"Remember what I said this morning? Do you still want to hear it?" Edward took her hand in his and settled her on his lap, wrapping his long and slim arms around her waist. But he dared not look into her clear dark eyes, where he could see the reflection of a cruel man, a man who was about to tell her the harsh truth.
"If you are able to speak it out, then I'd love to hear it. But if you are unwilling to talk about it, I won't force you to." Daisy was quite relaxed as she rested against his chest. She was very eager to know everything. But if Edward didn't want to tell her about it, she wouldn't make things difficult for him. She left it to him to make the decision.
"I'm not worried about myself, I'm worried about you. If the news will cause you pain, do you still want to hear it?" He bowed and kissed her head gently. He never found himself to be an indecisive man. But he would always have trouble making up his mind when it came to matters that concerned Daisy. He would make every effort to make things less difficult for her every time. But every time, he found himself helpless to do nothing but watch her suffer in the end. To be honest, he often hated himself in those cases. He loved her deeply, yet he could not protect her from all harm. Most of the time, he could only watch her struggle painfully and shoulder the burden that had already become too heavy for her.
"It sounds like it concerns me. And judging from your serious tone, is it safe to assume that something bad has happened?" Daisy asked, turning her face towards Edward all of a sudden. She looked him straight in the eye. Her gaze was full of innocence, as if she was earnestly trying to decipher the answer in his eyes.
"Yes. Can you promise me that you will trust me and leave everything to me? Can you promise to restrain yourself and never put yourself in harm's way?" Edward asked gravely. He didn't refuse to meet her gaze. After all, he never tried to hide the truth from her. But his grave expression somehow disconcerted Daisy. She was beginning to think that it might be something she would never want to know, something that might depress her. Unconsciously, she suddenly wanted to escape from the truth.
"Can I choose not to hear it now?" Daisy started to regret it. She shouldn't have left the decision to him when she had no clue what he was about to tell her. Could it possible be the news that he no longer loved her? Or did he regret about their whole relationship after being with her all this time? Either way, Daisy just couldn't accept it. If he must confide this cruel truth to her now, she would rather that he had never raised her hopes and loved her in the first place. That way, at the very least, she could still draw comfort from her desire and pursuit. It was far better than gaining the love she yearned for, only to lose it completely.
Don't worry. I know what you're thinking about. But no, that will never happen. Daisy, please trust me. I'm the last person in the world who would want to see you get hurt." If they weren't having a serious conversation, he would want to punish her for having these unacceptable conjectures. It was too easy to discern what she was actually thinking about. Her eyes had given her away. But Edward could only blame himself for this. She would probably put more trust in him if he treated her well enough.
"I didn't say a word. How could you possibly know what I'm thinking about? Don't tell me you know how to read minds." Daisy wasn't sure whether Edward had truly seen right through her or not, but his assurance relaxed her. As long as he would not leave her, nothing else seemed to matter.
"If I can't understand you, then who else can?" Edward said with a great deal of frustration. He wondered how insecure this little and delicate woman was. Although he had risked his life for her, he still couldn't earn her absolute trust. For a moment, he was torn between laughing and crying. He didn't know what to do about her distrust. But he loved her deeply, so he wouldn't get upset about her heavy thoughts or show any discontent. He would only embrace her worries with more tolerance.
"Fine. Tell me what it is about first. I reckon that you've already decided to tell me, and it's something I need to know. Otherwise, you wouldn't bother to test my reaction by asking these questions. I can only hear it since it's something I can't escape, but I have one condition: Don't be too cruel to me. I may be tough on the outside, but my heart is not always strong. Just don't pose any problems that are beyond my ability. I think this request is reasonable enough."
That's right, Daisy was scared. After enjoying the passion of love, she found the gut-wrenching harshness of death much harder to bear. Now, she had things that she held dear. This was the reason she was so afraid that something terrible and cruel had happened. She never liked it when other people thought of her as a weak person, but that didn't mean that she was invulnerable.
"As you recall, what was your mother like?" Edward asked softly. He was trying to make it seem like they were having a regular conversation, hoping to get into the main topic gradually. Because he also understood the duality of her character, she was both strong and weak. He wanted to reveal the shocking truth in a gentle and mild way.
"My mother? Does she have anything to do with this? Or are you simply trying to change the topic?" Daisy was now confused. She didn't have the slightest idea why Edward would suddenly mention her mother. Panic slowly began to set in.