It was at this moment that Ella finally finished chewing the food in her mouth and spoke up, ’’Grandma, I think age is just a number when it comes to these things.’’
Ella smiled faintly, but her eyes flickered.
In her previous life, she genuinely believed that age and looks did not matter all that much if two people loved each other for their souls. Bodies were, after all, perishable.
Moreover, if they really were to consider age, then her soul that lived past 30s was definitely older than that of Adrian who was currently 29.
Old Madam looked at Ella with a hint of surprise in her eyes.
Adrian’s gaze also locked onto Ella, something unreadable dancing in his obsidian eyes, like light trapped in the depths of a still lake.
"Do you really think so?" Old Madam could not help but want to confirm it.
’’Of course,’’ Ella paused for a moment and then she continued speaking, ’’If two people get along well, treat each other with respect, have trust for each other, and respect each other’s boundaries, why does it matter if one young or old, rich or poor, thin or fat?"
Old Madam’s eyes widened.
"In the end, these standards are imposed upon us by the society, making us believe that this is how love and relationships should be, between two equals,’’ Ella shook her head, "But, in my opinion, the love that is unplanned, is the purest of them all.’’
"That’s true... What a beautiful thing to say,’’ The Old Madam’s eyes reflected a trace of warmth as she glanced at Ella with a hint of approval in her eyes.
Adrian remained silent, with his head lowered. One couldn’t put a finger on what she was thinking.
After lunch, the old madam asked the butler to accompany Ella to her room to rest.
Adrian left with Ji Yan to the study as he had an important meeting.
When Ella entered the room, she was surprised.
Contrary to the royal aura that the rest of the mansion emanated, this room was decorated in light and bright colors, with hints of pastels.
It looked quirky, cheerful and gave off a very sunshiny vibe. As if it was the room of a little princess.
’’Miss Yu, do you like the decoration of this place?"
Ella turned to the old butler, ’’It’s very soothing.’’
’’In fact, before you came, this room was just like the rest of the rooms in the mansion. But the old madam had arranged a team of designers. After seeing you, they guessed your taste and redecorated the room while you were having lunch and talking downstairs.’’
Ella blinked. For a second, she thought she misheard. "A team of designers?"
"Yes, they were the group of servants who went to welcome you with me. To not make you uncomfortable, the Old Madam ordered them to disguise themselves."
Ella stood there, rooted in her spot after she heard those words.
The butler missed the subtle change in her expression. Thinking that she was greatly pleased and excited seeing the room, he smiled, ’’Please take some rest, Miss Yu.’’
Only after the butler left did Ella’s expressions change slightly.
She looked around the beautifully decorated room and a pang of guilt and sadness hit her heart.
In her previous life, there was no such decor in this room. It just looked like one of the rooms in the mansion.
That was because after berating the old butler, she had lashed out at the group of servants who had accompanied the butler to welcome her.
She accused Adrian of conspiring with his grandmother and arranging so many people to keep an eye on her, to track her movements.
Adrian had an explosive temper where nobody dared to look him in the eye when he was angry. And Ella was one of those people as well. She feared him the most in the world.
But there was one catch. She only trusted and relied on her little sister, but Esther, as a top actress of the country, only looked for her when she had her own motives.
With constant mocking from the world, watching her beloved marry someone else, having no ambitions of her own, eating disorders, her obese body... Ella had developed a gloomy and reclusive personality.
She kept her emotions to herself, she was forever depressed, she kept overthinking and feeding her insecurities. It was like a wounded person constantly peeling their wounds, picking the scabs and not letting it heal.
Ella kept suppressing and repressing her emotions constantly hence when she lost control over her emotions, she barely stopped to see who she was confronting. She did not care whether it was someone else or Adrian in front of her.
Hence, when she felt oppressed under the watchful gazes of so many servants and guests, Ella kept feeling like everybody was judging her. Everyone was scheming against her.
Those thoughts nagged her until she could no longer take it and exploded. The crash of porcelain. Her ugly words following. Eyes turned. Gasps followed.
Nobody dared to say a word to Adrian who was sitting there, with a storm brewing in his eyes. The guests quietly dispersed at the first chance they got. And Adrian still did not hurt her.
Ella expected him to free her out of disgust, or anger, or disappointment. He did not do that either.
Instead, he uttered two simple words, ’Take rest.’
And that got Ella all fired up again. She pushed anyone who dared to block her path and ran away crying, not bothering to even properly acknowledge Adrian’s grandparents.
Ella plopped back on the bed and glanced at the ceiling.
She always thought that Adrian’s grandparents cared for her solely because she was Adrian’s choice. But she never realized that they had put so much effort into her.
As Ella looked around the aesthetically decorated room, her heart felt heavy. Back then, in the chaos of a family event, the old lady arranged for people to decorate her room.
And not only did she shun away those people, she humiliated her grandson in front of all those guests.
"If she had hated me for everything... I wouldn’t have blamed her," Ella mumbled.
Ella picked up her phone and glanced at the latest headlines and suddenly, the warmth in her eyes faded.