Colby led Sophie to a room tucked away at the back on the left side. As the door swung open, he instinctively shielded Sophie from the dust clinging to the doorway.


    It took Sophie a moment to fully absorb the room''s appearance. It was a cramped space, barely 100 square feet, with three bunk beds whose metal frames were badly rusted. The room was bare, save for a simple stand holding a copper basin. Colby''s description of the ce as ''modest'' was definitely putting it mildly.


    "There''s nothing worth seeing here; it''s filthy. Let''s head out," Colby murmured, gently pulling on Sophie''s arm. But instead of leaving, she grew curious and asked, "Which bed is yours?"


    "Right there," Colby pointed to the bottom bunk in the corner.


    "So, you share this room with Griffin and Odie?" she inquired.


    "Yeah," he nodded.


    "What about the other three beds?" she pressed.


    "We were thest ones to arrive, so it''s just the three of us here," he exined.


    "And your job with the White family, it''s being bodyguards, right?"


    "That''s right," Colby replied.


    Sophie moved over to where Colby used to sleep. The bed was still neat, but the whole room was steeped in a musty, old smell.


    The tiny room was equipped with just one exhaust fan, not even a ceiling fan to stir the air. In the summer, it was suffocating; in the winter, it was as chilly as a cer. Spring and autumn were the worst, with the damp, sticky air making it unbearable to linger even for a second.


    Yet, Colby and his friends had called this ce home for over a decade.


    "Compared to the slums, this was


    ???


    practically paradise," Colby remarked, sensing Sophie''s thoughts. He stepped closer, took her hand, and said, "The past is behind us. Aren''t we doing okay now?"


    He kissed her forehead gently. "Let''s go. You''ll start feeling ufortable if we stay too long."


    Sophie lowered her gaze.Property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    As Colby led her away, she suddenly said, "Colby, I sometimes wonder, if we could start all over again, maybe you wouldn''t have had to go through all that hardship, and we''d all be happy." Colby squeezed her hand a bit tighter. "Don''t talk like that," he said softly.


    Sophie couldn''t help but question if she was being unreasonable. Ever since that beautiful dream, she often found herself wishing for a world where everyone was happy, without regrets or pain. If that gem truly had such miraculous powers, maybe... it wouldn''t be so bad.


    Colby paused then, turning back to


    Sophie. He gently brushed a strand of hair from her face and said, "Sophie, the world could really start over, then everything we''ve been through would disappear, and then... I wouldn''t be me, and you wouldn''t be you."


    Sophie was momentarily taken aback by his words.


    Colby went on, "There''s no such thing as a perfect world. A world that knows only happiness doesn''t exist. It''s the reality of our struggles that makes happiness so precious. If happiness were all there was, then... it wouldn''t be happiness anymore."


    "I was being foolish... just then..." Sophie admitted, feeling a sudden pang of realization.


    Because her thoughts had just mirrored those of Joseph.