"No matter what life throws our way, I''m sticking with you. If you ever feel worn out, just lean on me. With me around, nobody''s gonna hurt you."


    "We promised to walk side by side, remember? So if you get tired, you can lean on me too."


    Sophie met Colby''s gaze with sincerity. "Don''t think I''m just a girl-I''m tougher than you might guess. With me here, I won''t let anyone harm you either."


    "You silly thing."


    Colby gently tapped the tip of Sophie''s nose with his finger. "You talk a big game. If that day everes, you really think I''ll just stand by and watch you charge ahead?"


    "Why not? There''s a saying, right? How does it go again...?"


    "Who says women aren''t as strong as men?"This text is ? N?velDrama/.Org.


    "Exactly, that''s the one."


    The morning breeze in Summerfield painted Sophie''s cheeks a rosy hue, and her hand, adorned with a wedding ring, gripped Colby''s hand more firmly.


    "Colby... are you scared?"


    Sophie''s question seemed like she was really asking herself.


    Back when she faced Joseph, fear clung to her, but the thought of her friends standing by her side always offered somefort. Yettely, her dreams were haunted by those masked figures at the Pearl Hotel, with the ck curtains lifting slowly, dim lights, and the chilling cries of women pleading for help.


    In those dreams, running was her only escape from the hunters chasing her.


    The dreams felt all too real.


    So real, Sophie could almost feel the de at her neck.


    The cold steel slicing her throat, followed by a spray of blood.


    Colby studied Sophie, unable to provide a solid answer.


    Fear was foreign to him; he didn''t know what it felt like.


    The only time he felt on the brink of loss was when Joseph told him Sophie was gone.


    It was Sophie who made him want to learn how to love.


    He''d practiced in front of the mirror countless times-how to smile, how to look gentle, how to be thoughtful.


    Jealousy, anger, anxiety...


    He could fake all those emotions perfectly.


    But with Sophie, he always felt like he was wearing a heavy mask.


    And beneath that mask, he offered Sophie all the love he could muster.


    In that moment, Colby wanted toy his secret bare.


    He wanted to tell her he loved her.


    But his love was different.


    He struggled with emotional detachment.


    Emotions were a luxury he couldn''t afford.


    Except for her.


    But as Colby met Sophie''s eyes, the words he wanted to say stayed locked inside.


    In a low voice, Colby said, "I''m scared, but not of dying. What scares me is... losing you someday."


    "We won''t lose each other; we''re in this together forever."


    Sophie sped Colby''s hands, looking at the wedding rings they wore, and said, "Do you know why the ring goes on the ring finger?"


    "Why?"


    "Because the ring finger connects straight to the heart. The moment we put these rings on, our hearts were linked. Doesn''t that mean... we''re bound together for life?"


    Sophie added with a yful smile,


    "So if you ever decide to leave meet


    you


    behind, I''ll be right behind ching up in no time."