Chapter 190: Paying Up and Settling Down

“Yes, she’s smart and grateful,” Easton turned his head away, his voice laced with sarcasm. “Unlike me, who can’t recognize what’s good.”

“Let’s leave the past in the past! There’s no point talking about it now. Ellis has already finalized the divorce with you, and once Carly is back from her vacation, we need to help her think about remarriage.”

Wanting to avoid further aggravation, Sophia no longer wished to discuss Ellis. It was Easton who had dated Ellis first, and she had approved of Ellis as a daughter-in-law, which was why she had supported her. Over more than three years, no matter what was said, her son blamed her for forcing him to marry Ellis. Where could she even begin to argue?

Feeling a tightness in his chest, Easton breathed shallowly and turned away, not wanting to look at his mother. He had come to visit Sophia, not to argue with her. Both were visibly agitated now, and avoiding eye contact might help calm things down.

Seeing the anger in Easton’s demeanor, Sophia didn’t want this to cause a rift between them. She spoke earnestly, “I think I understand your feelings towards Ellis. You didn’t love her much, but she loved you. One day, when you find someone you truly love, you’ll understand that there was nothing wrong with her actions.”

Easton turned back to face his mother, slowly saying, “I don’t understand, and I don’t need to find someone to love deeply.” With her son so blunt, Sophia spoke straightforwardly, “Loving someone, wanting to marry them and be with them forever—it’s not easy. Just getting married involves winning over not only your partner but their parents as well.”

After a pause, she asked, “Do you understand now?”

“What did Ellis love about me? It was my wealth and status, the lavish lifestyle I could provide for her,” Easton scoffed lightly. “If I were penniless, she wouldn’t have given me a second glance.”

Realizing the communication gap between them, Sophia fell silent. A moment later, she raised her hands in a gesture of surrender. “You seem to be stuck in your ways! I don’t know how to get you out, but Ellis is no longer your concern. Let’s not talk about your marriage with her anymore, or that I forced you to marry her. Let the past be past.”

Easton pursed his lips and looked away.

“Should we go back to compensating Ellis?” Sophia asked, picking up her phone. “I won’t feel right if I don’t give her something.”

“Do whatever you want.” Easton didn’t object to his mother compensating Ellis, wondering if Ellis would refuse again this time.

“Not just anything; it’s my money, not yours.” Sophia couldn’t understand her son’s cold-heartedness. It wasn’t like their family lacked the funds to give Ellis a better settlement.

Dialing Ellis’s number, she pressed the speakerphone button as the call connected and asked, “Ellis, are you busy?” Easton’s eyebrows knit together as his mother effortlessly got through on a call he would have struggled to make. On the other side of the phone, Ellis was at a six-star hotel, preparing for the upcoming launching ceremony.

A bit surprised and reluctantly, she responded, “Madam Sophia, what can I do for you?”

Hearing Ellis address his mother formally instead of the familiar “Mom” highlighted the distance in her tone. Easton, catching this shift from her usual affectionate manner, felt a sudden pang. Before they went to the Civil Affairs Department, he had wanted her completely out of his life, but he hadn’t considered that from the moment she suggested divorce, she had been distancing herself from his world.

“Can’t I contact you if there’s nothing urgent?”

That question made Ellis slightly embarrassed.

“Of course, but right now…” She glanced around at her busy colleagues and the host approaching her. “I’m dealing with urgent work, Madam Sophia. I’ll call you back once I’m free.”

“Alright.” Sophia hung up, sensing the urgency in Ellis’s voice.

As she pressed the end call button and looked up, she noticed Easton’s expression filled with a somber mood, which made her uneasy. “Are you being cold-hearted, or do you object to me giving Ellis some compensation?”

Realizing his mother misunderstood, Easton explained, “That’s not what I meant.”

“Then who are you showing that face to?”

“Nobody.”

Sophia sighed lightly. “You should have a basic moral standard; don’t be stingy with what should be given.”

“Will Ellis accept it this time?” Easton thought back to when he had his assistant arrange a luxury apartment to be transferred to Ellis’s name, which she had refused. Given the tangible value of real estate, he couldn’t fathom why she had declined. It certainly didn’t match her supposedly materialistic and pleasure-seeking nature.