Love Comes To Me
Chapter 481: The Reckoning

In the evening, Josh returned home.

"I heard that Eloise is pregnant." Ela said suddenly as she ate her meal.

Josh gave Ela a warning glance as his hand fell, "She needs to rest and recuperate from her pregnancy, so don't bother her."

Ela was a little aggrieved, "Why do you think so much of me? I didn't want to bother her, we're her mother's family anyway, and now that she's pregnant, I thought I'd go and see."

Josh said lightly, "Do you want to go see her, or do you want to argue with her?"

"Josh, I have all my gifts ready and waiting to go see someone, if you don't want to, then I won't go see them." Ela gambled.

Josh watched her quietly for a while. Ela seemed really angry and wondered in his mind if she was sincere. But the relationship between the two had been so bad before that Josh still had some doubts. "What's with the sudden kindness, you've always hated her, haven't you?" Josh said suspiciously, looking at Ela a couple of extra times.

Ela gritted her teeth in her heart but didn't show it on her face, only lowering her head and saying, "It's nothing, I didn't mean to, but I did something wrong in the first place and I've been reflecting on it ever since Agnes left." At this point, she sighed softly.

Josh was silent, his heart stabbing at the fact that not only Ela, but also he, had wronged Eloise so much and, looking back, how he had done what he had done.

Ela looked straight at Josh and said, "We owe her so much, it's too late to make amends, but we're family, and she's pregnant and needs care, so if we show her a little care, she might forgive us later." Forgiveness, Josh's heart fluttered, would Eloise really forgive him.

It must be said that he has some regrets. Now that Eloise is a stranger to him and Agnes is unaccounted for, Josh feels a real sense of loneliness.

If Eloise can forgive him, he can put his face down and do something he was previously reluctant to do.

Ela stole a look at him and, seeing his expression loosen, added, "Josh, this might be our only chance."

Josh loosened up, "Okay then, but as promised, drop off the gift and leave."

After thinking about it, he added, "And if Eloise doesn't want to see us, you're not allowed to get angry, let alone talk to piss her off. Otherwise, don't go."

He was afraid that by the time they got into another fight, it would instead add to an already broken relationship, and knowing Ela, there was a real possibility that she might do those things.

Ela scolded, "Look at you, you're still remembering the old days, I'm willing to take the initiative to fix things with her, why would I fight with her?"

Josh gave her a deep look, "It better be."

Ela pretended not to understand his remark and broke into a big smile and exclaimed, "Great, then we'll go there first thing in the morning, and you remember not to go out in the morning before it gets too late." "Okay, I'll have someone prepare whatever you need to buy." Josh didn't know much about women's pregnancies, so he didn't plan to prepare them himself.

Ela gave him a blank look, "That's your daughter, who are you asking to get ready."

Josh said sarcastically, "It's not that I'm not sure, it's better to ask for advice than to buy the wrong one."

"No, I'm all set."

Ela then dragged a stunned Josh to see what she had bought, only to see seven or eight bags stacked in one place, all of which, at a cursory glance, were good bird's nest and ginseng and the like. "It's a lot of work." Josh was slightly touched by this and was convinced that Ela was "reformed".

Ela reluctantly smiled, "These dead things aren't worth anything and the Rogers family has no shortage of them, it's just that it's a piece of my heart and it makes me uneasy not to do anything." Josh looked at her, his gaze heavy: "Just do it."

"Yes, you're right, I was thinking out of the box." Ela perked up and went about sorting out the supplements, rambling on about how long this would last and what would work best with this, the full force of an old mother worrying about her pregnant daughter.

Josh stood quietly for a moment, lifted his feet and went to the study.

Half-closing the door to his study, Josh lit a cigarette and sat in the wide chair lost in thought, when suddenly remembering something, he rummaged through his cupboard and found a photograph.

The photo is of Eloise as a child, when she was six months old, sitting on the carpet, looking into the camera and grinning, showing two small rice teeth.

As a child, Eloise's eyebrows were so beautiful that she could already tell she was going to be a beauty queen.

Josh's fingers brushed over Eloise's face wistfully, his cold, hard face a little softer for a rare moment.

"Knock, knock, knock--"

The door to the study suddenly rang and Ela came in from outside, now that she had learnt her lesson and knew how to knock.

Josh snapped the photo back on his desk and looked at Ela.

"Josh, everything is ready, so you can look through it and see what you want to add to it." Ela put a bowl of honey water in Josh's hand and the coffee was taken from her.

Josh was noncommittal: "Just see what you can do, it's fine with me."

Ela looked at him and said, "Get some rest," but finally said, "Get some rest," and got up to leave.

Ela looked back, her eyes shining, and Josh waved her over, "Come here."

She restrained the joy in her heart and walked over to Josh.

"Ela, I didn't think that you would think so much about Eloise, I'm ashamed of myself." Josh took Ela's hand with tender affection.

Ela was shy and timid: "What are you talking about? We're all family, you're a big man, you're busy all day, naturally you don't have time to think so much."

Josh let out a long sigh and lamented, "You're right, I had a bad attitude earlier, can you forgive me if I apologise."

The tone of his voice was actually a little low and his eyes were tender.

Ela took Josh's hand in return and smiled softly, "Josh, I don't blame you, couples have their bumps and bruises, life isn't perfect, but families don't fall apart."

Josh was touched by the fact that Ela was more and more understanding, but at the same time he felt a little guilty that Agnes, their only daughter, was not there and that everything would have been perfect if she had been. He was so moved that he didn't notice that Ela's smile, which didn't reach her eyes, was chilling in her downcast eyes.

Only, by the time Josh looked over, the chill, again, quickly subsided and was replaced with a look of petty tenderness that stirred Josh's heart and made him feel more and more guilty for deciding to be nicer to Ela.