Chapter 189

Chapter 190

She saw Aura fall in and immediately ran away.

But she didn't expect that Aura would swim up from the water by herself. After getting ashore, she ran over to tell me.

She pushed open the room door: "Dad!"

I looked down at her soaking wet clothes, my face instantly darkening.

"What happened?"

"A bad woman pushed me into the lake!" Aura looked up at me with red-rimmed eyes. "She said she was your friend and wanted to take me to see the fountain. When I wouldn't go, she pushed me!"

"Good thing I can swim, otherwise Dad would never see me again."

I picked her up, my eyes cold as ice: "What did that woman look like?"

Aura described her.

After listening, I checked the surveillance footage again and got the full picture of what happened.

I saved the surveillance video, handed Aura to Sophia, picked up my phone, and called the police.

The next day, Savannah was taken away by the police.

The surveillance captured everything clearly - the moment she pushed Aura, the moment she ran away, all of it.

She thought there was no surveillance in that corner, but actually, after Aura went missing last time, we had installed cameras everywhere in the house.

Savannah deliberately harmed a minor, with solid evidence.

She was detained.

The day she got out of the police station, Eugene bought her a plane ticket and sent her out of the country.

Eugene never allowed Savannah to come back again.

Sophia's POV:

After everything was over, one evening after dinner, Aura had fallen asleep, and James and I were sitting in the living room.

James was looking at the TV screen when he suddenly spoke.

"About Savannah, I'm sorry."

I turned my head to look at him: "What are you sorry for?"

"It's because of me that she targeted Aura."

I was silent for a moment, then shook my head: "It's not you."

He looked at me.

I continued: "It's her own twisted mind. It has nothing to do with you."

He didn't say anything.

I looked at him.

The living room was very quiet, with only the faint sound of laughter from the TV.

"James."

"What?"

"You're a good dad."

He paused, then smiled.

The smile was faint, but there was light in his eyes, bright like stars.

"That's all I need to hear from you."

I lowered my head, looking at my fingers.

After a moment of silence, I spoke.

"James."

"What?"

"Would you be willing to..." I stopped.

He looked puzzled: "What?"

I took a deep breath and looked up at him.

"Would you be willing to give Aura a real home with me?"

He looked at me without saying anything.

My heart was beating fast.

He stood up and walked away.

I froze.

I watched his figure disappear through the doorway.

Only I was left in the living room. I sat there, not moving for a while.

Then I lowered my head, looking at my hands, my eyes getting hot.

I took a deep breath, pushing down that burning feeling.

Forget it.

If he doesn't want to, then forget it. It's not like I can't live without him.

I stood up, turned off the TV, and went upstairs.

The next day, Liliana asked me out.

"Let's go out and clear your head," she said on the phone. "Don't stay cooped up at home all day."

I didn't refuse.

She drove over to pick me up and headed out of the city.

I leaned against the passenger seat, staring blankly at the scenery outside the window.

The city's tall buildings became fewer and fewer, replaced by fields and mountains. The sky was very blue, the clouds very white.

She glanced at me: "What's wrong? You look really down."

"Nothing."

She smiled.

"Come on, don't hide it from me. I heard all about it."

I turned my head to look at her.

"Heard what?"

"I heard you confessed to James and then he ran away."

Bad news really does travel fast.

Liliana laughed even harder. After laughing, she tried to comfort me: "Don't be upset. James doesn't dislike you; he probably just has other reasons."

I didn't say anything.

She kept driving. After more than an hour, she finally stopped at the foot of a mountain: "We're here."

I got out of the car and looked up.

There seemed to be something on the mountaintop, colorful, but I couldn't see it clearly.

Liliana pulled me up the mountain: "Come on, I'll show you something."

When we climbed to the top, I froze: The mountaintop was a flat area, decorated like a wedding venue.

An archway made of flowers, long tables covered with white gauze, balloons floating in the wind, and fields of roses - red, white, pink - spread out like a sea of flowers.

Someone was standing there. That figure looked familiar. Who was it...

It was James.

When I recognized him, I was startled.

He was wearing a black suit, holding a bouquet of roses, looking at me.

Liliana gave me a push.

"What are you spacing out for? Go on."

I walked forward step by step.

The wind blew from afar, carrying the scent of flowers and grass.

The grass beneath my feet was soft, like walking on clouds.

I walked up to him and stopped.

He looked at me, his gaze deep, filled with the burning love I was familiar with.

"Yesterday, you asked me if I would be willing to give Aura a real home with you."

I didn't say anything.

He continued: "I didn't answer because this kind of thing should be done by the man."

He handed me the roses.

I instinctively took them - a bouquet of white roses, beautifully wrapped, with water droplets still on the petals.

Then he took out a small box from his pocket and knelt down on one knee.

He opened the box. Inside was a ring.

A simple design, platinum, set with a diamond.

The diamond was large, reflecting dazzling light in the sunset.

He looked up at me.

"Sophia."

I looked at him.

"Before, I did many things wrong and made you suffer a lot." His voice was steady, word by word. "I've regretted it every day all these years."

The wind blew from afar, moving his hair. He continued: "I wanted to say I'm sorry, but then I felt sorry was too light."

"I thought I'd never get your forgiveness in this lifetime. I didn't expect you to take a step toward me. So let me walk the remaining ninety-nine steps." He raised the ring a little higher. "Sophia, marry me."

I looked at him, my eyes burning.

"Not because of Aura," he said. "Because I love you."

"I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want you to be the first thing I see every morning when I wake up. I want to walk the rest of the road with you. I want to be your husband, I want to be Aura's dad, I want to have a home with you."

"Will you?"

I stood there, tears sliding down.

He knelt there, looking up at me, waiting for my answer.

Behind me came Liliana's sobbing - she was crying.

I took a deep breath and spoke: "James."

"What?"

I held out my hand: "I will."

He put the ring on my ring finger. The size was perfect, as if it had been measured.

Then he stood up and pulled me into his arms.

Very tight, so tight it was like he wanted to merge me into his bones and blood.

From a distance came Liliana's cheers, and many people's applause.

Only then did I notice many people were standing on the slope below - Liliana, Aura, Indigo, and other friends.

Aura ran up and hugged both our legs: "Dad, Mom, I can't believe I get to see you two get married! This is amazing!"

James let go of me, bent down, and picked her up.

Aura put her arms around his neck, then reached out to pull me, bringing James and me together.

"Now we can all live together forever." She smiled happily.

Indigo walked up with her cane, her eyes red too.

"Good, good." She kept nodding. "I've finally waited for this day."

I buried my face in James's chest, breathing in his familiar scent.

He lowered his head and said something in my ear.

"This time, I won't let you down again."

I closed my eyes: "Okay."

——

The End.