Sophia looked confused and aggrieved, saying, "I'm afraid I won't be able to control my heart. I'm afraid of only loving my biological mother one day. How sad would my mother and grandmother be? Would they think they wasted their love on me?"Xena smiled and pulled Sophia into her arms. "With you being so partial, what are you afraid of? You're already worrying about this before even meeting them. The ones you favor are always the ones who treat you best, don’t you think?"Sophia nodded vigorously. "Mhm."Xena continued, "If your heart is out of your control one day, just go with the flow. The people who occupy your heart must be the ones who love you. Those who love you only want you to be happy.“They won't mind who holds a larger part of your heart. If you can’t favor someone, it's because they haven't done enough. Why should you feel guilty?"Sophia furrowed her brows, looking bewildered. "So, are you saying I can acknowledge all of them?""That’s up to you. Don't torture you
Hamish said, “I never stopped waiting for you, Xena. I’ve never slept with Mary.”Xena chuckled. "Didn't you see the breakup letter I left before I left? Was I not clear enough? Hamish, you can be with whoever you want. I haven't liked you for a long time."Hamish sighed helplessly. "I know you blame me for hesitating. You know how Mary was back then. I always wanted to find a way to break it to her without upsetting her. Elliot scolded me today.“I’ll stop being hesitant. Just give me a chance. I’ll break off the engagement with Mary and explain it to your parents. I love you!"Xena sneered and kicked him out, saying, "Love? That word is cheap and annoying. Can't you understand what I’m saying?"Hamish could have avoided her kick, but he allowed it instead.Xena snarled, "If you're afraid of hurting her, just take good care of her. I don’t care about who you love or who you want to hurt. Don't come to me like I asked you to!" With that, she walked into the house, and the gate
Elliot took Sophia’s hand and said, "Let's redo our marriage certificate tomorrow.""Why do we need to redo it?" After some thought, Elliot said, "I want to take wedding pictures with you. We didn't take any last time. Don't you regret it?"Sophia squinted and forced a smile. "A marriage certificate we weren't present for wouldn't count anyway."Elliot was surprised. It turned out she knew everything. He sounded anxious, asking, “You guessed it, huh?”Sophia remained calm. "Guessed what?""The Morgans.""What about them?"Elliot gave up resisting, "You found out you're Christine, right?""Hmph!" She turned over in annoyance, not wanting to talk to him.Elliot was disappointed. He knew she would eventually figure it out since the Morgans were so enthusiastic. He hugged her, saying, "Soph, I didn't mean to hide it from you. I knew you were grieving when Grandma Dorothy passed away.“I didn't want them to come and recognize you. I feared it’d startle you or burden you psycholo
Hamish felt frustrated initially but knew Elliot had a point. After all, Hamish could not expect anything from others if he had not done anything. he received a call from Savannah as he dragged himself back home.He already moved out and did not expect anything important, so his parents would not ask him to come back. However, it was also an opportunity to inform them about the divorce. Soon, he drove to the Carson family's house.When he entered, he heard Vanessa’s surprised and delighted voice, "Mary, you made it to the Black Den’s finals, too?"Hamish subconsciously stopped. No wonder they wanted him to come back. It turned out Mary was here.Mary responded softly, "Yeah, I did. Are you participating, too?"Vanessa nodded with a smile. "Yeah! The finals are in a week, and I'm feeling a little nervous. Still, I feel much better with you around. We'll go together then."Mary replied, "Okay."The Carsons were involved in politics. After Egbert retired, he became the principal of
"Why would you visit another woman when you’re engaged?" Savannah's expression turned solemn. "She didn't return to her home and even hired bodyguards?"Before Hamish could speak, Paisley said, "I'll tell you the truth. If Xena hadn't returned, I wouldn't have hurried to settle the two children down. We learned of her return online and waited for three days for her to come home, but she didn't.“I'm genuinely afraid of Xena's personality. She might cause trouble again. I still remember the incident from three years ago. I just want to hurry and get Hamish and Mary married to avoid more trouble."Mary sat close to Paisley. "Mom, don't overthink it. Xena isn't like that. She won't interfere with our relationship since she has withdrawn. Otherwise, she wouldn't have stayed away. Isn't that her way of facilitating things?""You always speak up for her. Would you have attempted suicide if she didn’t force you? I went through so much to find you. What would I do if something happened to
Hamish licked his bloodied lip. "Today's situation happened because of you guys. If you hadn't intervened, we would have clarified it long ago. It wouldn't have been so humiliating!"Savannah wanted to slap him again, but Egbert stopped her. Savannah scolded, “Why do you insist on Xena if the two sisters look alike? The other one is gentle, considerate, and devoted to you.“What about Xena? She's dishonest, malicious, and always hurts you. What do you like about her?" Hamish did not like what he heard. "Mom! She's not as bad as you say. When did she ever hurt me? It's always been the other way around. My indecision made her leave.""If she never hurts you, how’d you get injured?" Savannah pointed at his injured face, furious. "I'm your mother. I’d never harm you. Xena is unruly!"At that moment, Vanessa shouted while holding her phone, "Mom, isn't this Xena?!"Hamish grew alarmed and reached for the phone. "Vanessa, mind your own business.”Vanessa retracted her phone and said
Elliot felt Sophia’s eyelashes tickling his chest. Unfortunately, he could not act upon it. "You should go back to sleep. I'll go take a look." Sophia grasped Elliot before letting go, then poking her head out from under the covers. "Is it Hamish?""Yeah.""What’s he here for?""I don't know. I'll go see," Elliot said as he got dressed.Sophia stared at him and then looked around the room, her consciousness gradually returning. Suddenly, she blushed as she recalled what happened last night.It was not that she was lazy. She only slept for less than four hours altogether. She was messing around with Elliot the rest of the time. They left the sofa, bathroom, and bed messy.Seeing Elliot about to open the door, she hurriedly said, "Wait!"She jumped out of bed, but her legs were weak, and she almost stumbled to the ground. Still, she did not have time to care. She picked up the sheets and clothes strewn on the floor before rushing to the bathroom with them.After all, it would b
Hamish paused before continuing, "Elliot should remember. My parents were sacrificed in a political marriage. They had not met each other before getting married, so they had no feelings for each other.“My father had a girlfriend before getting married. However, her family was poor, and my grandparents disagreed. So, they arranged for my father to marry my mother. After a drunken episode, my father got back together with his ex-girlfriend.“My mother found out, but our family situation was delicate. If this matter had escalated, it would have ruined my father's career. So, my father apologized, claiming he was drunk and confused.“He also promised to cut ties with his ex. Eventually, my grandparents calmed his ex down and sent her away. My mother chose to endure it silently. Seventeen years later, that woman appeared at our house with a boy.“She claimed she was terminally ill and wanted my father to care for her son before she died. Of course, my mother disagreed. After all, she h