Chapter 704: Chapter 675: Fleeting Years (Part 5)
A light rain fell from the sky, delicate and dense, carried by the spring breeze, striking one’s face like piercing ice needles.
Three buses were parked outside.
Sienna Thornton, with vacant eyes, held Melinda Linton’s urn, supported by Simon Forrester as she boarded the bus.
She hadn’t spoken the entire way, remaining quiet, tightly holding the urn. Occasionally, thinking of something, two clear tears would slide down her swollen eyes.
Simon Forrester sat beside her. From his angle, Quentin Thorne and Victor were seated not far in front.
Quentin Thorne did not break down and cry like Sienna, but these three days, his eyes remained red and swollen, and his voice hoarse. He hadn’t cried loudly or spoken much these days, in fact, he was unusually silent, so Simon Forrester didn’t know why his voice had become hoarse.
The bus stopped at Linden Cemetery; today was Melinda Linton’s burial ceremony.
The rain continued to fall, and at noon, the sky was dark and gloomy.
Getting off the bus, a few raindrops landed on the urn. Sienna came back to her senses, just about to turn and ask Simon Forrester for an umbrella, when Quentin Thorne had already taken off his coat and covered the urn.
"Don’t let your mother get cold," he said.
Sienna broke into tears once again.
Simon Forrester opened a black umbrella to shield Sienna. The umbrella wasn’t big, and half of his body was soaked by the rain.
The group walked towards the Thorne Family cemetery.
Those conducting the ceremony were already waiting at the cemetery.
Someone led Sienna behind the tombstone, and when she approached, she saw two niches for holding urns inside.
Quentin Thorne planned to be buried with Melinda Linton in the future...
These years she had been too busy, and the past few days she had been emotionally shattered, with no time to ask Quentin Thorne about these arrangements.
Only at this moment did she realize that Quentin Thorne had long since prepared this grave for himself and Melinda Linton, deciding they would be buried here together in the future, to rest forever.
Seeing those two niches close together, Sienna suddenly realized that someday Quentin Thorne would leave her too.
Tears gushed out at that moment. She held the urn, sobbing uncontrollably.
Someone beside her reminded her that the auspicious time had come to place the urn down. She painfully withheld her tears, tremblingly placing Melinda Linton’s urn into that small niche.
The day was very cold and dark, with the rain never ceasing to drizzle down.
As Sienna left, she took one last look at the tombstone.
Melinda Linton and Quentin Thorne’s names were inscribed side-by-side, only Melinda Linton’s name along with her birth and death dates were gilded, while Quentin Thorne’s remained gray and white.
She instinctively glanced at the tombstones beside them, belonging to Quentin Thorne’s parents and grandparents, but did not see Ian Grant’s.
She had never visited Ian Grant’s grave, so she didn’t know where his tombstone was located.
As she averted her gaze, she saw Mina Thorne staring towards another direction, gazing for a long time.
She thought Ian Grant’s grave must be over there, resting alone in a corner of the Thorne Family cemetery.
...
On the way back to the city, Sienna lay in Simon Forrester’s arms, red-eyed, looking at the misty rain outside the window.
The man accompanied her with a warm and broad embrace. Though silent, his steady and calm heartbeat, palpable warmth, and long-standing companionship diluted the loneliness following her mother’s passing.
This spring was very cold.
Sienna’s heart was very warm.
...
In 2052,
The year Sienna Thornton turned sixty-one, Julian Shepard at seventy-two stepped down, and the sixty-seven-year-old Tobias Blackwood took over.
Tobias Blackwood hoped she would extend her tenure and assist for a few more years.
She declined.
During her ten years in office, she accomplished many deeds and received high praise from the citizens.
Not being one to cling to power, she chose to retire at the most opportune time, joining Simon Forrester, who also retired that year, in moving to their old apartment to fulfill their youthful vow—traveling the world upon retirement.
That year,
Victor, twenty-nine years old, returned from studying in the United States, took a position as an astrophysics professor in the physics department at Braden University, and also became the youngest scientist in the mathematics and physics division of the Celestian Academy of Sciences.
Cherie, twenty-five years old, after graduating from the Braden University business management department, went to Harvard Business School for further studies. She returned last year to take over Simon Forrester’s mantle, becoming the CEO of Forrester Group.
At twenty-five, Yvie moved to Franland with her grandparents. After graduating from the ESMOD International School of Design, she took up a designer position at Sylvia Langley’s Sylian Group, already having several spectacular works that stunned the fashion world released.
All three children were very sensible and obedient, performing their duties without letting Simon and Sienna Forrester worry at all. The only concern for the couple was that, although the children were not young, none of them seemed interested in dating.
Victor was the most similar in appearance to Simon Forrester among the three children, with deep and defined features. His physique, maintained by regular exercise, could be deemed nearly perfect. However, unlike Simon Forrester, he was not the least bit aloof. He even earned the nickname of a little gentleman since childhood, possessing a personality much like Sienna, cheerful and easygoing.
While still in middle school back home, he frequently received secret letters and small gifts from girls. Julian Shepard’s youngest daughter even declared she would marry no one else but him. In the United States, he was also quite popular among the female circle in the Chinese international student community.
Whether it was due to his love of academic research or not having met someone he deemed suitable, he was approaching thirty without having dated anyone.
As for Cherie? She both looked and acted like Simon Forrester—cool, shrewd, and sharp-tongued. Simon Forrester often got so annoyed with Cherie that he’d angrily vent to Sienna, asking her to deal with him. Sienna would always laugh and claim she couldn’t, advising to wait for a future daughter-in-law to handle him instead.
Yvie was even more beautiful than Sienna in her youth. While Sienna was a delicate Chinese girl, Yvie had the stunning appeal of a mixed-race beauty.
Yvie also resembled Simon Forrester in appearance, although her features weren’t as chiseled. Instead, she inherited Simon Forrester’s deep-set features and Sienna’s gentle face shape.
With a figure rivaling supermodels, elegance taught since childhood by Sylvia, plus a sense of taste cultivated by wealth, she was a recognized socialite in the Franland fashion circle.
Many men pursued her, from designers in the same field to male stars in the Western film industry, not to mention Franland’s hereditary noble members. Countless have fallen at her feet.
In earlier years, Simon Forrester didn’t want her to date too early, so Sylvia and Zane Forrester kept a close eye on her. When she grew up, Simon Forrester thought it was time for her to find someone, but she became engrossed in her career and didn’t pursue relationships.
Among the three children, Simon Forrester worried most and kept the closest watch on his youngest daughter. Afraid she’d be deceived by bad men at a young age, he was fully supportive when Sylvia wanted to accompany her to Franland for her studies.
Fortunately, Yvie was sensible and cautious, never getting too close to boys, which reassured Simon and Sienna Forrester a lot while they were far away in their home country.
