When a Well-Raised Son Grows Up - Chapter 61

Chapter 61

“What are you doing?” Abella’s voice rose sharply, catching Carlisle by surprise as he stared at her, puzzled by her tone.

“I’m just making tea,” he replied calmly, unfazed by her agitation.

He tried to give Abella the mug, but she slapped his hand away, making a sharp noise between them.

“Ah…” Carlisle looked surprised and hurt, not expecting Abella to push him away. He withdrew his hand. He looked hurt.

“I’m sorry,” he said, looking confused and regretful. Abella was speechless, feeling a mix of emotions at his actions.

Carlisle approached Abella slowly, speaking in a calm and quiet voice despite the tense atmosphere.

“Have you been feeling unwell?” he asked, his concern evident.

Abella bit her lip, feeling like the situation wasn’t being addressed properly.

“That’s not the point right now,” she retorted, her eyes betraying a sense of betrayal.

“How could you do this to me, Carlisle?” Her voice trembled with emotion.

“I trusted you; I thought we were like family. How could you act this way after all these years of treating me like a mother?”

Abella felt a strange pleasure last night, but it doesn’t excuse what happened. Even if Carlisle hadn’t initiated it, she wouldn’t have allowed herself to give in to those feelings. She sat up and confronted him, and he responded calmly.

“What about you, mother?” he asked casually.

Confused, Abella questioned, “What do you mean?”

“If you hadn’t suggested it, I would have just stayed quiet, pretending to be a good, obedient son,” Carlisle explained.

“So, you’re saying everything you’ve shown me was fake?” Abella’s voice trembled with disbelief.

“Not exactly. I’ve always wanted to be like this,” Carlisle reassured her, gently placing his hand over hers, which was tightly holding the blanket, trying to comfort her.

“I always said I only had you, Mom,” Carlisle murmured, his voice tinged with sadness.

Abella’s tears flowed freely as she struggled to understand the situation.

“That’s what I said too, Carlisle. But I didn’t mean it like this. How could you do this?”

She cried, biting her lip, as a whirlwind of emotions consumed her. She couldn’t understand how Carlisle, once so small and innocent, barely the size of her palm, could have changed so much.

“Do you not want to mate with someone like me, even though I am tall and stupid?”

“That’s not what I meant!”

Carlisle’s ears drooped sadly. He hoped to gain sympathy from Abella.

“You’ve always been my whole world, but it seems my desires were too much for you to handle.”

Abella frowned deeper, feeling betrayed. She clarified, “I didn’t reject you because of your appearance, but because I saw you as family.”

She was disappointed and shocked as she poured out her heart. She tried to turn away, but Carlisle stopped her quickly.

“You promised you wouldn’t hate me, no matter what. Remember? We vowed to be together forever.”

He smiled weakly, gently holding onto Abella as she tried to pull away.

“It seems like you’ve had this all planned out,” Abella accused.

“Remember when you asked if I’d still love you if you were a bad wolf? And I said I wouldn’t hate you?”

“Yeah, I remember making that promise. But that was before I knew what I was getting into,” she sighed, her disappointment evident.

Abella questioned, “Was this your plan all along?” She was trying to make sense of Carlisle’s actions. Even his recent insistence on imprinting seemed to fit into this pattern.

“Yes, because I’ve loved you from the very beginning,” Carlisle confessed with a smile, leaving Abella speechless and drained of energy.

She did not expect him to accept so gracefully. It was difficult for her to compare this Carlisle with the one she knew.

“You’re lying,” she thought, refusing to believe anything else.

It was too much for her to accept that the innocent bundle of fur she once held had such feelings for her all along.

Abella found it easier to believe that Carlisle was lying. She thought his feelings were misguided desires, caused by being the only person of the opposite sex he knew.

She realized she had feelings for him since the first time she saw him.

Abella buried herself in the blanket and cried loudly as she continued to struggle with her thoughts, eventually calling out to Carlisle.

“I need some time alone,” she pleaded.

Carlisle complied without protest and rose from his seat obediently.

“Rest up. I’ll put up the holiday signs,” he said before leaving.

Abella was uncertain about the future. She couldn’t hate Carlisle, despite his handsomeness and kindness, which effortlessly captured everyone’s attention.

Perhaps if she had met him as an adult, she might have fallen for him instantly. But that was just a hypothetical scenario. The reality was quite different.

To Abella, Carlisle was her son, whom she had nurtured and raised with her own hands.

She could still vividly remember his small, running figure around the house, his fur rustling in the breeze. His innocent face, his tongue peeking out as he ate unripe raspberries, and his fear of disappointing her all felt like memories from yesterday.

She had taken care of him since he was unable to speak, treating him as her flesh and blood.

As she dwelled on these thoughts, she felt increasingly sick. Her chest tightened, and tears streamed down her face. She buried herself under the blanket, trying to stifle her tears.

* * * *

Standing in front of Abella’s small herbalist shop, Carlisle hung a sign on the doorknob that read, “Closed for the day.” Judging by Abella’s condition, it seemed best to let her rest.

Just as he was about to leave, he heard a familiar voice behind him.

“Carl.”

It was Leo.

Carlisle was surprised by how much Leo had grown in just a few days.

Recently, he was a young child learning to speak, and now he is old enough to explore independently.

Carlisle nodded quietly and headed towards a secluded area. He did not want to be alone to avoid Leo. Instead, he wanted to have a private conversation.

“I just want to clear something up,” Leo stated. 

Carlisle’s brow furrowed as he recalled their previous conversation.

Leo reacted strangely that day.

“Trying to kill me, what do you mean?”

“So what? I didn’t get to kill a one-legged as$hole.”

“Carl, what are you talking about?”

“You know better than I do what you’re talking about.”

“I don’t have the slightest idea…”

Carlisle entered the dark alley and looked at Leo calmly. Leo seemed much smaller, which made Carlisle feel uncomfortable calling him a brother.

“Carl… Firstly, I want to thank you for what you did that day,” Leo began awkwardly, fidgeting with his hands. Carlisle remained silent, standing slightly turned away as he observed Leo.

“Well, Esha… appreciated it too,” Leo continued, stumbling over his words.

Carlisle clicked his tongue softly, indicating he wanted to get to the point. After a brief moment of hesitation, Leo’s expression turned serious.

“What you said that day felt a bit off, so I wanted to talk to you about it again.”