After I Stopped Loving Him novel Chapter 1101

"Now, all the vegetables we eat at home are grown right in our own yard. The fruit trees will take a little longer to produce, but in a couple of years, we'll have our own seasonal fruit, too."

Whenever she had a rare moment of downtime, Isabella actually enjoyed tending to the vegetables and watering the flowers. She often imagined what it would be like when she was older and finally retired—spending her days tending to a garden, pruning fruit trees, and enjoying a quiet life just like her mother. It sounded incredibly peaceful.

"That's wonderful," Harold smiled. "Being self-sufficient is great, and you always feel better eating food you grew yourself. We actually have a vegetable patch against the back wall of our courtyard here, too."

Of course, the estate's staff managed it. The women of the Carter family were far too busy managing their social and business empires to spend hours weeding.

Isabella wasn't surprised. It was a common trend; almost every wealthy family she visited had a designated patch in their sprawling gardens for seasonal vegetables. As Harold said, homegrown food just tasted better and brought peace of mind. The produce at high-end markets was grown using hyper-efficient commercial methods—it looked perfect and grew fast, but it never quite captured the rich flavor of something grown slowly in a backyard.

After walking a bit further, they stepped into a shaded gazebo and sat down.

"Are you hot? Getting tired?" Harold asked, his eyes crinkling with concern.

Isabella looked around at the lush, towering trees surrounding them. "There's a great breeze today, and the trees block the sun. I'm not hot at all, and definitely not tired."

They were just taking a leisurely stroll through a gorgeous garden, not running a marathon.

A moment of quiet passed before Isabella spoke again, her tone gentling. "Harold... what exactly is wrong with your grandmother?"

Isabella's chest tightened with sympathy. She stayed quiet for a long moment before looking up at him, guilt flickering in her eyes. "When we were inside... do you think I disappointed her by saying I wasn't ready?"

She reached out, resting her hand on his. "Harold, you are incredible. I know that. But we haven't been together that long, and I just... I don't want to rush into marriage."

More importantly, she didn't want to rush into a lifelong commitment simply to fulfill a dying woman's final wish. This would be her second marriage; she had to be absolutely certain. No matter how deeply in love they were, the trauma of her past made her fiercely cautious. She couldn't just leap into marriage, even with a man as flawless as Harold.

Harold turned his hand over, intertwining his fingers firmly with hers. "Isabella, she would love to see us get married, yes. But she also completely understands where you're coming from. And I am never going to pressure you. We'll date for as long as you want. Whenever you're finally ready to marry me, that's when we'll do it. I will always wait for you."