Chapter 472:
Driscoll just stood there with a helpless look on his face. He couldn’t even begin to imagine what could have
happened between Jayden and Elyse to cause such a terrible fallout.
“Sir,” he spoke up in a bid to ease sof the tension, “I'm sure there's a perfectly reasonable explanation for
all this. Please listen to what Elyse has to say. Stubbornness isn’t always a good thing.”
“Are you trying to dictate my actions now?” Jayden snapped.
He glared at Driscoll for a brief moment before heading in the direction of his study. Driscoll let out a long sigh.
As things stood, it might be much harder for the couple to reconcile this taround. “Should | have dinner
served?” he called out in a hurry.
“Dinner? I'm too furious to eat!” With that, Jayden disappeared into his study and slammed the door in his wake.
Once inside, he got up from his wheelchair and strode to the French doors. He pounded his fist against the sill
and grunted in frustration. Blinking at his clenched fist, he slowly opened it in a daze. He stared at his open
palm, then held it up in the air as if he was reaching for something. This was the very shand he had used to
strangle Elyse.
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Jayden’s face twisted at the memory. He pressed his lips into a thin line as a wave of tangled emotions washed
over him. He hadn’t wanted to hurt her, but he had lost control of himself. He had been too angry, too scared...
of what, even Jayden himself didn’t know. He clutched at his aching chest and heaved.
After calming down, he padded over to the sofa and plopped down with a heavy sigh. Pain and sorrow marred his
handsface.
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Meanwhile, Driscoll, the ever-vigilant butler, went upstairs to bring Elyse’s dinner right on the dot. Elyse was
slumped on the floor like a lifeless doll, quiet and unmoving. It was the knocking on her bedroom door that pulled
her back to her senses, and even then, she was a little dazed as she stood and went to open the door.
Greeted by Elyse’s tear-stained face, Driscoll couldn't help but feel a pang of emotion. “Are you all right? |
brought you sfood.”
Elyse gave him a faint, almost mocking smile. “Didn’t he forbidfrom eating? You're disobeying his orders.”
Driscoll huffed and patted her hand before walking in to set the tray on the table. “Don’t worry about it. | know
him well. Despite his tough exterior, he is rather softhearted. He would never let you go hungry, he couldn't bear
ie.”
Elyse sat at the table and watched as Driscoll set up the meal. Her movements were sluggish, and her eyes were
still slightly glassy. “Why do you say that Jayden is softhearted?”
Just as the butler opened his mouth to answer, he suddenly noticed the red marks around Elyse’s neck. “Did he
lay a hand on you?” he blurted out in shock. “Did he do that to you?”
Elyse quickly covered her neck, her face turning pink in a mix of lingering fear and embarrassment. She tried to
deny it, but her throat was still hurting, and all that cout was a series of violent coughs. Driscoll hurriedly
poured her a glass of water. “Here, drink this to soothe your throat.”
Thankfully, Elyse felt much better after a few sips. Driscoll sighed. He had lost count of the number of times he
had sighed in the past hour. “Forgivefor saying this. | can never excuse his actions against you just now, but
| have to say that he isn’t solely to blfor his behavior.”
Puzzled, Elyse looked up at him with a frown.
“As you know,” Driscoll continued, “He is the firstborn, and his parents have always had high expectations of him
ever since he was a child. He never got the chance to experience his childhood like most normal kids did. He
never got to fully express himself, as his thoughts and ideas were always weighed down by his responsibilities. In
time, he turned into the emotionless robot he is notoriously known as. And with the Owen family mantra
asserting that profit is above all, well, everything molded him into the man that he is today.”
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Driscoll gave her a sad, resigned smile. “I know for a fact that he is not the heartless man that the public paints
him to be. But | am merely a butler. There is only so much | can do to pull him out of his shell. You, on the other
hand, are different. Everyone can see just how special you are to him. It's such a shthat he couldn't
recognize love for what it is.”
“What do you mean by that?” Elyse asked in confusion.
“He has been deprived of love and affection for most of his life, so he doesn’t know how to navigate his feelings
properly. An ordinary person would openly embrace love and joy, especially when it’s within their reach. But he
was raised in the language of power and greed. It is all he has ever known. So when he wants something, he
seizes it like a beast would its prey.”
Driscoll finished setting up the dishes and handed Elyse her cutlery. “I am not asking you to forgive him. That is
your prerogative. | just hoped that you would have sroom to understand him and where he is coming from
before making a decision you might regret.”
Elyse chuckled under her breath. “Thanks, | actually thought you would ask that I forgive him.”
“Feelings can go both ways between two people. I'm afraid he never really understood this. To him, everything
he wants belongs to him, and must therefore be locked up within his walls, always safe and present.”
As if to lighten the mood, Driscoll smiled sheepishly and shrugged. “It's pretty childish of him, don’t you think?”