My Alleged Husband

Chapter 416 - 395: The Last Dignity_1

Zhang Zhentian knew in his heart that he had once again angered his own son, but he also had his own dignity as a person. Could it be that he should once again abandon his dignity and beg a woman that would never return?

Just as Zhang Zhentian was unsure about what to do, his father, Old Master Zhang, gave him a phone call. As he listened to every word his father said, he realized that everything he had done was so insignificant.

"Dad, no matter what I still can’t give up my dignity to beg him to come back to me. I have already forsaken my dignity once, must I again discard what’s so-called the most important dignity? Why must I use my dignity to win back a woman who has already given up on this home? If she has decided not to return, why should I foolishly convince her otherwise? Wouldn’t that be even more painful for her?" Zhang Zhentian said to Old Master Zhang. Old Master Zhang found Zhang Zhentian’s words quite amusing.

"Do you think you’re the only one with dignity? To bring you two together, we have already given so much, yet why can’t you appreciate our intentions? Is it only your dignity that matters, ours is not important? For your sake, we have given so much, but in your eyes, our efforts seem to mean nothing. If you treat it all with such indifference, then why bother saying this to me? Don’t you realize how much that truly chills our hearts? We have repeatedly made sacrifices for you, yet in your view, everything we’ve done is trivial. In your eyes, all my contributions are pointless. What do you actually see? Have your eyes come to recognize only self-interest? Are you truly my son? Back then, you chose to leave the Zhang Family and openly defy me for his sake, and I could understand that. But now that you are together, why create this farce for others to deal with? Do you find it embarrassing? You can disregard your own reputation, but I, as the head of the family, Elder Zhang, still need to maintain mine. You always act selfishly, doing whatever you please; I never criticized you, thinking there must be a reason behind your actions, hoping you would achieve your desired outcome. But today I realized you’ve never considered our Zhang Family. Have you thought about where to put the face of generations of our family? You think whatever you’ve done is just done, right or wrong, charging ahead to do what you want. Do you understand what we truly need? All we need is a harmonious family, just a family able to live peacefully—that’s enough. Yet, you have never fulfilled even this small wish for me. Do you truly hold me, your father, in your heart? If I’m really not in your heart, is it so hard to satisfy this small request of mine? Is my wish really so difficult to fulfill?"

Zhang Zhentian had not expected his father to speak such heartfelt words. He understood very well that all these years, his father had indeed given a lot for him. Yet, he feigned ignorance because he didn’t want his father to know that he had seen all his sacrifices and chose not to acknowledge them. He didn’t want others to know his father was still there, worrying about the future, but he failed to understand that everyone else knew how much Old Master Zhang had done for Zhang Zhentian, who, despite never giving up the search, could now disown his own father. Zhang Zhentian was at a loss on how to face all this.

"Dad, you should know I’m not such an ungrateful person. Since you can understand what’s in my heart, why must you still speak like this? Doesn’t it pain your heart to speak this way about your own flesh and blood? I understand how you must feel, to watch your own son become such a disappointment, but dad, I still need to apologize to you. Because of me, you have suffered so much, and for my sake, you’ve delayed so many things, time and again making sacrifices for me, while I remained indifferent. I’m truly heartless, but if I gave up even this last bit of my dignity and he still wouldn’t return, what would be the point of my existence? You’ve said face is important. Isn’t what I’m doing considering the face of our family? Why should I, a man, have to beg a woman repeatedly to come back to me? Without her, can the Zhang Family truly not function? With so many capable people and geniuses in the family, it is not dependent on one person to operate. If she wants to leave, then let her go, let her never appear before me again. Her absence calms my heart. Since she has decided to leave, let her not try to come back, as it is pointless. When I chose to retain her, she harshly rejected me, so don’t even think about coming back into my life, as it would only cause me to look down on her, to see her as a frivolous woman..."

"Do you think this kind of commotion is really amusing? To see the woman you love, to have her close by but not be able to hold hands or embrace, does that make you happy? When it’s something that could cause lifetime pain, why would you still do it? What good does it do for you? Don’t I know well enough to see through it? It’s because you’re too self-centered that he felt compelled to leave you. You think she doesn’t truly love you, but her heart has always been with you—it’s only that you feel she doesn’t love you!"