Late Love, Empty Hands

Amelia often joked that her brother couldn't hold a candle to mine. Ivan was cold, composed, and imposing, whereas Marcus had the reckless charm of a wayward scion.

But the Hackett family's scion had become famous in the business world. In just over three years of running his company, he had nearly doubled its value.

That handkerchief had brought us closer. On bad days, I would chat with him, and he always managed to make me laugh with his jokes.

After being reborn, my happiest and most relaxed moments were these chats with Marcus.

"Aren't CEOs always too busy? How do you find time to chat with me every day?"

Marcus replied almost instantly. "Because it's you. I don't want you waiting even a second for me, so I've basically been glued to my phone 24 hours a day."

Was this what it felt like to be loved? Ivan had never done this for me.

This time, I wanted to experience such love, so I agreed to give things with Marcus a chance.

I had kept a diary since I was a child. Recently, the guy I had written about in my diary was him.

I didn't know if Ivan had read it. When I returned home, my diary was neatly placed on the table.

Ivan didn't come back for several days, so I took the chance to tell my parents about my relationship with Marcus.

I held their hands, asking them to promise to stay near me in the future.

They nodded as if humoring me. But I didn't care. Their agreement meant they had to stay near me from now on.

That evening, Ivan brought Vicky home for dinner. She wore a high-end outfit that made her look more imposing than before.

At the table, Mom and Dad were not particularly pleased, but there was no awkward confrontation.

After dinner, we gathered in the living room.

"Ivan, Vicky, we won't oppose your marriage, but we need to clarify some things first," Dad said.

Throughout the day, Ivan's occasional looks in my direction made me feel tense.

Vicky sat up straight, her eyes bright as she looked at Dad.

"Ivan is getting married, and Iris has a boyfriend. To avoid future conflicts, I want to make things clear. The Goldsmith family's inheritance will be split evenly between you, no matter who or how you marry."

Before Ivan could respond, Vicky spoke up. "That's unreasonable. Iris is a woman, so she'll marry into another family in the future. That's basically giving the inheritance away to someone else!"

Mom had barely looked at Vicky all evening.

Now, she said, "You're attempting to boss our family around before you're even part of it?"

I looked at Ivan. He looked back at me, a faint smile tugging at his lips.

"Don't tell me that Iris' boyfriend is with her just for the family inheritance."

He pulled Vicky closer and said, "I agree that this split is unreasonable."

Vicky leaned against him. He continued, "Iris was adopted. I don't care if the family covers her expenses. She can marry anyone and stay here if she likes."

Dad's and Mom's expressions darkened, while Dad's shoulder twitched slightly.

"Who told you Iris was adopted? You're the adopted one."