Chapter 6 Chapter 6: I Cut Them Off for Good!

Being lifted so suddenly made my body freeze for a moment.

But I relaxed fast. I rested quietly in his warm, safe arms and watched him carry me out of the shed, then step by step toward the gate.

"Wait..."

Margaret watched me being carried away. Her eyes were wet, and she looked like she wanted to say sorry.

"Gregory's wife, what are you doing?" Grandmother grabbed her arm quickly, as if she feared what Margaret might say.

Margaret opened her mouth, but under her mother-in-law's dark stare, she changed what she was going to say. "Mother, I only want to give Elowen some advice. I want to tell her to live well with Lucian and respect her new parents after the wedding."

She paused, then added, "And remember to come home often."

Grandmother cut in right away. "Why should she come home? This useless girl was never part of the Thornfield family. Now that she is married, she should never come back."

But before she could say more, I spoke first. "Don't worry. I will live a down-to-earth life with him and make our home rich and happy. But..."

I stopped and looked at Margaret, Fiona, Grandmother, and the whole Thornfield family. Then I said, "None of you need to come and see me."

This was not my home. Why would I come back? Besides, I had emptied their money boxes. When they found out, it would be quite a scene.

"Come back or not, it's up to you! Who cares?" Fiona said, with her neck held stiff.

I did not even give her a look. I answered coldly, "You are right. I really don't want to."

"The moment I step out of the Thornfield gate, I have nothing to do with your family. Your business is not mine. And how I live is not your business either."

I said it plainly. I was cutting every tie.

Grandmother was stunned for a moment. Then she snapped back and made her threat. "You want to cut ties? Fine! An ungrateful girl who loses money and is no blood relation to us, I wanted to throw you out of this house a long time ago!"

"Okay," I said. "Then sign these two separation papers."

I looked at her coldly and took out the two papers I had written last night. I handed them over.

So she would not play games, I pressed her. "You had better sign and press your thumbprint fast. When the Hale family comes for the bride, I might suddenly change my mind. Who knows?"

"You... you dare!"

She was trapped, and her face showed it. She glared at me in anger, snatched the papers, and looked at them. She could not read a single word.

She had to ask her granddaughter for help. "Fiona, come here and read this. Then go get your pen and your red stamp."

Fiona looked thrilled, as if losing a sister was a prize. She pretended to read the paper, said, "That's right! It's a separation paper!" and ran inside for a pen and stamp.

She moved so fast that Margaret had no time to react. The family signed both copies before she could say a word.

The Thornfields kept one copy. The other came back to me.

As soon as it was done, Grandmother ordered, "Get out! Take that and leave! Remember, from now on the Thornfields have nothing to do with you!"

"And your family of fine people? I don't even want to look at them!"

I curled my lips and said to Lucian, "Let's go."

Lucian looked at my calm face. I was not crying and I was not making a scene. Something softened in his eyes, and I could tell he felt sorry for me. His voice was gentle. "If you are sad, just cry. It will make you feel better."

After a moment, he added, "If you are worried about people seeing you, you can cry in my arms. I will hide your tears."

His voice was cold, but it was the warmest, most beautiful voice I had ever heard.

Since I came to this world, he was the first person to care about me. But my own mother and my own sister had ignored my feelings again and again. They even helped the Thornfields push me away.

So what use were relatives like these?

I put away the thoughts in my eyes, lifted my head, and smiled at him. "I'm not sad! Today is a lucky day for our wedding! And I'm so lucky to marry a brave and handsome soldier. I'm so happy I don't have time to cry!"

The corner of his mouth twitched, as if he had not expected my answer.

Most girls would be upset after being hurt like this, but I acted strong because I did not want anyone to see me weak. I think he saw right through me. He did not say a word. He held me quietly and carried me step by step toward the army jeep.

A young soldier standing by saw his leader carrying the bride and greeted him with a big smile.

He opened the car door and cheered, "Congratulations, Captain! Congratulations, sister-in-law! May you have a happy wedding, a long marriage, and a son soon!"

His mouth was as sweet as honey.

But a son soon? I was doubtful.

After all, in the book's plot, this commander died young and left no children of his own. So he and I would probably never have children together.

Luckily, Lucian had taken in three orphans whose parents had died.

Soon, the sound of firecrackers rang out beside the car. The jeep rolled slowly forward and drove toward Clearwater Village across the river.

And so the wedding procession headed happily to the Marsh family home.

And the Thornfields? When they saw me in an army jeep with a big red flower on the front, driving away in style, they were shocked.

"What is going on? Didn't they say the Marsh family would use a smelly oxcart to pick her up? How come it has four wheels?"

Fiona, her two brothers, and her two sisters-in-law froze the moment I got in the car. Their eyes were as big as coins.

A moment ago, they were laughing at me for marrying a poor soldier. Now I was riding off in a car.

Margaret was just as shocked. Grandmother's face turned blue, then purple, like a chameleon.

I remembered what the Marsh family had said: an oxcart if the dowry was big, and an old bicycle if it was small. Now they had sent a car with four wheels. To the Thornfields, it must have felt like a slap in the face.

Isolde had bragged that the Hale family would come for her in a car, while the Marsh family only had a broken bicycle. Now Grandmother was the one who got slapped. She stood frozen, with her fists tight.

Behind us, as the jeep pulled away, a new burst of loud talk rose from the crowd of neighbors.