Chapter 7
Chapter 7
“Mommy,” my son whispered, “are they talking about Uncle Ethan?”
I readjusted his eye mask. “You misheard. Go back to sleep, sweetheart. I’m right here.”
Oliver slept until we landed.
In familiar surroundings, he became noticeably happier, taking eager steps toward the exit.
I quickly held him back. “Oliver, we need to catch another flight.”
“We’re going to Edinburgh to see Grandma.”
Standing at the entrance to my hometown, I felt a momentary hesitation.
For my sake, my parents had once flown to America to meet Ethan.
They never approved of him.
It was me who insisted on our handfasting ceremony, even starting a business with him.
Ethan always assumed I agreed to handfasting because I loved him so deeply that I was willing to date
with him without marriage.
Little did he know, I embraced handfasting as part of my own heritage.
I grew up in a proud Irish family from Edinburgh, where women have maintained their independence for generations.
In my family, the women kept their surnames, owned their own land, and passed down their strength through the maternal line–my grandmother often said we had Celtic warrior queens in our blood.
Taking a deep breath, I led Oliver toward home.
Along the way, childhood friends and elders greeted me as if I’d never left.
When my mother saw me, she welcomed me with tears streaming down her face.
That evening, the whole family gathered warmly for a reunion dinner.
Oliver hadn’t experienced such family warmth in a long time. He held my hand and said:
“Mom, I love it here.”
21:55
Ribbons Unbound: My Fiancé’s Lingerike
5.8%
Chapter 7
At the Ferrers estate, Ethan’s mother had been almost cruel in her demands of us.
When they ate, we were expected to serve them.
When we ate, we endured constant criticism.
Thinking of this, I kissed my son’s soft little cheek. “Then we’ll stay here forever and never go back.”
My son nodded, finally showing some childlike innocence.
Just then, my neighbor rushed in from outside: “Freya, you’d better come see.”
“That man you were engaged to is causing a scene at the entrance!”
Hearing that Ethan had arrived.
Instantly, the smiles disappeared from both my and Oliver’s faces.
With the Ferrers family’s resources, I wasn’t surprised they’d found us so quickly.
I adjusted my dress as I headed toward the entrance. Before I even arrived, I could hear my sisters teasing him:
“So you’re the man Freya chose? You look useless.”
“Exactly! Neither strong nor rugged. I wouldn’t give him a second glance.”
“Hey, if you were buying him, how much would you offer?”
“Money? This one’s worth one dollar at most!”
Ethan’s gloomy voice carried over, “A group of women judging a man–the world’s turned upside down!”
“I don’t want to argue with you. Go get Freya.”
The women took offense at this. “That’s rich! Since when are men exempt from judgment?”
“A little guy who sits around drinking coffee all day dares to talk down to women who earn the living?”
I patted my sisters‘ shoulders and walked through the path they cleared for me.
“Why are you here? I believe I said we shouldn’t meet again.”
I hadn’t expected to see Ethan looking like this.
His face was haggard, with dark circles under his eyes, as if he hadn’t slept properly in a long time.
21:55
Ribbons Unbound: My Fiancé’s Lingerie
6.1%
Chapter 7
Nothing like his former image as a well–groomed luxury boutique owner.
Ethan approached me, but surprisingly, his first words were all criticism.
“Is this how you spend your days, among these shrews?”
“No wonder you haven’t answered my calls for so many days. They’ve clearly corrupted you!”
“I can’t let you and Oliver stay here any longer. Come back with me.”
He reached out to grab me, but the women quickly surrounded me.
A circle of iron rods struck the ground with a clanging sound, “What do you want to do with our Freya!”
“Back off!”
I leaned on my sister’s shoulder: “Ethan, this is where I grew up.”
“In the Gwendolyn family, we’re taught from childhood that women stand on their own, build their own
homes.”
“I advise you not to come any closer. My sisters won’t treat you kindly!”
Ethan seemed stunned. The Freya he knew had never spoken to him like this.
I spoke impatiently: “You didn’t come all this way just to say these things, did you?”
Ethan shook his head.
After a while, as if with great difficulty, he managed to say:
“I came to apologize.”
“Freya, I was wrong. I love you. Please come back, let’s make our life together work.”
When he finished, he looked up at me with complete certainty.
Certain that I would forgive him, certain that I would go with him.
An overwhelming sense of absurdity washed over me.
I laughed derisively: “What?”
21.55
