Heiress' Househusband is a Secret Billionaire
Chapter 332: Her Choice Because She Loved Him

Chapter 332: Her Choice Because She Loved Him

Lariette’s breath hitched the moment she registered the words Ruediger had just spoken to her. Her heart thumped quickly within the confines of her chest.

’...the last time she was alive.’

Swallowing, Lariette put one palm on Ruediger’s back, feeling cold sweat breaking on his skin. She kept her gaze on him and nodded.

Instead of telling him to stop when he barely began, she gave him silent encouragement. Her intention was evident to him.

Ruediger blinked slowly, then stared at the window far behind Lariette’s shoulder for a moment, trying to collect himself. It was hard to loosen a part of him that had long been sealed shut.

Then, he resumed, his voice ever so quiet.

"It was winter when I was ten. I followed my mom... to a village far from the city. We only had the members of her foundation with us, no bodyguard at all. My... brother also didn’t join us."

Ruediger swallowed hard once he paused once again. Lariette gently patted his back, hoping to soothe even a little of his troubled heart.

"Before we left, she wanted to visit a forest nearby with me. She said it was beautiful... with snow falling over the trees. Just us two, we went there. She told... the others to return first."

Even after twenty years, the scene was still vivid in his mind.

Of the white snow, playful laughter and promises.

"We had fun there. We took photos and played for a bit. I talked... about how I wanted to be like her. She said she was already proud of me. Then... we went back. The snow fell again."

Lariette felt Ruediger’s breath hitch, his countenance darkening as tears glistened in his emerald eyes. Still, he held back from letting even one drop trickle.

"And then... out of nowhere... a truck hit us. I remember the sound of the crash and the glass shattering. I got hurt... My mom also was hurt, but she still got me out of the van."

Ruediger paused, his breath labored. Lariette retrieved her hand from his back, now gently squeezing his broad hand.

"That’s when two masked men came out of the truck. Mom told me to run, but I didn’t. She... she stood in front of me, bleeding, but... she still fought them off, like she had nothing else to lose."

Sweat beaded on Ruediger’s forehead. Without him meaning to, he held Lariette’s hand tightly, oblivious to the wince she hid.

"They overpowered her. One of them... hit her with a pipe. A man threw me into the truck. I screamed. I couldn’t stop crying."

Ruediger’s voice cracked, and his heart shattered all over again.

"The last time I saw my mom... lying in the snow. She lifted... her hand toward me before it dropped. I screamed... I knew by then... she breathed her last..."

Lariette gasped softly, her eyes welling up, "Oh, Eddy..."

Tears slipped down her cheeks. She pressed her face into her shoulder, her arms tightening around him. Her sobs began quiet, then louder with the passing of time.

"I’m so... so sorry..."

Lariette whispered over and over, cling to Ruediger for she didn’t know how she should comfort him over the pain of losing his mother from such a tragedy.

Losing a parent was always hard.

And the pain and trauma multifold from him being forced to witness her death.

Ruediger didn’t speak as words failed him. His own tears had begun to fall silently, a few drops soaking into her hair. He tightened his arms around her as she cried, and buried his face in the crook of her neck.

"Lettie... I still see her hand... and her blood on the snow," he whispered, breathing into her skin, "Still feel like I failed her."

"No... no, Eddy."

Lariette shook her head, her eyes still blurry by tears. Holding Ruediger close, she kissed atop his head, his entire body trembling from his sorrow.

"You didn’t fail her, Eddy. You were a child. You loved her and she knew. She was protecting you. That was her choice because she loved you. And I know she never regretted it."

Ruediger shut his eyes, struggling to breathe as he found no fault in Lariette’s words. His chest rose and fell in a rapid succession.

He bit his lower lip, reluctant to say anything until he calmed himself even for a little.

Yes. His mother loved him. She dearly loved him, her flesh and blood.

Even if time was rewound, he knew she would make the same choice all over again.

Taking comfort in Lariette’s embrace, he said, voice hoarser, "I didn’t get... to pay her my last respects. I was kidnapped. Months... passed when I finally returned to my family. By then... my f...father blamed me for her death. Until now."

Lariette sobbed, unable to bite it back, "Eddy... I’m so sorry... He didn’t... doesn’t deserve you."

What kind of father and husband Chairman Alvord was?

How could he be so heartless?

Instead of being there for his traumatized young son who his wife died protecting, he misplaced the blame on the boy.

Ruediger smiled weakly, "I know. I’ve always... told myself that. If Mom was still alive... she wouldn’t stay still and let him treat me like garbage."

He was speaking the truth. Knowing his mother, she wouldn’t ever hesitate to pack her bags and leave his trashy father for mistreating his own child.

Parting his trembling lips, Ruediger resumed.

"I lived... with him for a while until Aunt Felicia took me in. I learned to manage my trauma because of her. She... encouraged me to seek therapy. It took years, but I feel better even though... I won’t ever forget that winter day."

He exhaled, then lifted his head, finally looking into her eyes. He gently brushed his thumb on her damp face, streaked by her tears.

She cried.

She cried for him.

Ruediger smiled faintly, he whispered, "I’d never thought... I’d tell you this, Lettie. Thank you... thank you for being here... and listening to me."

Unable to say anything, Lariette pursed her lips, then she dipped her head in, raining little kisses on Ruediger’s tear-stricken face. A small, grateful smile bloomed on his lips for the warmth her presence brought him.

His life was no longer a dreary winter.