Sophie knew deep down that she didn''t want Colby to hide things from her. But she wasn''t stupid.


    What Gordon had hinted at earlier was practically spelling it out for her. Colby''s grip on Sophie''s hand tightened, his voice low and serious, "I love you."


    Those three simple words didn''t roll off his tongue as smoothly as they used to.


    Colby gently stroked Sophie''s hair, saying, "Don''t overthink this, just give me some time, okay?" There was a touch of pleading in his voice.


    A tone Sophie had never heard from him before.


    Colby was definitely keeping something from her.


    And it was something big.


    Sophie picked up on these signals from Colby''s tone. She asked, "Have you cheated on me?"


    "Absolutely not!"


    "Am I not your first?"


    "You''re the one and only."


    "Have you done something against your principles?"


    "No."


    Colby''s responses were almost frantic.


    Sophie smiled, feeling a wave of relief. "Then I''m not worried."


    Colby seemed to freeze for a second.


    Sophie went on, "What I want is a man who loves me unconditionally. He doesn''t have to be rich or powerful, but he has to love me, respect me, and be willing to stand by me for life, never betraying me. Can you promise me that?" Colby nodded earnestly.


    "That''s all I need," Sophie said. "In a


    marriage, besides love, we need mutual respect and to see each other as the most important person in our lives. That''s enough. Whatever you''re hiding from me, I don''t need to know right now. Tell me


    when


    you''re ready. Besides... I can''t even


    imagine what it could be."N?velDrama.Org owns all content.


    He had already handed over his money to her, put the house in her name, and seemed to want to be with her every minute of the day. And... she could genuinely feel Colby''s love for her.


    She thought Mr. Gordon was just being overly cautious.


    It seemed like nothing coulde between them now.


    Sophie and Colby walked back to their room hand in hand.


    Rick noticed and, after a moment of silence, pushed open the door and stepped into the bedroom.


    Gordon had been watching a pair of swallows outside the window. As Rick was about to speak, Gordon said, "I heard everything." "So, sir..."


    "Let her be," Gordon said. "She''ll find out eventually."


    "What if Ms. Sophie can''t handle it when that dayes?"


    "Do you see those swallows outside


    the window?" Gordon said.


    "Swallows are known for their


    lifelong fidelity. If one dies, the other will spend the rest of its life alone, guarding their love nest. But if one truly loves the other to the core, how can it live alone? Yet, can you say that the remaining swallow didn''t love its partner? Matters of the heart are never simple; they just show differently."


    The sky was getting darker.


    Downstairs, Sandy grumbled, "Is


    Harold evering back? Wasn''tet


    this supposed to be a wee party? If he''s noting, are we having the party or not?"


    Angelo had already set up the fireworks and party hats, but today, neither Harold nor Jenna and Adler had returned.


    The house felt eerily empty, as if no one lived there.


    "Should we... just start eating?"


    Angelo was starving. It was already seven o''clock, and still, no one was home!


    Had he messed up the date?