Ralph persuades his father to leave a large inheritance for his cousin Isabelle, hoping to make her wealthy. His father asked him, what is wealth? Satisfying the needs of one's imagination, he said.
He wondered what kind of fate an independent woman would go to who said to him, "I can't escape my destiny, I can't give up the adventures and opportunities in my life". Isabelle's emotional experience in life and the freedom of life are what he really cares about.
Therefore, he didn't want her eyes and heart to be over-consumed because of the embarrassing life, or to be deceived into the cage of marriage because of money. She doesn't need to pay the price. She already has a free soul, so she can fly.
That's how he believed and appreciated her value. When she wasn't sure about her future, he said, "Do what you love and your character will lead you."
He watched Isabelle stray from her original beliefs, fall into the trap of marriage, break with him, and live a miserable life. He has been watching her silently, watching his loved ones make mistakes, become numb and lifeless. After a few years, he knew that he was really dying, and a person came to Rome for her, which was not suitable for her to recover. Even if she is indifferent, she hardly comes to see him because of her husband's control.
Eventually he returned to England. Before dying, Ralph was lying on the hospital bed, watching him escape from Rome overnight to see him for the last time. Isabelle, who was crying with guilt, said: "Even if you made a mistake, I believe you will get rid of it."
He always had faith in her, and it was Ralph's most incredible tenderness. No control, no insistence on being right goes into Isabelle's life. But in the distant England, with 4 years, the only time left in his life, so patiently watching her make mistakes. And all this distance and waiting is because:
He believed she would handle it.
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