Chapter 926
Chapter 926 Elias and Ashley's Side Story: Going Home Together
After they both agreed not to have kids, Elias went ahead and got a vasectomy, which was a common medical procedure to ensure that they'd have no kids. He didn't mention it to Ashley. Instead, he researched everything himself, then drove to the hospital and got it done.
The procedure was quick and simple, and it was done in less than an hour at an outpatient clinic. He even had a few meetings that afternoon, feeling only a slight discomfort that disappeared by the evening after he got home.
It wasn't until over a month later that Elias mentioned it to Ashley during a casual conversation. She stared at him, stunned for a moment. was rare to see someone as sharp as her look completely dumbfounded.
Elias chuckled. The word "surgery" had probably scared her into thinking that it was something serious. He quickly pulled her into a hug and kissed her before explaining in detail, trying to reassure her.
"Honey, didn't you notice that I've been terrified of having kids lately? Even with protection, I've been pulling out just to avoid any chance of an accident. Regardless of whether we'd keep the baby or not in the case of an accidental pregnancy, it would still hurt your body.
"I've been so worried about it that I haven't even been enjoying myself recently. So, I figured that I might as well eliminate the risk altogether."
Ashley wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head against his chest as she quietly said, "I know about that surgery. My dad got it done too.
"Back then, it was usually the woman who got the procedure done, but my dad realized that female sterilization was way riskier and more harmful than it was for men. He couldn't bear to put my mom through that, so he got it done himself.
"He was the only man in the neighborhood
that my mom was lucky to have found him."
have it, and everyone praised him as the perfect husband. They said
Elias knew that Ashley rarely gave compliments outright. This was her roundabout way of praising him. He beamed with pride.
Unlike his reserved wife, Elias was much more direct. Since he'd just been complimented, he couldn't help but " stand at attention", so to speak.
That night, the couch and carpet became their battleground.
Later, when Ashley was chatting with Emelie, she casually mentioned what Elias had done. Emelie didn't hold back her praise, calling him a "loyal dog".
Despite their decision, they still welcomed a new addition to the family that winter. However, it was a furry one. It was raining heavily that day. Elias was out of town for work, so he couldn't pick Ashley up after work.
As she left the law firm and walked to the parking lot with an umbrella in hand, she heard a faint meowing through the pouring rain. After searching around, she found a tiny but filthy white kitten hiding under a car.
It looked like a newborn. Its eyes were crusted with discharge, and it was so small and skinny that it seemed like a gust of wind could knock it over. It looked pitiful.
Without hesitation, she wrapped the kitten in her scarf and drove it to the vet. After an examination, the vet said that the kitten was less than a month old, but it already had several health issues. Even if they tried to save it, there was no guarantee that it would survive.
"We have to try," Ashley said firmly. After all, she had found the kitten.
Thankfully, the kitten was a fighter, and the treatment went well. Its life was saved.
When Elias got back from his trip, he was curious and went with her to the vet to see the kitten. The cat was curled up in the corner of a cage. Its fur was mostly shaved off from the treatment, and it looked scruffy and miserable.
Elias made a sound of disgust.
The kitten woke up, and upon recognizing Ashley, it wobbled over to the edge of the cage, meowing softly. She reached out to touch it, and the kitten kissed her finger with its tiny pink mouth.
Ashley smiled.
Elias said, "Honey, once it's better, let's take it home. Look at it it's so small and ugly. It can't fend for itself, and no other cats would want to be around it. If we don't take care of it, what'll happen to it?"
Ashley had already been thinking the same thing. Two months later, after the kitten had mostly recovered, Elias personally took it for a bath and deworming, then brought it home.
As time passed, the kitten grew back its fur and put on weight. It was no longer the scrawny little thing it once was, and it had turned into a sleek, well-fed cat. It had even developed a habit of jumping on Elias, and all 15 pounds of it felt like a furry boulder hitting him.
"Damn it!" Elias gasped as the cat launched itself onto him again. He barely caught his breath before quickly grabbing the cat and lifting it up. "Don't you have any idea how big you are? Or are you just trying to crush your dad?"
The cat meowed in response.
Elias was convinced that it was the latter because the cat never did this to Ashley.
When she was working, it would curl up at her feet, using its body heat to keep her warm. When she was reading documents, it would sit beside her in a perfect reading posture. Sometimes, it would even reach out a paw to' review" the papers with her, making important, albeit incomprehensible, critiques.
Having no idea what to do with the cat, Elias simply flipped it onto its back and buried his face in its belly for a big sniff. The cat was surprised, and it wrapped its legs around his head like it was hugging a ball.
Ashley couldn't stop laughing, and she quickly grabbed her phone to take a picture.
People always said that cats and dogs couldn't get along, but the cat and the dog in Ashley's house seemed to get along just fine.
After adopting the cat, they named Daisy, as it was a mostly white cat with some black markings, one of which resembled a flower.
Now, Elias also had the perfect response to everyone pressuring them to have kids.
He said, "This is my son."
Daisy chimed in with a meow.
"A kid wouldn't be as well-behaved or smart as Daisy."
Daisy gave another meow.
"And what if there was some genetic mishap, and we had a delinquent? It'd be a family disaster-a societal tragedy. Why should we curse the world like that? Raising a cat is much better than raising a kid."
Daisy meowed again.
Maya felt exasperated, but she couldn't say anything in response. Why did her grandson-uh, this cat-respond to Elias so well?
Pleased with himself, Elias gave Daisy a pat and put a beautiful ruby necklace on it.
Back when Elias was younger, no one could control him, and now that he was in charge of his own life, his parents could do nothing more than grumble. They certainly couldn't pressure him into anything, and he also made sure to deal with all those pressures before they even reached Ashley.
One day, William brought his daughter, Wilhelmina, to the office to discuss business with Elias.
Since Wilhelmina was born, William had taken care of her himself, even though they had a nanny. He just didn't trust anyone else. So, when he had to go out, he brought her along.
What was shocking was seeing Daisy in Elias' office.
Daisy had just been neutered, and it looked miserable. Worried that it might get depressed at such a young age, Ashley had Elias bring it to the office. Since Elias had had a similar experience, he could counsel Daisy.
Elias was baffled. "What kind of experience do I have?"
Ashley just gave him a glance and calmly replied, "It's close enough."
Annoyed, Elias picked her up and placed her on the shoe rack before kissing the lipstick off her lips.
"It's not even close!"
While the two dads talked business, their kids played. At one point, Elias casually said, "Daisy, take care of your sister."
Wilhelmina, who could already crawl, grabbed Daisy's tail. While Daisy was a friendly cat, it would always run if its tail was touched. However, it just stayed put as if it understood what Elias was talking about. It only let out a soft, pitiful meow, but it didn't move.
Wilhelmina giggled, tugging at the tail and trying to put it in her mouth. Daisy finally pulled its tail away and
turned around to scold her with a few more meows, as if warning her not to eat random things.
Then, Wilhelmina plopped down on top of Daisy, giving it a taste of its own "crushing" medicine.
When the dads finished their meeting, they found Wilhelmina asleep on the rug, with Daisy providing its strong body as a pillow.Content © provided by NôvelDrama.Org.
William and Elias exchanged a look. No wonder people said that cats were good at respecting their elders and being gentle with kids.
When the workday was over, Elias took Daisy with him to pick up Ashley from work. She was delighted. She hugged Daisy and kissed it, then held it up so that it could kiss Elias too.
Elias ended up with a mouthful of cat fur and spat it out.
Meanwhile, Daisy dramatically gagged. However, it wasn't fake gagging. It actually coughed up some mysterious
object.
Elias fumed in response, while Ashley burst out laughing, nearly falling off her chair.
Cats groomed themselves daily to clean their fur. Hence, some fur would be swallowed. The fur would either be passed naturally or form hairballs in their stomachs that they would eventually vomit up.
It was normal cat behavior. However, the timing of Daisy's little puke seemed too perfect, as if it was retaliating against Elias' disgust.
Ashley was laughing so hard that she had tears in her eyes, while Elias angrily called Daisy a brat multiple times. On the way home, Ashley dozed off, leaning against the car window. Daisy sat upright on the armrest, staring straight ahead and occasionally letting out a little meow. If one didn't know better, they'd think that it was helping Elias watch the road.
Suddenly, Elias felt like this was the warmest moment of winter. He slowed the car down as he drove his wife and their fur baby home together.