Elias’ Crimes and Punishments of Romance

Chapter 25 Elias Erected a Tombstone for His Son
“Mom....” Tears welled up in Amanda’s eyes when she saw her mother’s tombstone.
At that, she looked up to force her tears back. She didn’t want to shed any tears in front of Elias. She didn’t want him to see her
vulnerable side.
“Cry if you want, Elias murmured when he saw her holding her tears back. “It’s just you and me here.
“But you’re here!” she retorted before asking, “Why in the world have you brought me here?”
Elias did not say anything. He only walked over to the adjacent grave and stood there, his tall, handsome figure shrouded in
loneliness.
Baffled, Amanda followed him and when she saw the words engraved on the tombstone, she was dumbfounded.
Here lies the beloved son of Elias Winters’
The corner of Amanda’s lips twitched in response. This... He... What blasphemy is this?! How can Elias curse my son?!
“W-What is the meaning of this? Why erect a tombstone? Is it even necessary?”
Despite being a lawyer, Amanda was at a loss for words and her thoughts were scattered. She wasn’t sure how to feel anymore.
I can’t possibly tell Elias that our son is still alive and that he’d only be cursing the little one by erecting a tombstone in his name,
can I?!
“This is proof that my child existed,” Elias muttered as he fixed his profound gaze on the empty tombstone, rendering Amanda
speechless.
You’ve got to be kidding me! She, on the other hand, didn’t like this idea. After all, the little brat was alive and kicking at home.
You... This... He...
Amanda cleared her throat and attempted to dissuade Elias as she looked at his handsome side profile. “Um... Hear me out,
alright? I was only a little over a month into my pregnancy back then. The fetus wasn’t even fully developed yet. If anything, it
was only the size of a blueberry at most. It technically couldn’t even be considered a fetus, so you don’t have to do this. You’ll
have other children in the future.

“So what?! It won’t be the same! They won’t be this little one, no matter how many other children. I have! You’re his mother. How
can you be so heartless? How can you not stand seeing a tombstone erected for him?! Elias hit the roof, suddenly thinking that
the woman before him was rather ruthless. Why haven’t I noticed it before?
Amanda, on the other hand, was stumped by Elias’ accusation. Me? Heartless? Who was it who
refused to believe we had a child together and led me to nearly give up on Aiden?! But the key now us that Aiden is alive and
kicking, and an adorable little munchkin at that! How rude of Elias to erect a tombstone in Aiden’s name!
“What does this have to do with me being heartless or not? Why did you have to erect this tombstone? Aren’t you just upsetting
people? Does it not make you upset when this constantly reminds you of the child you gave up?” Amanda nearly blurted out the
fact that Arden was still alive. Thank goodness....
“Being upset is good. It’ll remind me to never make this mistake ever again,” Elias commented with great remorse as he
continued to latch his gaze on the empty tombstone.
Why did I refuse to believe Amanda was really pregnant? Why didn’t I question it? Even for one second...
Amanda fell silent at that. It seemed that there was no way around this unless she told him the child was still alive.
Whatever. If having Elias live under the illusion that the child was lost four years ago means that I can keep Aiden by my side
forever, so be it. It will be good for everyone too. Ring! Ring!
Just then, her phone rang, and she found it was a call from Howard.
“Grandpa!” Amanda greeted, drawing Elias’ attention. With that, he fixed his gaze on her.
Suddenly, she turned shocked and repeated with incredulity. “You want to set me up on a blind date? Please tell me this is a
joke, Grandpa. W-What are you doing? I told you I already have someone I like. He’s away on a business trip... No, I’m not lying
to you, I swear...”
Amanda felt beyond exasperated. First, Elias set up a tombstone for their ‘dead’ son and now, Howard wanted to set her up with
some man!
What is with all this hullabaloo?! I swear these two Winterses are sent by the heavens to torture me!

Out of the blue. Elias snatched her phone and caterwauled furiously to the phone. “What kind of mischief are you up to again.
Grandpa? Who said you could set Amanda up with other men?!”
“Why are you with Amanda?” Howard asked with displeasure when he heard Elias voice coming from the other end of the line.
“Last time I checked, you two have divorced. What are you doing. badgering her?!”
“Are you out of your mind? What are you thinking, setting Amanda up with other men?” Never had Elias thought his grandfather
would come around overnight when the elder still wouldn’t give up keeping him and Amanda together just the day before.
Set Amanda up with another guy? What is this old man up to?!
Suddenly, a bodyguard’s voice came from the other end of the line. “Old Mr. Winters? Old Mr. Winters, are you okay? Wake up!”
At that, the bodyguard said directly to the phone, “Mr. Elias, Old Mr. Winters has fainted. Please
come over!”
“Passed out? Send me the address!” Anxiety overcame Elias at once. Howard wasn’t always in the best shape and he would
suffer from high blood pressure now and then.
Amanda, too, became anxious when she heard Howard had fainted. “What are you standing here for? Go to your grandfather!”
she stated as she retrieved her phone.
With that, the two left the graveyard in two shakes, leaving the empty tombstone behind, looking oh-so-ridiculous....
Meanwhile, a certain child having fun in kindergarten sneezed several times in a row.
On the other side of the town, in Bamboo Hall, Howard gave his bodyguard a thumbs latter ended the call. “Good acting
up
after the
Lo and behold, the elder was doing just fine. It was just a plot tricking the two into coming over.
However, the bodyguard felt somewhat worried. “Will this really work, Old Mr. Winters? What if the two separate for good
because of this?”

Howard, on the other hand, was confident. “Don’t worry. This is called going against the tide. I’ve figured it out. The more I force
them together, the more they resist me. It’s time to try a different approach.”
“But Mr. Elias’ temper.”
“I figured it out last time. That rascal still cares about Amanda and is very jealous. Hmph! Let him worry, or he’ll really think no
one else other than him would want Amanda.” Howard smiled smugly with his hands behind his back.
Things will be easy as long as that rascal still has feelings for Amanda. I’d like to see him remain calm when his competition
really shows up.
Sometime later, Elias and Amanda arrived at the private room Howard had booked.
“Grandpa!” Amanda shouted once she entered, thinking the elder had passed out. To her surprise, Howard was sipping his tea
leisurely.
Elias, on the other hand, blew a fuse and couldn’t help storming, “Do you think this is funny? How can you be at this again?!”
“How is this not funny? Will you two come obediently if I don’t fake it?” Howard retorted with the teacup in his hand.