Chapter 395 Straight to the Point
Tilda went straight to the point. Talking in circles with Abram wasn’t her way. She had no taste for games.
Abram lifted his cup and drank again. He didn’t hurry with his reply.
Tilda stayed quiet. She waited, steady as stone, more patient than him.
“Talda, do you think the people carry values here in this family?"
“Values of their own?” Abram finally spoke.
She thought for a breath before she answered the question. Yes. Everyone does.
“Take Rebecca, for example. In your eyes, she’s only a step for Jude to climb higher. And she’s not the only one. Anyone who fights him for power has worth. Their use is to test if Jude can carry the Bells’ name.”
Those words from most people would sound cruel, but out of Abram’s mouth they rang true.
“You make it sound heartless. Rebecca is still my granddaughter. What I did cut me deep.”
“You didn’t look cut when you ordered her fingers taken. You acted fast.”
The room grew heavy. Abram had never met a girl who dared throw his own acts in his face. He stared at her, then laughter broke loose from him.
“Tilda, your nerve is rare. No wonder you managed to fool my granddaughter and lure my grandson’s heart, and now you’re sitting here talking to me without fear. You’re remarkable.”
“I’ll take that as praise,” she said, calm and steady. Even when his gaze flashed sharp and dangerous, she didn’t waver. Others would have folded. She held her ground.
“I’m old now. My hunger for blood has faded. I don’t care for it anymore. But punishment must stay punishment.” His tone dropped, dark and firm. “Tilda, if we stood where your family does, then maybe I could honor family ties. But we don’t get that. The moment we slack, hands wait to drag us down and bury us.”
He squeezed his cup tighter. “You think I went too far with Rebecca. That’s only because you never saw me at my height. I already spared her. I gave her a chance to return and prove herself.”
Tilda’s eyes sharpened. “Abram, I know you went digging into my past, so hear me. I have no tie to the Jensons. Their fate is nothing to me.” She would not let that link hang on her name. She loathed the sound of it.
Abram nodded with care. “Then you must know the real reason I asked you here.” His stare searched her. “This is the first time I’ve seen Jude cling to a woman like this. The head of the Bells will marry and raise children to keep the bloodline alive. I could not shape him to think like I do, but his talent is greater than I dreamed. As long as he breathes, the Bells will stand.”
His eyes cut sharp. “Tilda, though we meet for the first time, I see it in you. You’re deep, you’re steady, you’re fit to be Jude’s wife.” He drew a small box from his pocket and set it before her. His eyes pressed her to take it.
“My worth is not for you to decide,” she said coldly as she rose. “And whether I become Jude’s wife or not is up to me. I make the choice. You don’t rule our lives.” She did not take the box. Her words cut clear. “I know what you want, Abram. But Jude and I are still young. We don’t need to lock our fate now. That would betray us both.”
“One more thing, Abram. I will never throw away my own life for anyone again. My dreams and my path belong to me. Even if Jude and I get married, I still go by Tilda, not Jude’s wife.”
She turned and walked away without a glance back. She knew what Abram wanted. If she wanted to marry Jude, it meant she must live as his puppet. She didn’t know how Jude’s grandmother had endured in this house, but she would never take that path.
Lucas rushed forward as she tried to leave. “Ms. Tilda-”
Her eyes went cold. “Do not stop me, Lucas, unless you wish to see a bloody scene.”
Lucas froze, his voice swallowed by silence.