A Matter of Wife and Love
Chapter 269

The ice-skating rink was pristine and spacious with an ice surface that was so clean and smooth one could see one's own reflection. A skilled and graceful figure skater glided effortlessly on the ice, executing complex maneuvers and high jumps. At one point, the skater crouched low to the ice, arms outstretched and undulating like a graceful swan, before finally planting a kiss on the ice. This move elicited excited screams from the female spectators who were clutching their hearts as they watched from the audience seats. The crowd was so captivated by the skater's beauty that they felt as though he was kissing them individually, causing their hearts to skip a beat.

"Blakey, Blakey, Blakey!" The crowd chanted in unison, drowning out the other contestants on the stage. After several minutes, the young man finally performed his last and extremely difficult quadruple axel jump, freezing momentarily in the air before landing gracefully and finishing off his routine. Then, he bowed to the audience. At that, the crowd erupted into frenzied screams that lasted long after the competition had ended. The figure skater attempted to signal his need to leave, but the enthusiastic crowd wouldn't let him go without him responding to them.

Eventually, he had to pick up the microphone to ask for a moment of silence. With his trademark shy smile on his face and his bangs soaked with sweat, he reminded the audience, "There are still many contestants yet to compete. Will you please give them more applause?"

After thanking the crowd, the young man left the stage. This time, no one called out his name. The audience just watched him depart with a look of reluctance in their eyes. They couldn't get the performance out of their heads and felt their blood boiling with excitement and emotion. They wanted to call for his name, cry, and express how beautiful and astounding his performance was!

Amelie quietly watched this scene. Her heart was filled with many emotions, but those were different from the ones the audience was feeling. She had witnessed the most difficult time of Blake's life and knew better than anyone how he had overcome his difficulties step by step and achieved what he had today. Blake was different from others. He was a calm and positive man who would not be agitated because of his opponents or look down on weaker opponents because of his skills. Even if those two sentences he said just now sounded like showing off, they were actually sincere and without any intention of boasting. Those who could live so quietly and clear-mindedly in this world were rare. Perhaps it was those experiences back then that shaped him into the clear-minded person he was today.

"What are you thinking about?" Someone patted her on the shoulder. Amelie turned around and saw the young man she had just evaluated standing in front of her. The shyness in his smile gradually faded away and was replaced by tenderness. His eyes were smiling too, and he looked like a young man who was new to adulthood.

"I was waiting for you," Amelie answered. Blake had already taken off his ice skates and performance clothes and was now wearing a pure white and clean suit, making him look even more flawless. "Congratulations, you've won another important gold medal."

Despite the competition still being ongoing, his score was already significantly high, for he had executed advanced moves that no one had ever attempted before. The score was seemingly predetermined. Blake appeared relaxed as if the event was just another ordinary training session and not a world-class competition. He softly thanked Amelie, "I owe it all to you. Without your encouragement, I might have settled for a mediocre life in some obscure corner of the world. I might have pursued other endeavors, but figure skating would not have been one of them."

Amelie felt a little sheepish as she ran her hand through her hair, reminiscing on how she awkwardly persuaded Blakey to take up figure skating. At the time, Blakey lacked any motivation to learn the sport, and no matter what approach she took, he wouldn't budge. So, she proposed a bet to him. She promised that if she could execute the most challenging move at the time, he would have to return and learn figure skating again. This move was so complicated that even professional figure skaters struggled with it. Blake assumed that she would fail and thus would give up pestering him, so he accepted the bet. It was true that Amelie failed to execute the move, but she practiced tirelessly for seven days, focusing solely on that one move. It was a jumping move, and she, a beginner who could barely stand on ice skates, had no fear of skating up a slope and making a jump while spinning in the air. She fell every time, but she persevered.

Blake watched the stubborn girl who was half a head shorter than him, feeling warm inside. Despite that, he was also concerned when he saw her jumping repeatedly. Every time she landed with a thud, it struck his heart hard. At the time, what he thought about the most was that he hoped she couldn't take it anymore and would leave. But in the end, she didn't leave. She persisted for seven days, only asking him to watch her. She jumped for seven days, and he watched for seven days straight. His heart thumped for seven days and ached for seven days, which was a new experience for him since he had no family to experience any bonding with.

Ever since his only grandmother passed away, there was nobody in the world who worried about him, and he also didn't have to worry about anyone else. He realized that worrying about someone else was more powerful than worrying about oneself. Even though he attempted to resist, Amelie did not give him a chance, and on the seventh day, he could no longer turn a blind eye and surrendered.

"You were very stubborn," he reminisced and sighed softly, his gaze still lost in memories. "I always wonder, where did you replace the incredible strength to persist for seven days under that kind of pain? You were so thin and weak. Did you believe you could train yourself that way?"

Amelie smiled in response.

The two of them were in a private room on the second floor, with no interruptions and no one to see them. "If an amateur like me could master it, then it wouldn't be hailed as a high-difficulty move," Amelie said "So why did you persist?"

"Because I know you can't bear to watch me fail." Amelie turned to look at him, her eyes clear just like when they first met. It was this gaze that deceived him into thinking she was just a spoiled girl who couldn' handle hardship, so he fell into her trap. But it was because of her determination that inspired him. He had gritted his teeth and persevered through all the challenges over the years. Her eyes were planted in his heart, watching him every moment, and he didn't want to stop, nor did he want to stop.

"Blakey." Just as Blake was about to lose himself in her gaze, he suddenly heard her call out to him.

Blakey snapped out of his trance and saw Amelie looking at him seriously.

"I came here to ask you to go back to the 'Show Your Love' program,” Amelie proposed. Her eyes on him were gentle yet firm.

"Why?" Blakey instinctively asked.

"You're an ice-skating star. Giving up halfway will affect your image." She had agreed to Mr. Hampton's request not just because she owed him a favor, but also for this reason. "Are you afraid it will affect your sales?" Blake asked softly.

Amelie was taken aback for a moment before nodding. "Yeah." She hadn't even thought about it from this perspective, but sometimes it was better to talk about things in terms of benefits. Her answer made Blake chuckle. He knew that money was not her main priority, but rather her emotions held more significance.

"What about you? Do you want to go back together?" he asked lightly.

"I don't-"

"Elie, if you go back, I'll consider going back too." He cut her off before she could finish, using her nickname for the first time and showing his dominance in front of her.