Come To Me (Amelia and Patrick)
Chapter 528

Patrick's handsome face darkened. "Prisoner? Dog? Take a look at what's on the TV and see if there's a prisoner or dog in this world that's treated the same way as you. You have no idea how blessed you are!"

Amelia was impervious to his remarks and stared at him. "Do you know who you're reminding me of?"

Patrick followed up and asked, "Who!"

Amelia grunted in a low voice, "Your mother!"

Patrick was rendered speechless.

"Your care is sometimes... burdensome."

Amelia wanted to use a relatively milder and more tactful word. But after thinking about it, she decided that 'burdensome' was fitting and it was the most pleasant to the ears.

She abandoned other words such as 'suffocating', 'painful', and 'oppressive' to uphold his dignity.

Patrick's eyes turned red gradually. If she had compared him with Eve, then she would undoubtedly be Howard.

Remembering Howard's current marriage with Eve, the resulting bottomless resentment and distance that could never be bridged again, Patrick lost control. He asked, "Amelia, you think that I'm always forcing you to do things that you don't want to do, just like how my mother did to my dad. Is that right?"

Amelia answered, "It's not as serious as that. I just wish you can respect what I have to say. That's all."

Patrick said, "Respecting what you have to say makes me feel awful sometimes."

Amelia glanced at him and said, "That's why I said your world is too confined."

Patrick kept silent.

"When will you be able to withstand the pain that I bring you? Maybe..." Amelia stopped halfway.

Maybe only that would be the proof of his love for her?

But now, Amelia had not even had the chance to hear 'I like you' from Patrick, so how could she ask him for 'I love you'?

After a moment of silence, she noticed that the strength he imposed on her was slowly diminishing. Amelia pulled herself out and quickly added, "I'm going to Aunt Sierra's room!" After that, she ran for her life.

She was afraid that Patrick would rage and continue to torment her in all sorts of ways.

Looking at her leaving him so eagerly, Patrick

clenched his fist. He whipped around angrily and walked towards the stairs.

Hearing the sound of the footsteps descending the stairs behind her, Amelia's heart sank.

She took in a deep breath and stood still at the door of Sierra's room. As calmly as she could, she raised her hand and knocked on the door.

The door opened. Sierra asked in surprise, "Amelia, you've finished seeing Milton so quickly?"

Amelia's eyes flashed. "Well, Milton needs a lot of rest, so I don't want to disturb him for too long. Aunt Sierra, can I come in and have a chat with you?"

"Sure, come in," said Sierra, moving her body to one side. After allowing Amelia into the room, she poked her head out to look out the door. She did not find a third person.

"Aunt Sierra, what are you looking for?" Amelia was in the room, so why hadn't Sierra close the door yet?

A strange look formed on Sierra's face. "Where's your husband?"

Amelia tied her hair up and said casually, "I told him that I wanted to talk about some personal affairs with you, so he's waiting for me downstairs."

Embarrassed, she said, "How can Mr. Patrick wait downstairs alone? How about I get Maryanne to accommodate him?"

"He's Patrick Hopper! Who dares to slight him?" Sierra thought.

Seeing that Sierra pulled at the door and wanted to leave at once, Amelia hastily grabbed her elbow and said, "It's really not necessary. He has all his limbs. He can get whatever food and drinks himself." She hesitated for a moment. After all, Patrick had an intimidating face and family background.

It was not until Amelia repeatedly reassured her that Patrick would be fine that Sierra finally relaxed. "Amelia, are you going to talk to me about Milton?"

Amelia nodded. After they found a place to sit, she passed on the message from Milton to Sierra, but more euphemistically.

After hearing it, Sierra said after a long pause, "I always thought that he liked Maryanne a lot. Otherwise, why would he get together with her? Am I right?" "That's right." This was something that Amelia could not figure out either.

Sierra sighed. "We can't afford to hold up her youth. Besides, Milton is not young anymore. I want him to get married and start a family. Am I wrong forthat?" Amelia answered firmly, "You're not wrong. You did it for his own good, I know."

Tears welled up in her eyes. "But Milton doesn't know! He even blames us for linking up together and force him!"

Amelia first spoke for Milton and denied her claim. Then, she changed the narrative and persuaded Sierra, "Have you ever heard of...a psychological problem called 'gamophobia"?"

Sierra looked at her nervously and asked, "What kind of problem is this? Is it life-threatening?"

Amelia could not help but laugh. "It's not lifethreatening. It's like a knot in the heart. If you can undo it, everything will be fine. But if you can't, then you have to be patient and continue trying. You can't hurry the process. Otherwise, you may not be able to undo this knot forever."

Sierra could not quite understand how young minds thought. "Can you be more detailed with what you've told me?"

Amelia nodded and said, "Gamophobia refers to the men's, women's, or both sides' anxieties and concerns that are generated before marriage. Especially men, they're more eager for freedom. So when their freedom is threatened, symptoms start showing."

Sierra nodded thoughtfully as if she had agreed with Amelia. Then, she promptly shook her head and said, "No! Milton has been active and cheerful since he was young. He won't have this kind of psychological problem."

"Aunt Sierra," Amelia said solemnly, "Mental illnesses don't discriminate between groups."

"It's still not right!" Sierra insisted on her stance on this.

"What's not right?" Amelia asked.

Sierra glanced at her reluctantly, as if she was considering whether she should say what she wanted to say next.

Seeing this, Amelia smiled slightly and said, "Aunt Sierra, you are just like my mother. If you have anything to say, just say it."

"Milton used to be light up whenever the topic of marrying you comes up. For multiples times, he wanted to go over to your house the next day and propose to you with betrothal gifts. Sometimes, when he couldn't sleep at night, he would sang love songs on the balcony instead. If he really had 'gamophobia', would he still be like this?" Sierra explained truthfully. Amelia was dumbfounded. Sierra's words revealed a lot of information she had not known before. She needed time to process it first.

Sierra stared at the dazed Amelia. "From the way I see it, Milton has never let you go," she said softly.

Amelia came back to her senses and waved her hand briskly. "I don't think so! Although Milton is usually jovial, he's very serious when it comes to relationships. I've never seen him toy with a girl's feelings my whole life. If he didn't have feelings for Maryanne, he would never have gotten together with her in the beginning."