Addiction to Temptation: His Mischievous Sweetheart Captivates Him-Chapter 253: Zane Thorne Through His Mother’s Eyes—Those Five Years

Chapter 253: Chapter 253: Zane Thorne Through His Mother’s Eyes—Those Five Years

After dinner, Zane went to the study with Isaac, while Natalie stayed with Eleanor in the small flower room, brewing tea and chatting.

The winter night sky was pristine, with a few scattered stars, vast and deep, like a child’s playful deep breath after savoring a refreshing candy, permeating the heart and lungs.

Natalie looked at this garden and suddenly thought of the backyard of Dragon’s Crest Villa. Although Zane didn’t particularly like flowers, perhaps the idea of gardening was inspired by his mother.

"Mom, does Zane like sunflowers?"

Eleanor paused slightly in her tea brewing movements. Her garden had many flowers, but notably not sunflowers.

"Why would Nina ask such a thing?"

Natalie recalled the two times she had asked Zane about sunflowers. Although Zane did not avoid the question, his answers never addressed the core issue.

Even now, she didn’t know who the little girl was that seemed important to Zane. She had asked Felix, but he also wasn’t clear about who the girl was. Given Zane’s nature, the family was likely unaware of this matter.

Thinking about it, Natalie shook her head.

"He once sent me sunflowers."

Eleanor was a typical child raised in a scholarly family, isolated from the online world. Her usual entertainment was reading books and making tea and sweets.

She never paid attention to online matters, and naturally didn’t know that Zane romantically sent Natalie roses. In her understanding, her son was still the one who loved cars, smoked, drank, and wasn’t close to women.

Even after marriage, she never hoped for Zane to be a loving husband with Natalie, which is why she never asked about their situation.

However, from the moment they walked in until dinner and now with Natalie taking the initiative to bring up Zane, Eleanor realized their relationship was better than she imagined—no, unexpectedly good.

"Has this child finally opened his heart?"

Natalie saw the surprise in her mother-in-law’s eyes and raised her hand to touch her nose.

"Mom, did Zane not really interact with girls before?"

She thought Felix’s claim that Zane disliked women around was exaggerated, yet it seemed Zane was indeed repellent to women to a degree that even his family found concerning.

"Isn’t that so? I was puzzled before, wondering why such an excellent and handsome young man wouldn’t find a partner, driving me crazy. I thought about letting him decide on his own life, but as he neared thirty, staying up late for work, smoking, drinking—how could his body endure? These five years, he lived like a ghost, not quite human. I couldn’t just let it go, so I discussed arranging a blind date with his dad."

As she spoke, Eleanor grasped Natalie’s hand, gently patting the back of it.

"Thankfully, this child was blessed to meet you."

Since the topic of blind dates was already being discussed, Natalie decided to ask directly.

"So why did Dad and Mom choose me back then?"

Eleanor smiled deeper.

"Speaking of this, credit goes to the child’s father."

"Hmm?"

"He once visited Astra University and, at that time, during the exchange event, you were the only one without any curiosity towards him. Every student’s eyes held a longing for success and hope to meet influential people, but only you."

Eleanor smiled again.

"He said only you, a young girl, didn’t put him in your eyes. He’s quite prideful, so after the meeting ended, he asked the principal for your name and learned you were a Vaughn Family daughter, and then he understood."

Born into a family of social standing, exposed to many outstanding individuals from a young age, be they elite or rising stars, in the eyes of those people, it was all just that. They only cared about their emotions and their value.

Perhaps having everything, yet unfulfilled, only their own desires remain, hence they can’t accommodate unrelated others in their eyes.

"At that time, he thought you, a spirited young lady, might ignite sparks with Zane."

Natalie thought for a long time before recalling that exchange event. She was entirely forced to temporarily substitute a classmate, so her mood naturally wouldn’t be good.

Unexpectedly, it was such an exchange event that sowed the seeds for her and Zane’s blind date.

"Dad has a keen eye."

Natalie’s self-praise didn’t seem annoying at all; rather, her frankness added a bit of charm.

Seeing Natalie genuinely interested in Zane, Eleanor began slowly recounting the events from five years ago.

"Your dad didn’t express much concern about Zane playing with cars, but he was silently worrying about the child’s safety just like me."

"We secretly visited the club Zane was part of. Only after ensuring professional safety training did we return. His dad even secretly invested money in the club."

"I don’t understand racing, but I would watch every race Zane participated in. His dad, even if busy at the time, would later make time to watch the recordings."

"Five years ago, when we heard that the racer involved in the accident was a Chinese national, I was terrified. His dad immediately left the company matters to accompany me. We didn’t know then that Zane was disqualified from the race and replaced by someone else." 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

"Until the reports came out, we realized the accident didn’t involve Zane."

"I spent eight years worrying on edge. That incident was too close for comfort; originally, he was supposed to compete."

"We discussed at length, and no matter what, I wanted to persuade Zane not to play with such dangerous things. We rushed to the city where the competition was held overnight and saw for the first time Zane’s disheartened and lifeless appearance."

"We knew Zane was blaming himself."

"He wasn’t wrong, but his best friend and brother almost lost his life in that accident. For someone who loved racing, losing limbs equated to losing future dreams."

"We considered persuading Zane but didn’t know what to say."

"The past five years have been very unhappy for him. He no longer touches the racing that he loved, except for handling Jennings’ hospital matters or staying home, drinking."

"He lived like a walking dead, always silent, but he used to smile frequently. Since then, I haven’t seen his smile. His brow has been deeply furrowed, very evident that he carried guilt."

"I didn’t dare tell him he was not wrong, afraid mentioning the past might hurt him."

"Every year, he went to Altara many times, losing contact each time after returning."

"After witnessing Zane’s lifeless state, I’d rather see him still on the track. That’s when he was lively, like a real person."

"Nina, your smile is beautiful, like a warm and shining sun. I wondered then if such a lively young lady could make Zane live more spiritedly."

"I wasn’t wrong, Nina. Thank you, truly, thank you."

"Jennings has also returned from Altara, and everything is moving in a good direction."

"Nina, this is all thanks to you."

As Eleanor spoke, her eyes reddened, her voice hoarse. Natalie’s heart ached as she listened.

"Mom, do you want him to race again?"