Chapter 437
Chapter 437:
“Are you absolutely certain that keeping her safe is the only thing you intend to do once you follow her to Italy, Mr. Kelley p>
“Yes, and I’ll also help her pursue the case p>
He studied me for a moment. “And what about how you feel about her p>
“What?” The question caught me off guard, and the words lodged in my throat.
“When are you going to say it out loud? When will you finally admit that you love her? Time moves faster than we think, Mr. Kelley. One day you’ll wake up and find there’s no longer room for hesitation. Don’t wait for that day. Act now p>
𝗨𝘱da𝗍𝖾s е𝘷e𝗋у wеek on
He moved toward the door, then stopped and turned once more. This time, there was a smile on his face.
“Tell her the truth. Let her see the parts of you that are afraid — the parts you hide, the words you’ve been holding back. Show yourself to her exactly as you are, and make a decision today. Waiting only leads to regret p>
I didn’t know how long I sat there after he left. The seconds and minutes blurred together before I realized the room had gone quiet. I blinked, took a slow breath, and reached over to Sophia’s computer. Carefully, I removed the USB drive.
He was right. The decision couldn’t wait any longer.
I had to face everything standing between us, because the truth was simple: I loved her. And I was not going anywhere. Not now. Not until she looked me in the eyes and told me she no longer loved me.
Sophia’s Point of View
Regret struck me without warning.
My gaze drifted to my father, seated quietly while my mother guided him toward me.
Two days had passed since we returned to the place we had once left behind. Calling it our old house no longer felt right — it had become home again. Seeing him there for the first time, all three of us had been speechless. He could no longer hold himself upright on his own; he sat in a cold metal chair with large wheels on either side. A wheelchair. Even now, that word felt unreal.
I had never imagined life would bend this way. I had never believed our family would reach this point. The man who had once commanded boardrooms, ruled our household, and raised us with an iron hand had become so fragile, so vulnerable. He now depended on the very people he had once pushed away.
The anger was still alive in me when my mother persuaded me to come with her. That old wound had never fully healed — time had closed it over, but left a scar. Seeing him again had torn it open.
Yet the moment I took in his condition, something shifted. I watched Steven accept his embrace without hesitation. I watched my mother collapse against his shoulder. All of it washed over me, and without warning, the weight I had carried for years simply loosened. The bitterness released its grip. What replaced it surprised me.