Madam Sinclair teased, "If you knew how to treat a girlfriend, would she have rejected you after hanging out only a couple of times?" She didn't bother hiding her amusement. Her son had always been open about these things, so she was well aware of Milo's relationship with Shea Thorne.
After all, her son had brazenly brought the girl to a private gathering, all but crowning her with the title of 'Mrs. Sinclair'. Yet, he had come home alone in the middle of the night yesterday.
This morning, his parents already suspected that the girl wasn't exactly willing to be with him. They deliberately waited for him to bring it up. However, instead of figuring out how to try harder, impress her, and win her back, he announced he was going to Wellings University to study psychology.
Madam Sinclair couldn't help but sigh. Having a son who loved studying a little too much wasn't necessarily a good thing.
"Milo, have you ever considered the girl's feelings? For instance, as a grown man pursuing a girl so much younger than you, could some of your approaches be a bit too aggressive?" Madam Sinclair probed. She had two sons. Her eldest loved reading since childhood; as long as there was a desk at home, he wouldn't go anywhere else. Her youngest also liked to read, but he loved playing and traveling more. He would go anywhere but home.
"Young girls love romance. If you skip all those steps and directly try to establish a relationship with her, she might think you have ulterior motives." Knowing him, he probably just asked the girl to move in with him.
"That's right. At an age where romance is everything, sometimes sending flowers is more effective than gifting a house or a car," Mr Sinclair chimed in at the right moment. He recalled when he and his wife were young—the wildflowers under the apricot tree had attracted her much more than buying a house or a car ever could.
Ever since Milo was a child, he had been naturally charming. Any elder who met him wanted to arrange a childhood marriage with him. As he grew up and went to school, he received an endless flood of love letters and chocolates. His parents never stopped him, yet he remained completely unmoved.
His first relationship was in college. It was rare for their son to be so serious about a girl, but unfortunately, she disliked the fact that he was going abroad to study. Refusing to do a long-distance relationship, she insisted on breaking up with him no matter what.
Madam Sinclair was just worried that her son had been triggered by his ex, leading him to just throw money at this new girl. A lack of genuine effort would only backfire.
Milo knew what his mother was assuming, but in all his years, the attitude he showed Shea Thorne was his gentlest yet. There was no way he was being too stern.
Besides, she didn't look like she was scared off. She looked heartbroken.
He wondered if he had been too hasty or not sincere enough.
"Mom, don't you think it's a bit too late for you and Dad to be saying this now? When I was sixteen, the two of you peeked at my love letters. Dad literally threw a box of condoms at me and told me not to mistreat the girl. He never said a word about my 'attitude'." Milo had a massive headache. Why were they suddenly so invested now?
If he hadn't been completely uninterested in messing around with women back then, he might not be the youngest vice director of Sinclair Hospital today, but the biggest playboy vice director instead.
"That's because your mother and I never dreamed that you'd still be a bachelor at thirty," Mr Sinclair sighed heavily. Seeing how popular his son used to be with girls, and knowing his solid character, he had assumed he would never have to worry about this.
Who knew that over the years, he would manage to stay single all on his own, scaring off anyone who came close until they ran for the hills?
Milo finally understood. His parents assumed he had been so spoiled by girls that he didn't know how to date, and were now giving him a long-overdue lesson on romantic relationships.
"Dad, whether a subject is worth dedicating a lifetime to conquer isn't determined by its difficulty. First, I need to evaluate if it's in a suitable state to be conquered. If the subject is immature, it won't result in a positive feedback loop." Milo couldn't be too explicit. Shea Thorne's current mental state simply wasn't suited for a relationship. She needed some professional guidance.
Otherwise, if things continued like this, her emotional state would deteriorate. If it eventually developed into multiple personalities, that would be the greatest harm to her.
His desire to study psychology was born from the hope that he could help Shea Thorne, assuming she still needed him.
He wasn't some unstable teenager who would fly into a rage out of humiliation and seek revenge after being rejected by a girl. Feeling upset and frustrated was human nature, but it didn't mean he was going to just move on to a new target.
"That's good to hear."
They were a family of doctors, so his parents understood exactly what Milo meant. Thus, Madam Sinclair immediately suggested, "Do you remember Uncle Yardley from Port Valen? When his daughter, Candy, visited our house as a child, she loved following you around."
Milo naturally remembered him. He was a business tycoon in Port Valen and the chairman of the Solara Group. When Milo was young, he had accompanied his mother to provide prenatal care for Chairman Yardley's wife. His mother had also personally delivered Chairman Yardley's second daughter.
Chairman Yardley's youngest daughter was Skye Yardley. Growing up, she was the apple of everyone's eye and naturally pampered to the extreme. When she visited his house as a child, she was so bold that she dared to provoke anyone. She even tore his books to shreds and chased his younger brother, Silas Sinclair, around to beat him up. No one dared to fight back.
No one dared to mess with the little princess, Skye Yardley. Aside from her mother, Michelle Morgan, Skye was born arrogant and afraid of absolutely nothing.
"I remember. What about her?" Skye Yardley was twelve years younger than him. Surely they weren't going to set him up on a blind date with her, right?
"It's like this: Candy took her exams this year and got into the National Academy of Fine Arts. The Yardley family specifically called your dad, hoping you could look after her when you have time." Madam Sinclair didn't try to hide anything and said directly, "Your father and I won't interfere with your love life, but the Yardley family is one of our board directors. We can't neglect Candy. Since you don't have a girlfriend right now, take good care of her."
Once he got a girlfriend later on, he would naturally draw a boundary, and the Yardley family wouldn't be able to say anything about it then.
Candy. Milo recalled the little princess in his memories. She had inherited the artistic talent of her mother, Professor Morgan. She had won countless painting competitions since she was a child and had even won an international painting championship at a very young age.
To think that the little girl was already in college now.
"I understand, Mom," Milo nodded.
"Ariana? Ariana? Ariana Thorne?!"
The dream kept repeating. Shea Thorne stood on the path in her dream, watching Miles Crawford ride his bicycle away and disappear at the end of the road over and over again. It wasn't until someone called her name from behind that Ariana Thorne turned her head.
Following the voice, Shea Thorne woke up from the dream. The first thing she saw was the fluorescent light on the dorm ceiling. Her throat was unbearably dry. She wanted to get up and drink some water, but her arms wouldn't move.
"Are you okay? We're going out to buy lunch. What do you want to eat?" Sharon Somerset and the others leaned over her bed and asked. "You seem to have a fever. Should we buy you some medicine?"
A fever? No wonder her whole body ached as if she were on fire. Her joints were completely immobilized, feeling as if there were bone nails driven into them.
"I have fever reducers in my drawer. Could you pour me a glass of water?" Shea Thorne remembered that Ariana Thorne had prepared a lot of medicine for Miles Crawford, just in case he got a headache or a fever and needed it immediately. However, ever since she transmigrated, she hadn't given them to him.
It was so silly. Miles Crawford was a doctor himself; how could he not have medicine on hand?
Rhonda Ford poured her some water and helped Shea Thorne take her medicine before she lay back down. The lake water from last night had been so dirty and freezing cold; she still felt a bit nauseated just thinking about it.
"We bought some group vouchers to eat out. If you want anything, just call us and we'll bring it back for you," Farah Hale said. Before leaving, she reminded Shea Thorne to get plenty of rest, noting that the quiet dorm wouldn't disrupt her sleep.
As her surroundings fell silent, Shea Thorne groggily drifted back to sleep.
This time, the environment in her dream changed. It was a terrifying, dark corner. The men who had raped her had just left. She hugged her body and huddled in the corner, her whole body aching so much she wanted to die.
Her phone had been smashed, and she didn't know if they had taken it. Shea Thorne looked around the dark corner and, fortunately, spotted the severely damaged remains of her phone in a nook against the wall.
Her clothes had long been torn to shreds. With barely anything to cover herself, she could only inch her way over. Whenever she heard the sound of someone passing by, she would shrink back into the dark shadows.
After struggling for a long time, she finally managed to grab her phone.
Thankfully, it still worked.