“Who hit you?”
Thomas did not speak loudly.
His voice was still weak from having only just awakened, yet the room fell silent all the same.
Martha instinctively raised a hand to cover her face, but one cheek was already red and swollen.
The clear marks of five fingers were impossible to hide.
Thomas stared at her for a moment before slowly turning his gaze toward Agnes, who stood beside George.
No one really needed to answer.
“Mother hit you?”
Martha remained silent.
Her silence made the answer even clearer.
Thomas’s fingers tightened around the bedsheet.
His face was already pale from his injuries, and the effort of suppressing his anger only made him look worse.
“Why?”
Agnes had looked slightly uneasy at first, but the moment her son questioned her, her expression darkened.
“You’re asking me why?”
She stepped forward, her voice growing sharper.
“Look at what this family has become.
We’ve already spent so much money treating your injuries, and now we’re supposed to keep worrying about Elena’s marriage too.”
“Instead of thinking about the family, Martha stands there arguing with her elders.
She’s Elena’s mother.
If she can’t discipline her own daughter, am I supposed to say nothing as her grandmother?”
Thomas frowned.
“So you hit Martha?”
“So what if I did?”
Whatever guilt Agnes had felt disappeared beneath her anger.
“She has been married into the Miller family for years.
When have I ever mistreated her?”
“If she can’t even manage her own daughter, what’s wrong with an elder saying a few words to her?”
“Saying a few words and striking her aren’t the same thing.”
Thomas still did not raise his voice, but his tone had hardened.
Agnes faltered.
Her expression became even more unpleasant.
“What now?
You’ve only just opened your eyes, and you’re already questioning your own mother because of your wife and daughter?”
“I’m not questioning you.”
Thomas looked steadily at her.
“I only want to know what Martha did that was so wrong you thought she deserved to be hit.”
Agnes opened her mouth.
For a moment, she had no answer.
She knew perfectly well that the person who had truly angered her was Elena.
The girl had been completely different from before.
Not only had she dared to argue, she had spoken so clearly that Agnes had been unable to answer her.
With nowhere else for that anger to go, Martha had ended up bearing the worst of it.
Agnes certainly was not going to admit that.
“If her own daughter refuses to listen, doesn’t the mother bear some responsibility?”
Her voice turned cold.
“Elena is already sixteen.
What’s wrong with beginning to consider marriage at her age?”
“Do you expect this family to support her forever?”
Thomas’s expression slowly darkened.
“Who said anyone has to support her forever?”
“Then tell me what we’re supposed to do.”
Agnes immediately fired back.
“You’re injured so badly that even the doctor can’t say when you’ll be able to work again.
The harvest isn’t finished.
Medicine costs money.
Doctor’s visits cost money.”
Her voice grew louder with every sentence.
“When you were able to work, when did I ever pressure you about Elena?”
“But look at our situation now.”
“She’s sixteen, not six.
What’s wrong with finding a reliable household for her sooner rather than later?”
“Enough.”
George finally spoke.
He had remained silent at the side of the room until now.
Seeing Agnes grow more agitated, his expression hardened.
“Thomas has only just woken up.
Do you have to argue about this now?”
Agnes turned toward her husband.
“Am I wrong?”
“I didn’t say you were wrong.”
George frowned.
“But the doctor said he shouldn’t become too agitated.”
That finally made Agnes restrain herself a little.
She glanced at Thomas.
He did indeed look terrible.
A thin sheen of sweat had appeared across his forehead, yet he clearly had no intention of letting the matter end there.
“Who decided Elena’s marriage?”
Agnes stiffened.
“What do you mean, who decided it?
We’re only thinking ahead for her.”
“Did she agree?”
The room fell silent again.
Agnes looked at him as though he had asked something ridiculous.
“What does a sixteen-year-old girl know about marriage?
Of course the family has to consider these things for her.”
Thomas did not answer immediately.
In the past, he might not have thought there was anything particularly strange about those words.
Elena had always developed more slowly than other children her age.
Many things that came naturally to others were difficult for her to understand.
Marriage was only one of them.
Even slightly complicated family matters often had to be explained to her several times by Martha.
That was exactly why Thomas and Martha had spent so many years worrying about what would happen to their daughter when she grew older.
But now…
Thomas raised his eyes and, for the first time since waking, truly looked at Elena.
She had been standing beside Martha almost the entire time.
She had not panicked because the adults were arguing.
She had not hidden behind her mother the way she might have before.
When Agnes had lost her temper earlier, Elena had even moved toward Martha as though instinctively trying to protect her.
And her eyes— they were clear.
There was none of the old confusion in them, none of the delayed uncertainty she used to show whenever something unfamiliar happened.
The longer Thomas looked, the stronger his confusion became.
He had noticed something strange earlier.
There had simply been too much arguing for him to think carefully about it.
Now that the room had quieted, the difference became impossible to ignore.
“Elena.”
Thomas suddenly called her name.
Elena looked up.
“Dad?”
It was the most ordinary response imaginable.
Yet Thomas visibly froze.
Elena had always called him Father before.
But in the past, she often needed time to react when someone spoke to her.
Sometimes a person would ask her a question and have to wait several seconds before she understood that she was expected to answer.
Now there was no hesitation at all.
“Come here.”
Elena walked to the bedside. Find the original chapter at g.com.
Thomas studied her for a moment before asking carefully, “Do you…
understand what we were talking about just now?”
“Yes.”
Elena nodded.
Thomas’s expression changed.
Even George and Agnes looked toward her.
Everyone had been too focused on the arguments to properly consider Elena’s behavior.
Some had noticed that she seemed different.
No one had truly stopped to think about how different.
Now that Thomas had asked the question directly, the change suddenly became obvious.
Thomas tried again.
“When your grandmother says she wants to find you a husband, do you understand what that means?”
“Yes.”
“Do you want that?”
“No.”
Elena answered without hesitation.
“I don’t want to get married right now.”
Agnes’s face darkened again.
“See?”
She turned toward Thomas.
“This is what Martha has taught her.
Now she even talks back to her elders!”
Thomas ignored her.
His attention remained on Elena.
“Why don’t you want to?”
“Because I don’t even know who the man would be.”
Elena’s answer was calm.
“And I’ve only just recovered.
There are still many things I haven’t figured out yet.”
“I don’t want to marry a complete stranger just because the family happens to need money.”
Thomas stared at her.
The old Elena could never have said something like that.
Martha, seeing her husband’s expression, finally explained in a quiet voice.
“Elena had a high fever after she fell into the pond.”
“When she woke up, she was different.”
Thomas turned sharply toward her.
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t really know how to explain it.”
Martha wiped at the corner of her eye.
“After she woke up, her mind seemed much clearer.
She speaks more clearly too.
Most things only need to be explained once now, and she understands.”
“I wanted to wait until you were better before telling you, but so much has happened these past few days, and you’ve barely been conscious…”
Thomas hardly heard the rest.
He looked back at Elena, disbelief slowly replacing the surprise in his eyes.
“Is that true?”
Elena nodded.
“It is.”
“What about things from before?”
“I remember some of them.”
“Others are very vague.”
That was also the safest answer, because it was true enough to her present situation.
“Maybe the fever affected my memory.”
Thomas looked at her for a long time without speaking.
He still seemed unable to believe it.
After a while, he asked another question.
“Do you know who I am?”
Elena looked faintly helpless.
“Thomas Miller.”
She deliberately paused.
“My dad.”
Thomas stared at her.
Then, unexpectedly, he laughed.
It was a quiet laugh, and because of his injuries, it quickly turned into two short coughs.
“Thomas!”
Martha hurried to him.
“Don’t get too excited.”
“I’m fine.”
Thomas lifted his good hand slightly.
But his eyes never left Elena.
“Good…”
His voice softened.
“It’s good that you’re better.”
He slowly raised the hand he could still move.
Elena hesitated for a moment, then stepped closer.
His rough palm settled gently on the top of her head.
Those hands had held farm tools for years.
Thick calluses covered his palms and knuckles, and there was nothing soft about them.
Yet his touch was careful.
“What I worried about most before was what would happen to you when you grew older.”
Thomas looked at his daughter.
“Now…”
“You can think for yourself.”
“You know what you want.”
Elena did not answer.
For some reason, something in her chest tightened.
In her previous life, she had never known her parents.
From a very young age, she had learned to rely on herself.
When she was sick, she endured it herself.
When trouble came, she found her own way through it.
No one had ever looked so relieved simply because she could clearly express what she wanted.
Yet the man in front of her was lying badly injured in bed, with no certainty that his legs would ever fully recover.
And still, the moment he learned that his daughter was better, he seemed to forget his own condition.
The feeling was unfamiliar.
But she did not dislike it.
“Dad.”
Elena called him softly.
“Mm?”
“I’ll be able to take care of myself from now on.”
Thomas smiled.
“You’re sixteen.”
“It’s not your turn to worry about all of that yet.”
Elena smiled too.
Martha stood beside them, watching father and daughter.
For the first time since the night before, a trace of warmth appeared in her reddened eyes.
Agnes, however, did not look pleased.
“So what if she’s clear-headed now?”
The brief warmth in the room vanished.
The smile faded from Thomas’s face.
Agnes clearly had no intention of abandoning the earlier subject.
“Of course it’s good that she’s better.
But that doesn’t change the family’s situation.”
“You’re still lying in bed.
Has the doctor said when your legs will recover?”
“The harvest still has to be brought in, and we’ve already spent plenty because of your injuries.”
“Are we supposed to pretend none of that matters?”
Thomas fell silent.
Seeing that he did not answer, Agnes softened her tone slightly.
“I’m her grandmother.
Do you really think I want to harm her?”
“I only think she’s old enough for us to begin considering these things.”
“Finding a decent young man from a stable household and taking the time to learn about him is better than being forced to rush later.”
Elena did not interrupt.
There was no point continuing to argue with Agnes.
The person whose decision truly mattered was lying in the bed.
Sure enough, after a moment of silence, Thomas looked back at his daughter.
“Elena.”
“Mm?”
“You said you don’t want to marry?”
“Right.”
“And Adrian?”
Elena’s gaze shifted slightly.
Adrian Carter.
Of course she remembered that name.
The original Elena had liked him very much.
But it was also because of what Adrian had said beside the village pond that the original girl had become so distressed and eventually fallen into the water.
At least for now, Elena had no favorable feelings toward him.
“No.”
Her answer was just as immediate.
Thomas looked surprised.
“Didn’t you used to like him?”
“That was before.”
Elena spoke simply.
“I understand things differently now.”
“If someone doesn’t like me at all, why should I keep chasing after him?”
Thomas did not answer at once.
He looked at his daughter for a moment, then gave a small nod.
“That’s true.”
Agnes frowned.
“Thomas!”
“Mother.”
Thomas finally looked at her.
“Leave Elena’s marriage alone for now.”
“What?”
“She doesn’t want it.”
His voice was quiet, but there was little room for argument.
“And she’s only sixteen.”
“We used to worry that she might never be able to take care of herself.
That was why we thought we would need to arrange things for her early.”
“But she’s better now.”
“If she can think for herself, then we can’t decide her marriage without even asking what she wants.”
Agnes’s expression turned completely cold.
“So now you’re going to let her decide everything?”
“That’s not what I said.”
Thomas met her gaze.
“But this is the life she’ll have to live.”
“She should at least be willing.”
George had remained silent throughout the exchange.
Only then did he look toward Elena.
His granddaughter’s sudden change had clearly surprised him as well.
After a while, he tapped his wooden walking stick lightly against the floor.
“Put the marriage matter aside for now.”
Agnes turned sharply.
“George?”
“Thomas has only just woken up.”
George frowned.
“Getting him stable is more important.”
“As for Elena, we’ll talk again after the harvest.”
Agnes clearly wanted to argue, but one look at her husband’s expression made her stop.
“Fine.”
Her voice was cold.
“If all of you have already made up your own minds, then I won’t interfere.”
She turned and headed for the door.
George glanced once at his son before following.
“Rest.”
“We’ll talk about everything else later.”
Thomas nodded.
When the two of them had gone, the door closed again.
At last, the room was quiet.
Martha seemed to lose all her remaining strength at once and sat down beside the bed.
Elena looked at her swollen cheek.
“Mom, soak a cloth in cold water and hold it against your face for a while.”
“I’m fine.”
Martha instinctively tried to dismiss it.
Thomas frowned.
“Listen to Elena.”
Martha blinked.
Elena could not help smiling.
Martha looked at her husband, then at her daughter, and finally gave a helpless little smile of her own.
“All right.”
She stood to fetch some water.
But just as she reached the door, Thomas called her back.
“Martha.”
She turned.
“What is it?”
Thomas hesitated.
“How much money do we have…
that actually belongs to us?”
Martha stopped.
Elena looked up as well.
“Why are you asking that all of a sudden?”
Thomas did not answer immediately.
His gaze moved past the half-open window toward Miller Farm outside.
Autumn sunlight fell across the wooden walls of the barn.
Beyond it lay fields that were only partly harvested.
A few hens scratched for seeds beside the fence, and somewhere farther away came the occasional call of livestock.
This was where Thomas had spent most of his life.
From the time he was young, he had worked these fields beside his father and brothers.
They sowed in spring, tended the crops through summer, harvested in autumn, and repaired fences and farm tools through winter.
After marrying Martha, he had raised his children here as well.
His own family lived in the old orchard cottage on the western side of Miller Farm, but much of their work, grain, livestock, and income was still tied to the larger farm George and Agnes managed.
Thomas had never seriously thought about leaving that arrangement behind.
But today, for the first time, another question entered his mind.
If his wife and children continued depending so heavily on Miller Farm, how many more grievances would Martha be expected to endure?
And when it came to Elena, how many decisions would truly belong to him and his wife?
Thomas remained silent for a long time.
“It’s nothing.”
In the end, that was all he said.
“When you have time, count the money we’ve managed to save for ourselves over the years.”
Martha did not understand, but she nodded anyway.
“All right.”
Elena stood beside the bed, quietly watching the thoughtful expression on her father’s face.
She said nothing.
But she had the faint feeling that after everything that had happened today, Thomas had begun considering something he had never seriously considered before.
He simply was not ready to say it aloud yet.