Holding Daisy's hands lovingly, Cynthia explained it to her. She knew Daisy was a nice girl; and she felt so sorry for her at the same time. Although Cynthia had helped her and Edward a few years ago, she didn't expect she would hurt her by doing that. She had been guilty ever since. Luckily, Daisy and Edward finally overcame all the obstacles and fell in love with each other, which made her feel much better. 'A good happy ending, ' she thought.

  "Mom, please don't say that. We're family, remember? I'm happy to shop with you whenever you like. But I have a question, do you and Dad have some misunderstandings with Edward? I feel things are a little weird between Edward and his father." In fact, Daisy had asked Edward about this before. But Edward simply shook his head and said nothing. Daisy knew he didn't want to talk, so she didn't force him. She knew everyone had some wounds that were better kept private. It had nothing to do with trust. Edward had kept his pain in his heart for so many years. He didn't want to talk to anyone about this when he was little; and as time went by, it became harder to say it out loud. He couldn't because he didn't even know where to start. The only thing he could do was to run away when anyone stirred things up.

  "It's a long story. You've probably noticed how much Jonathan loves me. He sees no one but me, and everything else in the world is meaningless to him. That is why he didn't want me to have children back then. But I wanted a child so badly; he eventually agreed. Only one child, and I mustn't love him any less even if I have the baby. This was his requirement I had to agree to if I wanted to get pregnant. He said he had to remain the most important person in my life."

  Cynthia paused and sighed heavily. Biting her lip while gazing into space, Cynthia was lost in thought for a while. Then she forced a bitter smile at Daisy, had a small sip of her coffee before continuing, "Back then, I wanted a baby more than anything; so I agreed without thinking too much. The truth is, we didn't pay enough attention to Edward when he was little and needed our love. Later on, considering his safety, we had to

  ould accept her again as his beloved daughter. She knew how painful it was. Thinking of that, Daisy felt sorry for Edward. He was not as strong as she thought, he could be hurt as well. And she realized that she was not the only miserable person in the world, since everyone had their own crosses to bear.

  "I hope so. Sorry, Daisy. I need to go to the bathroom." Daisy noticed Cynthia's reddened eyes. Given the fact she loved Edward very much, it must have been painful for her to admit how much she owed her son. Daisy thought maybe Cynthia needed to be left alone and cry for a while.

  "Okay. Do you want me to come with you?" But Daisy was a little worried about Cynthia. She looked devastated. Daisy couldn't help but think whether she had said something inappropriate or not. Although Daisy didn't approve of how they treated Edward when he was little, it wasn't her place to judge. She could only say something less blunt from the view of a bystander, and she really hoped she could help improve the relationship between Edward and his parents.

  "It's fine. I'm not a 3-year-old child. You don't have to keep me company. I'll be back soon." Cynthia gave Daisy a tender smile. She felt much better to see Daisy being considerate. She pulled herself together and stopped thinking about Edward. She believed what Daisy had said, and she knew things would work out between Edward and them as long as she kept trying and never gave up.