Chapter 715: Chapter 715: Let Yourself Go
Serena walked forward, reaching out her small hand to take Iris Crawford’s arm. Iris’s entire body was now stiff, her skin cold, devoid of warmth. Serena smiled gently and said, "Principal Iris, I heard you came, so I came to see you. It’s been more than three years since we last met, and I haven’t seen you for a long time."
Iris Crawford sensed Serena’s warm and soft body temperature. Her eyes twinkled playfully at her, conveying an endless warmth.
Iris’s stiff body gradually relaxed. She raised her hand to tidy her disheveled hair by her cheek, and returned to her usual cold and noble appearance of the eldest daughter of the Crawford family, the strong-willed and coldly beautiful female principal, "Serena, it has indeed been many years since we last met."
Serena looked at Jude Crawford, "Uncle Jude, since Principal Iris and I haven’t seen each other for a long time and have things to talk about, you should leave first."
Iris could see that Serena was resolving the situation for Jude Crawford and Isabelle Willow, but she was unable to refuse this warm and delicate girl, so she could only let Jude go for now.
"Brother, we’ll talk next time."
Jude Crawford took a look at Serena and then at Iris, then turned around and got into the luxury car, which sped away with Isabelle Willow.
After the two left, Iris patted Serena’s small hand, "Serena, I let them go, that should please you."
Serena turned back to hold Iris’s cold hand, "Principal Iris, I admit I wanted you to let them go, but I also hope you can let yourself go."
Iris’s eyes suddenly turned red, she shook her head with sorrow and confusion, "For so many years, I’ve lived in pain. I’ve thought about... letting myself go, but I don’t know how to let go, and no one has taught or helped me on how to let go."
Serena is also a mom now. Two years ago, she narrowly survived to give birth to Caden, Pip, and Stella, so she deeply understands the harm and pain Iris suffered back then, a pain that can’t heal throughout one’s life.
But, the events from more than thirty years ago hold too many uncertainties. Serena knows Aunt Yara very well, and Aunt Yara was definitely not that kind of person!
"Principal Iris, I can help you now, but you must open your heart and tell me everything you knew and saw back then, in great detail. Can you do that?"
Serena knows that everything from over thirty years ago is like a nightmare for Iris, a past she cannot bear to recall. Now she has to peel away the scars in Iris’s heart layer by layer, making her relive the pain. She’s unsure if Iris is willing to go through that.
However, she needs to hear it from Iris because she was the most direct witness back then.
The key point is that Iris experienced a significant psychological trauma and suffers from severe psychological disorders!
Just now, in front of Jude Crawford, her emotions were drastically out of control, which is the best proof, but throughout these years, Iris still hasn’t accepted any psychological counseling, indicating she hid this from everyone.
Mrs. Crawford, Jude Crawford, Isabelle Willow... they all do not know.
This situation is terrible. In the years while Isabelle was away, Iris could pretend to live like a normal person, but now that Isabelle is back, it’s a trigger. She’s afraid that Iris’s psychological trauma will continue to escalate and eventually... something unexpected might happen.
If anything happens to Iris, the Crawford family will truly become cold.
So Serena wants to take this opportunity to open up Iris’s heart and have her tell everything, gradually healing the scars in her heart, and personally unraveling the mysteries that have shrouded the Crawford family for over thirty years, lifting the gloom from everyone’s hearts.
Iris’s face was pale, white as a sheet of paper. If it were anyone else, she wouldn’t be willing to cooperate, especially regarding the past, regarding... Clyde Gardner, she wouldn’t want to mention even a word.
But the person in front of her was Serena, and now Serena’s warm body heat continuously comforts her cold skin. Her clear eyes were full of strength, with a light that constantly calms and encourages her.
Iris wondered if she should give herself a chance?
Iris closed her eyes briefly, then said, "Serena, let’s talk in the car."
...
The two of them got into the car, and the silent cabin isolated them from the chaotic world outside. Iris was filled with exhaustion and slowly said,
"Back then, Clyde Gardner and I grew up as childhood sweethearts. He was the noble son of the Garner family in Aethelgard, and I was the heiress of the Crawford family. Our families had arranged our marriage very early on."
"We were both very outstanding from a young age, competing for the top spot from elementary to university. He treated me very well, and I loved him deeply. I knew early on that I would marry him in the future and become Mrs. Gardner."
"Later, we got married. Clyde and I were the first to marry. In the first year of our marriage, we were inseparable, deeply in love, and I quickly got pregnant with our baby. I thought... we would always be happy and joyful like this, but... but..."
Iris choked up, the word "but" stuck in her throat, causing even breathing to hurt, "But... my brother married Isabelle Willow, and all my happiness, my life, seemed to stop with Isabelle Willow’s appearance that year."
"I still remember the first time I saw Isabelle Willow, over thirty years ago. The entire Aethelgard was saying that having daughters was better than having sons, as the Willow daughters were famed throughout the capital. My first encounter with Isabelle was not seeing her in person, but seeing the jewelry she designed on a top-tier runway. Her jewelry, once showcased, amazed everyone, including me. Her designs were ethereal, innovative, and freely unique, absolutely unprecedented. I was deeply shocked and kept wondering what kind of girl could design such jewelry."
"Later one day, my brother returned to the Crawford family and told our mom, ’Mom, I’ve fallen in love with a girl. It’s serious, I want to marry her.’ In the grand wedding that shocked Aethelgard, I saw Isabelle Willow being ushered into the bridal chamber from the crowd. The 19-year-old Isabelle was cool and dazzling, like a fairy untouched by earthly matters."
"That was when I learned that she was Isabelle Willow and that my brother’s beloved girl was Isabelle Willow."
"I really liked Isabelle Willow. I once sneaked into Jill’s room to see Isabelle several times, and once, I unintentionally spied on my brother and Isabelle getting intimate in the study."
"At that time, Isabelle had attempted to escape on the eve of her wedding but was captured back. Her first love had his right leg broken and was in the hospital needing massive medical expenses. My brother used this as leverage to threaten Isabelle. That day in the study, my brother was smoking, and there was a stack of files scattered on the desk. He tapped his thigh, gesturing for Isabelle to sit on it."