Chapter 219: "Selling" My Brother

"What did you say?" In the current situation, Martina appeared as though she hadn't heard Elena's words clearly, or perhaps she couldn't believe it. Elena was puzzled and didn't see anything wrong. She repeated her earlier statement, "I said that if you really end up with Benjamin in the future and get married, Jack will be your biggest support. You won't need to be afraid at all!" Martina's demeanor darkened rapidly. Ultimately, she appeared exasperated, and her gaze towards Elena lacked its usual emotions. "In reality, I don't plan to end up with Benjamin in the long run. We aren't the most suitable match..." Unexpectedly, even at this point, she would firmly utter such words. To be honest, this surprised Elena greatly. She had thought that after all the effort she put in during this time, Benjamin would have surely occupied a significant place in Martina's heart. Especially considering his recent visible changes. Frankly, if this situation had happened to Elena herself, she would have certainly been deeply moved, and it would have been impossible for her to remain indifferent. So, why did Martina appear so indifferent like an outsider? It made Elena think that perhaps Martina's heart had been thoroughly wounded. Even at this stage, she didn't have any inclination to reconsider her decision. These thoughts saddened Elena even more. Because she understood very well that the experiences Martina had gone through earlier had left indelible marks in her heart, which had led to the subsequent things. In fact, no one could claim that Martina's decisions were wrong. Her choices were entirely her own, and no one could make decisions on her behalf. Not even Elena, despite their close relationship. Elena gazed at Martina with a complex look for a long time. She then took a deep breath and asked, "Have you really thought it through?" To be honest, during this period, Elena had genuinely believed that Martina and Benjamin were showing signs of reconciling. She thought that Martina was simply too shy to admit it. Who would have thought that Martina could be so firm about this? Didn't that say it all? Martina lowered her head, her eyes slightly downcast, concealing her true emotions and thoughts. Her slender fingers curled slightly, and she felt quite conflicted. "I... I don't know. At least for now, I can't go back to how things were, and I can't love him again, not anytime soon." She couldn't even like him anymore. Once she got close to Benjamin, Martina recalled all those past experiences that had happened to her. All those experiences, which hadn't originally belonged to her, were all because of Benjamin's presence. Martina knew that, in reality, she was to blame for this situation. But if she hadn't gotten close to the source that was Benjamin in the first place, would the subsequent things have ever occurred? She also understood that her thoughts were quite selfish, without much consideration for others. But at this point, who else could she consider? As long as she could take care of herself, that should be enough. Elena wasn't sure what else she could say, so she just hugged Martina tightly. Feeling the strong heartbeat between them, she felt that her emotions had settled a bit. Thinking about her brother's feelings for Martina, even she could sense them. It probably wouldn't be long before her brother couldn't hide it anymore. Out of either selfishness or some other motive, Elena couldn't help but bring up the topic again. "It's okay. You still have me. And if worst comes to worst, I can introduce my brother to you. Actually, I think he is pretty good. Even though he's not as rich or as exceptional as Benjamin, he's not bad at all. You could say he's second only to Benjamin." Listening to Elena's words, Martina finally managed to crack a smile, saying, "Why do you keep coming up with ideas? You even want to introduce your brother to me. Aren't you afraid that if I become your sister-in-law, I'll keep your brother away from you?" Martina said this with a playful tone, thinking that Elena would retort. Surprisingly, rather than retorting, Elena responded with an excited tone, "Is that so? I'd be thrilled if it could happen that way!" "You have no idea, my brother is absolutely crazy when it comes to controlling me. He won't let me do many things. Even though I've been an adult for so long, does he really think I don't know what I can and can't do? But he insists on overseeing me." "If I ever do something I'm not supposed to, and it's determined based on his criteria, he makes me pay for it. At least he scolds me, and sometimes, he even imposes punishments on me. Our family rules are really strict! You have no idea about that! If I break the family rules, he even threatens to use this giant wolf's tooth club to scare me! It's a wolf's tooth club, you know!" When it came to this topic, Elena couldn't stop complaining, leaving Martina speechless. While Martina had considered that Elena might have crossed her brother's line, she didn't expect things to be this intense. "He actually uses a wolf's tooth club? That does sound pretty extreme," she asked, sounding surprised. Hearing these words, Elena quickly reined herself in. No, she was here to introduce her brother, not to criticize him. "It's not really his fault. This is a family rule that's been in place for generations. It's been around for hundreds of years!" she explained. "My brother didn't want to do this, but what can we do when the family rule is so strict? And honestly, I can be a bit unruly sometimes. You're my best friend; you know me." Elena was sharing one thing after another, leaving Martina unsure of how to respond. But to avoid any misunderstanding, Martina immediately declined Elena's suggestion and said, "By the way, Elena, it's one thing to joke about this in front of me, but please don't mention it to your brother. It's not good."