Free Web NovelChapter 27: Chapter 27: He’s Under Great Pressure
The light ahead turned red, and Felix Preston stopped the car with the flow of traffic. He turned his head and looked at Sonia Quincy’s smiling eyes, and felt a sudden sting in his nose.
"This is from your sister-in-law. If you refuse, she’ll be sad."
At his words, Sonia Quincy glanced at Felix Preston, looking into his deep, gentle eyes and feeling enveloped by their lake-like tranquility.
He opened his mouth and spoke slowly, word by word, "She thinks of you as her own sister. You don’t need to be so formal or treat her like a stranger. If you feel awkward about it, you can just pay her back later when you’re earning money again."
"Mm-hmm," Sonia Quincy nodded, her smiling eyes crinkling at the corners.
"...Alright." Since both husband and wife had said as much, it would be improper for Lynn Preston to refuse any longer. She accepted the money and said solemnly to Sonia Quincy, "Sonia, thank you."
"When I’m earning money again, I’ll definitely pay you back! I’ll buy you tons of designer bags and jewelry!"
"You don’t have to." Sonia Quincy lowered her gaze to her belly, which was just starting to show, and said with a smile, "If you really want to pay me back, you can help me with the baby. I’m terrible with kids. I won’t be able to handle it at all, even if it’s my own."
Lynn Preston agreed instantly. "No problem!"
After all the trouble, the group finally sat down to eat.
Lynn Preston was quiet for most of the meal. Thinking she was still worried about work, Sonia Quincy leaned in and whispered, "What’s wrong, Lynn? Still worried about finding a job?"
Lynn Preston shook her head. "No, I’m thinking about something else."
Sonia Quincy said, "Tell me."
"Well..." Lynn Preston put down her bowl and pursed her lips, carefully choosing her words. "I thought that after quitting, I’d be anxious and stressed. I thought I’d lose my appetite, have trouble sleeping, be irritable, and find fault with everything. But, actually... I’m not."
"I’m not anxious at all. In fact, I feel relieved, like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders."
"Mm-hmm." Sonia Quincy listened intently, prompting, "And then?"
Lynn Preston continued, "And then I realized, you really shouldn’t be so hard on yourself. I just lost a job, it’s not the end of the world. Why was I making myself so miserable? Aethelburg is a big city. Not every company can have a grudge against the Preston Family, right? There have to be some decent people out there who can look past their prejudice and see my skills. I don’t need to box myself in. If one place doesn’t work out, I’ll just find another."
"Or I could just switch to a completely different career path! It’s not like I have to stick to finance, you know?"
Sonia Quincy smiled. "I’m glad you’re able to see it that way."
Lynn Preston placed a shrimp in Sonia’s bowl. "With you and my brother looking out for me so well, how could I not be positive?"
Sonia Quincy sighed. "If you can really help me with the baby after I give birth, then I’ll be able to rest easy too."
Lynn Preston laughed. "Hahahaha, I will! I’ll definitely look after my nephew personally!"
After dinner, Mrs. Preston and Lynn Preston sat for a little while longer before gathering their things to leave.
The rental was very small, with only one bedroom, so it couldn’t accommodate many people.
"Thanks, man. Appreciate you doing this." Felix Preston saw them off downstairs, giving Evan Yates a light punch on the shoulder.
Evan Yates laughed it off. "Why are you being so formal with me? After all the meals your mom has fed me, isn’t it only right that I drive her and Lynn home?"
"Exactly!" Lynn Preston agreed enthusiastically. "Last time this guy came over for dinner, he secretly devoured my last box of chocolates! I was saving those! He’ll have to be our chauffeur for at least five years to make up for it."
"..." Evan Yates guiltily looked away, not daring to say a word.
The topic clearly still made Lynn Preston angry, and she continued to berate him all the way to the car.
Mrs. Preston was long accustomed to the way this bickering pair interacted. Finding them a bit noisy now, she quickened her pace and took refuge inside the car.
The car’s headlights switched on, and in the blink of an eye, it was out of the complex. Felix Preston turned to Sonia Quincy beside him. "Let’s go. We should head home too."
Sonia Quincy nodded. "Okay."
Exhausted from the day, Sonia Quincy’s eyelids felt heavy the moment she lay down. This was the second night she and Felix Preston had shared a bed, and she still wasn’t used to it, so she lay stiffly on her side.
She lay flat on her back, stiff and still, and was just drifting off to sleep when she suddenly heard Felix Preston roll over and get out of bed.
Her eyes snapped open. She turned to look at his retreating back and asked nervously, "Where are you going?"
Felix Preston glanced back at her, his expression unreadable in the dim light. "You’re awake? Did I wake you?"
Instead of answering, Sonia Quincy threw back the covers, sat up, and asked again, "Where are you going?"
"..." Felix Preston was silent for a few seconds. "I can’t sleep. Thought I’d go out for a bit."
His answer was ambiguous, making it hard to tell if it was simple insomnia or if something was weighing on his mind.
But as Sonia Quincy looked into his eyes, she knew the real reason he couldn’t sleep.
"Are you thinking about Lynn?" Sonia Quincy scooted closer, keeping her voice as soft as possible.
The old, run-down apartment had thin walls. She was worried about disturbing the neighbors, but also afraid of jarring Felix’s fragile, conflicted heart.
"Because the Preston Group went bankrupt, Lynn is being targeted and bullied everywhere she works. You feel like you’ve dragged her down, so you’re blaming yourself, hating yourself for it?"
"No." Felix Preston shook his head. "It’s not just her. I’ve dragged down Mom, you and our child, even Evan Yates. I’ve made all of you suffer because of me."
"The Preston Group went bankrupt because I was a poor judge of character and let someone plot against me so easily. I’m useless, and now everyone close to me is suffering for it."
Perhaps it was the dead of night that made people vulnerable. Words that Felix Preston had suppressed for days now came spilling out.
He took a deep breath, feeling the iron walls he’d built around his heart crumbling piece by piece. Each word that followed seemed to drain a part of his soul.
"I thought I could protect you all for a lifetime, but I never expected reality to slap me in the face so quickly."
"But this isn’t your fault."
Sonia Quincy reached out, gently placing her palm over the back of Felix’s hand. She tilted her head, her bright, clear eyes fixed on him.
"You weren’t a poor judge of character. Robert Ford was the one who betrayed your trust. You did nothing wrong, he’s the one at fault. Don’t pull all the blame onto yourself. Don’t be so hard on yourself."
"..." Felix Preston stared at her, suddenly at a loss for words.
Sonia Quincy continued, "I don’t blame you. Mom and Lynn don’t blame you, either. Don’t put so much pressure on yourself. So we went bankrupt. We’ll just pick ourselves up and start over. You’re still young. You have plenty of courage and opportunity to start again."
"Back when the Preston family was prosperous, you were the one protecting all of us. Now that the family has fallen on hard times, we can be the ones to support and protect you. Don’t be too hard on yourself, and don’t get lost in your guilt."
As she spoke, Sonia Quincy raised a hand to gently caress Felix’s cheek. "Don’t overthink things. Don’t feel pressured. The baby and I will always be with you. You just need to focus on making your game. Don’t worry about anything else."
"Sonia..." Felix Preston grasped her hand, pressing it tightly against his cheek. But in the next second, Sonia suddenly pulled it away.
"Felix, you’re just under too much stress. I saw a method online that’s supposed to be really effective for relieving a husband’s stress. Should I give it a try?"
Though her words sounded like a question, the moment she finished speaking, Sonia’s fingers were already unfastening the waistband of Felix’s pants.
