When Nora came to the villa, Iris was sitting in the greenhouse with a tea bar in front of her. She was sipping on a cup of tea, but her eyes were fixed on the greenhouse.
At the sound of footsteps, she turned and looked over. When she saw Nora, she gestured to the seat opposite her and asked absentmindedly, "Can you save them?"
Nora had never been one to make absolute promises.
After all, Ghost Orchids were awfully delicate. A little carelessness could easily lead to problems.
Iris took a sip of tea and sighed silently. She looked at Nora. "Do you really want to hear that story?"
Iris fell silent for a while. Then, she asked, "Even if it really brings you guys a lot of trouble?"
Even so, Iris was still worried. She pressed on and asked, "Have you asked Justin about it? Is this also what he wants?"
Before Nora could speak, Justin’s voice came from the door: "Yes, it is."
Seeing that he was also here, Iris was stunned.
She stared at her son.
Justin had already grown to a height of a little over 6’2", and was a full head taller than her. Her small and thin son from twenty years ago had already grown into a man with an indomitable spirit.
Iris clenched her fists.
She suddenly asked, "Don’t you hate me? No matter what my reasons are, I have ultimately been absent in your life for so many years."
Justin’s jaw was strained, and the beauty mark at the corner of his eye was shimmering in the light. After a short silence, he answered, "I did when I was a kid, but not anymore."
Iris was taken aback.
Justin turned his head to the side and looked away. Apart from being able to say some mushy things to Nora, he was actually a little uncomfortable saying such things to others.
The man stood up straight. As though he was talking about work matters, he said to Iris, "When I was a child, everyone had a mother except me. When I got into arguments with Roger, his mother would stand in front of him unreasonably and push me, but I didn’t have anyone like that. Not only did I not have a mother, but even my father was gone. At that time, I did indeed hate you for being so cruel.
"But now, it doesn’t matter anymore, because all of that has passed. I know you have your own difficulties and reasons for doing so."
Justin’s voice was actually very calm and dispassionate. There wasn’t any emotion in it at all.
It was as if he was just narrating something that had happened in the past.
But his words painted a very lucid picture in both Iris and Nora’s minds.
The little Justin had been bullied. His father had been kicked out of the family. His mother was clearly still in New York, yet she did not come home. He obviously had a father and a mother, yet he became an orphan in the Hunts.
Perhaps the little boy had cried in private. Perhaps on many nights, he had run to this very villa and looked up at the person inside, hoping that Iris would open the door and give him a hug.
Just like that, he had grown into an adult...
Nora took Justin’s hand and held it quietly.
Iris felt as if her heart was being wrung tightly. However, she was already accustomed to the pain—because every night he came over, she knew he was there.
What he didn’t know was that she had also been looking at him from upstairs. It was just that she couldn’t go down.
The most intimate relationship in the world was the one between a mother and her child.
Children’s love for their mothers was purer than their mothers’ love for their children.
Because in the world of children, their mother was the only thing that mattered.
But in their mothers’ world, there would always be things to weigh and evaluate, as well as worries and reservations.
Iris’s eyes reddened. She lowered her head and said, "Justin, I will give you another chance. You now have children and a wife. If I tell you those reasons, your days in the future may not be peaceful anymore. But if I don’t... there are only so many days I have left in my life. Isn’t it good the way we are now?"
That was how Iris had always seen the situation.
Wasn’t it good for them to stay the way they currently were, where mother and son didn’t meet, and each kept to themselves peacefully?
When Justin heard her mention that he now had a wife and children, he looked at Nora.
Nora held his hand tightly, the look in her eyes firm and determined.
Justin could sense her encouragement towards him. He nodded to Iris and said, "We have made our decision."
After a while, she finally sighed and said, "Alright, in that case, then let’s take a gamble. If Nora really can save that pot of Ghost Orchids, then I will tell you two the truth!"
Orchidiance’s way of curing orchids was actually very miraculous. Additionally, because they were giving medical treatment to orchids, the dosage was even harder to control.
Not every alternative medicine practitioner could do that.
Even Orchidiance would probably find it rather difficult, let alone Nora.
It would be nothing short of a miracle if Nora could cure the Ghost Orchids.
Iris didn’t want to lead such a dull life either. She didn’t want to pretend to be all calm and unaffected here. She could harden her heart towards Justin because he had already grown up, but she also wanted to have fun with Cherry.
Thinking of this, she looked at Nora with light in her eyes.
This was the mentality of a gambler.
When Justin saw her reaction, he knew that Iris had already relented somewhat. To be honest, if he gave her another push at this point, she would tell him the truth.
But he didn’t want to use such schemes against his mother.
Thus, he looked at Nora.
Nora felt great pressure from both of them looking over. The corners of her lips spasmed and she looked at Iris. She said, "Iris, you can start thinking about how to word the story."
She took out a piece of paper and handed it to Iris. "This is the prescription."