The Thorne of Destiny-Chapter 81: His Mother

They spoke softly, their voices blending with the rustling leaves and the quiet trickle of water, as if the garden itself were listening.

They chatted about different topics, occasionally letting out soft laughter that sounded like music to the ears of whoever was listening.

Suddenly, both women turned their heads in the same direction, and their gazes landed on the newcomer who stood there panting.

They were both shocked, and one of them even stood up from her seat and started approaching the newcomer.

The newcomer was Adrian. When he saw both women, he froze momentarily. However, when he saw one of them coming towards him, he ran towards her, embracing her tightly.

He finally let go of all his inhibitions as he burst into tears while hugging her. The woman was a bit surprised at the actions of Adrian, yet she didn’t push him away.

Instead, she gently wrapped her hands around him while patting the back of his head.

"My child... you’ve suffered, haven’t you?" Her warm, soothing voice resounded in Adrian’s ears.

This was his mother, Natasha Thorne.

When Adrian heard the soothing words of his mother, he buried himself even deeper into her embrace, as if he wanted to escape from the world around him.

The mother-son pair simply stood there, embracing each other. After a few minutes, Adrian looked up to see the face of his mother.

What met him was his mother’s smiling face, filled with warmth and happiness. Seeing her smile made a warm feeling bubble up in his heart, filling him with joy.

Adrian had finally calmed down and was no longer sobbing. His mother noticed this and released herself from his embrace.

A few tears could still be seen staining his face. His mother raised her hand and used her sleeve to wipe them off. Her dress already had a massive blotch stained with his tears. What’s a little more?

Of course, it wasn’t as if she cared about the dress. How could a simple dress compare to the well-being of her son? She wasn’t like those stuck-up nobles that was hung up on material things.

When she saw that Adrian had finally calmed down, she asked the question that had finally been on her mind.

"What happened to you, my sweet child?" She asked in a caring tone that carried a hint of concern.

Adrian’s actions just now were very strange. Adrian wasn’t the type of person to wear his heart on his sleeve. He rarely cried as a child and was relatively well-behaved and well-mannered. freёweɓnovel.com

This behaviour was further enhanced when he started cultivating. Being the Young Master of one of the Twelve Great Houses, he had been educated from a very young age about the ways of the world.

He was being groomed to become a powerful cultivator, just like his father. In fact, his father was one of the reasons why he worked so hard.

Adrian grew up hearing stories about his father’s greatness. At less than two hundred years old, he was the Youngest Patriarch among the Twelve Great Families.

Something he was only able to achieve due to his outstanding cultivation talent and his brilliant mind. Adrian greatly admired his father and always wanted to be like him.

This is why he unconsciously mimicked his father’s stoic and indifferent attitude. Of course, he was only stoic outwardly. To his family and those he considered friends, he was a kind and caring individual.

Adrian worked hard in order to be like his father. Sometimes, his mother would worry that he was pushing himself too hard.

He would endure training that would make other children cry and give up without complaining. It was this diligence and determination in his training that made him accomplish his current cultivation level at such a young age.

Seeing Adrian break down in tears was very alarming for Natasha, though she didn’t show it outwardly. She first prioritized pacifying him before inquiring what happened.

"I-I don’t know", Adrian replied in a confused tone, as if his answer didn’t make sense to him himself. When he was about to tell his mother about what happened, he felt his mind filled with fog.

He was unable to remember what caused his sadness and grief, as if it were a bad dream that had faded away.

Natasha furrowed her brows, not expecting such an answer from him. She was about to ask what he meant when another voice interrupted her train of thought.

"It seems you guys have forgotten about me. I can’t believe I became invisible just because little Adrian here came back."

The speaker was the other womman sitting at the pavilion, Celeste Thorne. Her words may have seemed condescending, but everyone present knew she was just joking.

Unlike other noble families that would have the wives opposing each other, the case was vastly different in the House of Thorne.

Not only were the two wives of the Patriarch not at loggerheads, they were also in complete harmony. The two women were so close that they called each other sisters.

Naturally, their attitude towards each other transferred to their children. There was no estrangement between Adrian and his brother, and the two were quite close to each other.

Adrian and his mother turned around to face Celeste, who could be seen smiling while holding a cup of tea.

"You know it’s not like that, sister. It’s just been so long since Adrian went to train that I missed him so much." Natasha replied.

"Yes, that’s true, Aunt Celeste", Adrian replied as well.

"Hmph, at least tell me you brought me something from your little trip," Celeste stated, which made Adrian avoid her gaze.

"So you left home for four months, and when you came back, you couldn’t even bother bringing back a gift?" Celeste questioned in a tone that sent shivers down Adrian’s spine.

However, before anything happened, his mother came to his rescue.

"Alright, sister, don’t bully him too much. Besides, what could a kid like him even get you?" His mother stated, as if mediating between two parties.

"Hmph, you’re lucky Elder sister is here to beg on your behalf," Celeste stated while slightly pouting.

Adrian’s mother simply laughed as she understood Celeste’s actions. She might not have said anything, but she was also worried about Adrian.