Chapter 118:
Calculating, that incident happened thirty-one years ago.
His daughter Fiona excelled academically from a young age, with an IQ beyond the ordinary. She entered MIT at 16, graduated with a master’s in management at 22, her business acumen not inferior to any man’s, and beauty was her least noteworthy advantage. Who would have thought she would fail only in feelings.
That year, Fiona learned the news that she was about to get engaged. Furious, she found him. “Father, I’ve told you, I have a boyfriend. I absolutely won’t accept the marriage you arranged for me!”
Michael gazed coldly, suppressing his anger. “Fiona, I’ve also told you, I don’t agree with you being together. You’re still young, too easily swayed. Listen to me, I won’t harm you.”
“Can’t you stop interfering in my life under the guise of doing what’s best for me? We truly love each other. Why do you have to force me?”
“I’ve painstakingly nurtured you for so many years, not for you to be dazzled by a man! You won’t take the path I’ve laid for you. Is this how you repay me?”
“I don’t like the marriage alliance partner you chose for me. Why can’t I pursue my own love?” The girl’s emotions were somewhat out of control, her eyes welling up as she held back tears. “I don’t want to live a married life like you and Mother afterward. There’s nothing between you but benefit—no love at all. Do you know there’s a Chinese idiom ‘putting on a show of unity while divided at heart’? You’re a pair of surface spouses, each busy with careers, only leaving me to the servant. But what I want is not a servant at all!”
Fiona’s nose stung. “From childhood to now, you’ve only cared about my academic performance, never understanding me or knowing what I want—or rather, you’ve never thought to understand me. Only he cares if I’m happy, accompanies me on my birthday, takes me to the amusement park, and never breaks his promises.”
At that moment, Michael suddenly realized that he had been too negligent all these years, failing in his duties as a father. He only provided for his daughter’s material needs, ignoring the most important emotional companionship, which was why she was so easily deceived by a man.
“I admit, it’s my problem. I’ll try to make it up to you in the future. But one thing at a time—you can’t be with him. He has no good intentions.” He looked at his daughter, his tone heavy. “No one loves you more than I do. Do you understand, Fiona?”
Fiona wouldn’t listen. “He loves me too and treats me well. Why do you always have prejudice against him?”
“Prejudice?” Michael laughed mockingly. “You just don’t understand men yet. Do you really think he’ll stay in America for you? Or are you planning to marry to China? You’re willing to abandon your family for love, is that it?”
Fiona’s lips trembled slightly. “No, I’ve never thought that way.”
“Then tell me, what do you want?”
She lowered her gaze, her voice softer. “These things can be negotiated. There must be a way that works for both sides.”
“Fiona, you’re too naive. Some chasms are insurmountable. He won’t yield for you now, and even less so in the future.”
“No, he has his own difficulties…”
Michael interrupted: “Don’t make excuses for him. If he had any sense of responsibility, he should come persuade me himself, not let you come argue with me!”
Fiona fell silent, her eyes dimming, her fingertips clenched at her side.
Michael: “Facing family pressure, I’ve cleared obstacles for you step by step, hoping you’ll take my place in the future. You need a partner who can help you by your side. That person absolutely won’t be him. Face this fact early, don’t disappoint me.”
Fiona wouldn’t compromise. “Father, no matter what you say, I won’t enter a marriage alliance with someone I don’t love.”
She wiped the moisture from the corner of her eye and lifted her head. “As for my matters with him, we need some time to negotiate. If it can’t be resolved, I’ll break up with him.”
“Good.” Michael didn’t push her too hard.
He thought the matter would end with Fiona breaking up, but who would have thought that later accident separated the father and daughter for fifteen years.
He had always believed his daughter died in that cruise ship accident, utterly devastated. Fiona’s mother also fell ill from this and was soon diagnosed with cancer and passed away.
In just a few months, his hair turned completely white.
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