Here is the revised translation, aiming to maintain the original story's emotional depth, characters, and cultural nuances while ensuring it resonates with an English-speaking audience: Seeing him so adorable, Zoey felt her eyes well up with tears.
She hadn't expected the child to have grown so much, and she had missed the most crucial years of his life. While she led an unremarkable life in Zion City, he had desperately needed his mom.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtIt was her fault; she had run away, thinking she could have the life she wanted. But after all the detours, she found herself back where she started.
Her gaze remained fixed on the child's face. Nolan had indeed been crying, his little nose red, and his eyes cautiously hopeful, as if afraid she'd vanish the moment she blinked. Zoey's heart ached even more. But she didn't want to face all this, to confront Fitch, the man involved.
Life had played a cruel joke on her. Four years ago, when she decided to let go, she truly harbored no expectations-love, hate, it all dissipated. Now, as he held her hand tightly, calling her "babe" over and over, she felt a tug at her heart.
It seemed like fate wouldn't let Zoey off the hook. Having otten everything, why did they have to meet again? Her throat hurt so much she couldn't utter a single word.
At that moment, Fitch turned to Nolan, offering him a small smile. "Nolan, why don't you step outside for a bit? I want to talk to your mom alone." He could tell, Zoey must have remembered. This day was inevitable, and he harbored no illusions. The boomerang of the past had hit him squarely.
Nolan looked back three times with each step he took, clearly worried. Fitch stood up, hugged him, and placed him in the waiting black SUV outside the hospital. Tears started rolling down Nolan's cheeks again.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm"Mommy, are you leaving?" Even the child could see Zoey didn't want to stay. Fitch felt as if his heart had been punctured, bleeding out.
"No." "She will." "Nolan, listen to daddy. From now on, whenever you see her, just cry. The louder, the better, got it?" "Why?" "I owe her. My tears won't move her, but she definitely feels she owes you. Your crying will make her suffer, and she'll want to stay, not bear to leave you. If you want mommy to live with us, you have to do as daddy says." swno Nolan lowered his eyelashes, hesitating for a minute before pursing his lips. "But I want her to be happy." If staying doesn't make her happy, then mommy should have her own life.
Fitch was taken aback, as if slapped by the child's words. Even the child knew Zoey needed real happiness, yet all he thought about was how to make her stay, resorting to the lowest tactics just to keep her.
Suddenly, he didn't know what to say, his eyes welling up instantly. "Nolan, don't you want daddy to be happy?" "I do." "Daddy can only be happy with her. I made mistakes in the past, but I'll make up for them a hundredfold in the future. Can't we just live together in Greenfield, just the three of us, happily?" Nolan's eyes, brimming with tears, slowly reached out to hold his hand. "Daddy, be happy too." In that moment, Fitch hugged him tightly, his voice choked up, "The most important thing to daddy is you two. I can't be happy without either of you. Nolan, can you help daddy, please?" In front of Nolan, Fitch had always been strong, as if there was nothing he couldn't handle. But now, the man holding him was trembling, as if powerless over anything related to Zoey so powerless that he had to seek help from a child. He was truly panicked, truly out of options.
This version maintains the essence of the original text while making it more accessible and natural for English-speaking readers.