Chapter 71 Does He Actually Like Men or Women?

Chapter 71 Does He Actually Like Men or Women?

The couple stared at the shocking post on their son's phone screen, looking at each other in silence.

It wasn't like they were overreacting for no reason.

Arthur had never shown any interest in dating, not once, growing up. He was good-looking, capable, and came from a great family, but when it came to romance, he acted like a monk with zero desires.

Plenty of girls had chased him over the years—enough to line up from their front door all the way to the moat—but he never liked any of them. Not even a single rumor ever spread.

People talked behind his back, guessing all kinds of things. The most common rumor was that Mitchell's heir might be into guys.

Especially since Arthur was super close with his childhood friend, Oliver Knight, the only son of the Knight family. The two were nothing alike—Arthur was cool and refined, tall and elegant with delicate features, while Oliver was a big, muscular, outgoing guy full of energy. One was quiet and polished, the other rough and loud, but they got along like crazy and never ran out of things to say.

Last year, some bold person even wrote a fanfic about their "bromance" on a popular online forum. It was so detailed and well-written that it spread everywhere, even outside their circle. For a while, plenty of rich kids were secretly shipping them.

Eventually, word got to Arthur's dad. He was so mad his blood pressure shot up and he couldn't eat for three days. He used his connections to wipe the post and all the discussions clean. But you can't erase what people are thinking.

Whether their son liked men or women—or if he was even capable of liking anyone at all—had become a thorn in his parents' side. They liked to think of themselves as open-minded and respectful, but pretending they weren't worried was a lie. Arthur was almost thirty and had never had a real relationship. How could they not be anxious?

They couldn't just ask him outright, though. What if it backfired and hurt him or caused problems? So when they saw their son post something that looked like it might be about romance for the first time, their first reaction wasn't excitement—it was panic.

"Honey," Arthur's mom said, clutching her chest and lowering her voice. "You don't think… that cake was from Oliver, do you?"

She remembered Oliver liked sweets, especially strawberries.

Arthur's dad's face darkened. He gripped the phone so hard the case made a cracking sound, but he tried to stay calm. "Probably not. Oliver's a big, clumsy guy. He wouldn't send something that delicate or take nine photos like that. Doesn't seem like his style."

"What if he's finally figured things out? Or what if someone else sent it but it's really to cover for Oliver?" Arthur's mom was already spiraling.

"Don't scare yourself," his dad said, taking a deep breath. "Let's look at the photos first. Maybe we can figure something out."

So the two big-shot business leaders, who usually ran companies and stayed busy, now huddled together like detectives, practically pressing their faces to the screen as they studied the nine cake photos like it was a crime scene.

"The lighting's coming from the dining room window—backlit, but the cake's still clear and the framing looks deliberate. Not a random shot," Arthur's dad said.

"The background is our dining table. That's the new off-white linen tablecloth from last week," his mom added.

"The box is from Sweetheart Bakery—that trendy place girls like," his dad said, frowning.

"The strawberries look fresh, and the cream seems decent… but who cares about that? We need to know who sent it!" his mom said anxiously.

They kept examining every detail, from the frosting to the tableware, wishing they had a magnifying glass. Just as Arthur's mom was about to give up and call her son for answers, her husband's eyes locked on the bottom left corner of the last photo.

"Wait, look here!" He pointed at the screen.

It was a small silver spoon that had accidentally made it into the frame, resting beside the cake plate. On the curved surface, the light reflected a tiny, blurry image. If you looked closely, it looked like a hand holding a phone, taking the picture.

The reflection was small and fuzzy, but the hand looked slender, with delicate wrist bones, long fingers, and neatly trimmed nails.

It was definitely a woman's hand.

Arthur's mom felt her heart skip. She covered her mouth, her eyes instantly turning red.

"It's a girl's hand! A real girl! Thank God! Honey, do you see that? A girl took the picture! She sent the cake! Our son… he likes girls! Oh my God, this is amazing!"

She was so excited she could barely speak straight, tears almost falling. As long as it wasn't a guy—especially not Oliver—she would've thanked the heavens even if the person was an alien.

Arthur's dad let out a long breath, his tense shoulders finally relaxing. He leaned back on the couch with a relieved smile and patted his wife's hand. "Yeah, as long as it's a girl, that's all that matters. At this point, we don't even care about family background. As long as she's a woman!"

Half their biggest worry was gone, and now the rest was pure curiosity.

"But whose daughter is she?"

Arthur's mom wiped her eyes and picked up the phone again, staring at the blurry spoon reflection while trying to think.

"We haven't heard about any girl Arthur's been close with these past few years. Except for the women at the company…"

She suddenly stopped. Arthur's dad frowned too, like he'd thought of the same thing.

All these years, the only woman who'd been around Arthur a lot, whose name came up often, and who he'd even made exceptions for with special treatment… was his new executive assistant, Sophia.

The one who'd just gone through a messy divorce with the Chase family—the ex-wife of Nolan, the former VP of Chase Group.

Wait.

Sophia?!