Love Me Back (Amelia and Daniel) novel Chapter 73

Grandma Edith sat up and burrowed into Ethan’s arms.

Ethan was taken aback for a moment.

They’d spent decades together, supporting each other through thick and thin. In their younger days, little gestures of affection like this were common, but as the years passed, such moments had become rare. He stroked her silver hair gently. “Are you having another episode?”

Grandma Edith’s heart clenched—typical, she thought, men never notice the little things. She paused for two seconds, then continued at her own pace. “No, I’m just in a lousy mood and can’t eat.”

“Tell me about it. Why are you feeling down?”

She sighed. “Amelia wants to divorce Daniel. I’m afraid they’ll really go through with it this time.”

“They won’t,” Ethan said, patting her back. “Daniel promised me they wouldn’t.”

“Daniel’s promises are worth nothing. Don’t we know our own grandson by now? He can’t say three sentences without one being nonsense.”

Grandma Edith dabbed at the corner of her eye with Ethan’s shirt, pretending to wipe away tears, though her eyes were dry. “I talked to Daniel. He doesn’t want the divorce, but Amelia’s furious and insists on it. I’m scared they’ll make a rash decision and regret it forever. The kids are still so young. As their elders, we can’t just let them throw everything away. We need to step in and help them through this.”

Ethan nodded. “You’re right.”

***

The past few days, Amelia had been buried in revisions for a spatial computing system, barely finding time to breathe, let alone deal with anything else. By the time she finished, three days had flown by.

During that stretch, Daniel had called her countless times. She’d ignored every single one. If it weren’t for the fact that their divorce wasn’t finalized yet, she’d have blocked him without a second thought.

She walked to the window, took a deep breath, and dialed Daniel herself. She didn’t bother with pleasantries. “Did you send me the papers?”

Daniel’s reply was laced with sarcasm. “Is that all we have left to talk about? Just legal documents?”

“There’s more,” Amelia said dryly. “But if I really said what I’m thinking, you couldn’t handle it.”

Daniel gave a bitter laugh. “Well, go ahead—take a deep breath and let it all out.”

Amelia lifted the cup, gently blew away the steam, and took a sip.

Before she could speak, Ethan said, “I was just about to call you, actually. I need to talk to you.”

As the elder, Ethan had the right to go first. “Go ahead, Grandpa,” Amelia said politely.

Ethan cleared his throat, searching for the right words. “Yesterday, I called Daniel, and your divorce came up. Unfortunately, your grandma overheard. Her health isn’t great to begin with, and the news made her faint…”

Amelia tensed instantly. “Is she alright?”

Ethan waved it off. “She’s fine. Luckily someone was there to catch her, and the family doctor arrived right away. Still…”

He hesitated, a rare sign of discomfort. “To be honest, I was worried about her—she’s fragile, and I couldn’t risk anything happening. So I told her you and Daniel were just fighting, that it wasn’t serious.”

He looked at Amelia, apologetic. “I know that wasn’t fair to you, but you know how delicate your grandma is. I can’t take that chance. But I promise, Amelia, I’ll work on her, help her come to terms with it. Once she’s ready, you two can make whatever decision you want. Can you wait just a little longer?”