Chapter 293: Moving forward (3)
"You acted upon love in the past. Had you not followed your heart, you would still be assisting your mother in her shop. Sometimes following our heart can place us in an unfortunate position, but now you know what you must do," said Alessandra.
Since Erin was so unhappy, Alessandra thought there was much to reconsider, first starting with Erin’s marriage.
Alessandra continued to say, "If you think a talk with Dale won’t change anything, then it is time for you to start considering other options. It will be difficult, but you are once again tasked with following your heart. Only you will know what you want.’
Alessandra knew it wouldn’t be her place to advise Erin to leave Dale. Erin had to make this choice by herself.
"I am sorry that I am ruining my apology with this," Erin said, knowing she had ruined the moment.
"You do not need to apologise. I understand what you face a little better now. Marriage can be hard. I have been by your side long enough to know how you have tried your best. I support the decision you will make," said Alessandra.
Alessandra understood if Erin wouldn’t have the courage to leave Dale. Not everyone was brave enough to walk away from their marriages, though there was nothing left for them.
Fortunately for Erin, she didn’t need Dale to survive. Erin would be well without Dale, but Alessandra was certain of the same for Dale.
"I must leave him. All we do is fight. We can never have a talk where he understands me. He relies on me far too much for me to endure all of this," Erin said, her mind made up. "His mother receives plenty from us, yet she is not satisfied."
All Erin wanted was to be happy making dresses. She hoped that Dale could go back to his old ways when they were young and in love. If Erin could have that man back with her again, then she wouldn’t think of ending her marriage.
"There is more that I will have to face from his family and mine if I were to end it. I know Dale would not stand by and let it happen. He thinks he has given so much to my shop. My mother would never let me forget that I was wrong," said Erin.
"Perhaps she might surprise you and be happy that you are away from what makes you unhappy. You will not know until it happens, and if they all continue to make you unhappy, you should not go near them," Alessandra advised Erin.
There was peace in being alone.
"If only it were so easy. Neither side would stop going to the dress shop. I would need to leave Lockwood to get away from them, but I cannot. I must work hard to get back the ladies I have lost," Erin said, feeling stumped.
"Then hire men to guard them from you, Erin. It is not wrong for you to protect your peace. There is much you can do to be away from them, but you have to be willing to do it," Alessandra said.
Alessandra searched the room for something to wipe Erin’s face with, but found nothing. She needed Gerald to return, but knew Erin wouldn’t want anyone to see her like this.
"I am fine," Erin said, looking away from Alessandra. "I hope you won’t pity me and think of forgiving my actions because of this. I was an awful friend to you, and I intend to make it up to you."
"I know you didn’t speak of this, so I would forgive you, Erin. Since you have kept this from me for so long, it must have taken you quite a lot to share it with me. While it doesn’t fix what happened, I cannot leave you at this time," Alessandra decided.
There was more that needed to be said regarding their friendship, but Alessandra couldn’t be cruel to leave Erin at this time in her life.
Alessandra wanted to see Erin become the woman she once was, who carried herself with confidence. Not the woman before her now, who thought of enduring to keep others happy.
"We will fix our friendship over time. I cannot promise you that Edgar or the others will forgive you right away. I cannot and will not force them to do anything. I can only speak for myself, and I am willing to move forward," Alessandra said, feeling it was the best choice.
Erin was relieved to hear that all hope was not lost. "This is the best news I have had as of late."
"I must say that I hope to never be in the position to be betrayed by you again, Erin. For my children to be placed in that position again. For us to work towards going back to who we once were, you must promise me," Alessandra said, offering her hand for Erin to shake on it.
Erin shook Alessandra’s hand right away. "I will never be so foolish as to make that mistake again. I will do my best to not only regain your trust, but that of your family. I will approach them all one by one to apologise."
"That would be best," Alessandra said, her brows knitted after hearing something near the window. "Excuse me," she said, moving from Erin’s side.
Alessandra walked over to the window, which was open to bring a breeze into the room. She leaned over to find a nosy group sitting outside.
"Melody, I am a little disappointed that they convinced you to join them," Alessandra spoke softly. Erin shouldn’t know there were eavesdroppers. "Go back to the picnic and I will join you shortly."
Alessandra closed the window so they wouldn’t pry anymore.
"She is not fun," Lily said.
Penelope was the first one to crawl away. There was nothing left to be heard after all that was said.
Penelope felt bad for Erin and was happy that her mother comforted Erin during this time.
"I made it," Penelope said, standing up once she was away from the window. She dusted the grass off her dress and turned around to help the others. "I will speak on your behalf and say that you tried to stop us," she said to Melody.
"How could I have been trying to stop you if I were sitting there as well? We must hurry back so that we don’t get scolded when your mother comes out. We left the food unattended," Melody said, worried they would return to flies.
"You worry too much, Aunt Melody," Penelope said, leading the way back to their picnic.