little bus ride could leave me in such a sorry state.”

Alana gazed at his handsome features and said earnestly, “It’s your first time riding one, isn’t it? I couldn’t stand it either when I first started riding them. Stephan, you’ve done remarkably well to endure it this long.”

Stephan chuckled and ruffled her hair. “I swear, as soon as I get back, I’ll send people to tear this road up!”

Alana’s eyes widened. “What? If the road gets destroyed, how was she supposed to get home now?”

Stephan couldn’t help but chuckle as he gently flicked Alana’s small, pert nose. “Yeah, we’ll just rebuild it.”

He’d have to come back later to ask for Alana’s hand in marriage; he couldn’t possibly look this disheveled.

Alana couldn’t help but chuckle.

Well, he almost gave her a heart attack.

She unscrewed the cap of a bottle of mineral water and handed it to him. “Have a sip of water to rinse your mouth.”

Stephan took it, swished a few mouthfuls of water around, and after drinking most of the bottle, he felt a little better.

After a brief rest, the two set off again.

After all, it was still quite a distance from the station back to Alana’s village.

It wasn’t a long walk, but it wasn’t short either, about two kilometers.

After walking for about half an hour, they successfully arrived. It was a place called Halin community.

Walking into the village, the surrounding buildings all had a certain vintage feel to them.