Chapter 214 Mutual "Interview"
Amelia and Byron talked for a long while, finally working through the details of what had happened back then.
Byron had kept a lot of what happened to himself back then, not wanting to tip Amelia off.
She just sat there, listening quietly until he was done.
"That spy, whose person was she?"
"She was stubborn—wouldn't say a word even with her life on the line. But I'm fairly certain she belonged to the Young family. Back then, Billy was still at Thornfield working for Leonard. Leonard had been looking to wipe out the Shadow Operations Division for a long time, but instead of getting his own hands dirty, he let the Youngs do it."
Amelia still had her doubts about that.
"I’ve gone up against the Youngs plenty of times. They aren't capable of planting a mole in our Shadow Operations Division."
"If not the Young family, then who?"
"Keep investigating."
"Yes."
Finally, Amelia said, "You’ve all put in a lot of effort. Once this is behind us, take some time to properly unwind."
"Yes!"
After the call ended, Amelia lay in bed, trying to piece together her own memories.
Everything felt distant, like she was trying to reach for shadows in the dark.
She finally gave up.
Just thinking about how she and Samuel had actually slept together back then made her feel like fate really had a twisted sense of humor.
Fate had been cruel to her, yet somehow kept showing her mercy when it mattered most.
She wasn't sure whether she should be grateful or bitter.
The next day, Samuel invited her to eat again.
This time it was Mexican food.
Amelia didn't like it.
But she hid her distaste and agreed over the phone.
Before leaving, Natalie looked like she wanted to say something when she heard she was going for Mexican food, but she kept it to herself.
Amelia asked, "Mom, what's wrong?"
"Nothing."
"Something is definitely up. Your eyebrows are all scrunched together."
Natalie laughed and finally told the truth. "Your father loves Mexican food more than anything."
Amelia understood.
No wonder Natalie looked a bit sad when she heard about the Mexican food.
She held Natalie's hand and said, "When Dad gets out of prison, we'll all go eat together as a family."
Natalie nodded, her eyes rimmed with red.
"Okay!"
……
Amelia reached her destination, but as she stood at the entrance, she hesitated and couldn't bring herself to go inside.
She wasn't sure why, but she was actually nervous about seeing Samuel.
Maybe it was because she knew what had happened at Crystal Springs Resort.
But she had to face it eventually.
She was gritting her teeth and starting to head inside when Samuel suddenly walked out.
"I saw you standing outside from inside. What's wrong?"
He wore his usual black suit, and when he spoke, he looked only at her, his expression intense.
But Amelia couldn't help but let her gaze drift downward.
When she realized she was staring, she quickly looked away, her face already flushing.
Samuel saw right through her, his lips curling into a slight smile as he took her hand.
"Don't be afraid of me. We're already together, and we'll definitely get married in the future. That thing, we just did it a bit early."
Amelia flushed even deeper. "Has anyone ever told you not to point out what a girl is thinking?"
"No," Samuel replied, shaking his head. "Besides you, I haven't really dealt with other girls. I can't be bothered to guess what they're thinking."
Perfect answer.
"I really suspect you've been in love many times before."
"What do you mean?"
"Do we really have to talk about this at the restaurant entrance?"
Samuel dropped the topic and led her inside.
The restaurant was empty, the entire dining hall reserved just for the two of them.
Soon the food arrived. Amelia had no interest in the Enchiladas or Fajitas, and instead ate several bites of the free bread.
"You don't like Mexican food?" Samuel asked.
Amelia nodded then shook her head. "I don't hate it."
"So you don't like it."
He immediately made a phone call and had All Seasons Table deliver food.
Amelia was about to say it wasn't necessary, but Samuel cut her off. "It's just a phone call, not like I'm running the errand myself. You don't need to feel bad for me. And of course, you don't need to feel bad for the delivery person either. Taking this order, they'll make more than other orders."
While waiting, Samuel asked her, "Besides Mexican food, what else don't you like to eat? Tell me everything at once, so I won't make mistakes in the future."
Amelia didn't hold back and told him honestly, "I only like eating traditional Phoenician food."
Samuel carefully made a mental note.
"Besides food, what else should I avoid?"
He looked like he wished he could write it all down.
Amelia laughed.
"Between us, it really does feel like we're doing business."
"What?"
"In business, you have to keep the other person's preferences in mind. Cross a line, and you've ruined the whole deal."
She paused, her tone softening. "But Samuel, this isn't a business deal. It's okay if you mess up sometimes. You don't have to try so hard."
She had told him before that the only line he couldn't cross was lying to her. As long as he didn't hide anything, they could work through the rest.
"No," Samuel disagreed. "This isn't business, but I value you infinitely more than any deal. You're worth the effort, and I'm happy to give it."
Amelia couldn't win the argument, so she just started listing the things she didn't like.
"On rainy days, I don't really like going out. I don't like that feeling of stepping on wet ground."
Samuel nodded.
"But I like thunder. Hearing thunder makes me more focused and gives me more energy. "I quite like eating sweets. I don't like smelling cigarette smoke in enclosed spaces. It makes me feel like I can't breathe properly. I like exercise. The feeling of sweating makes me feel good."
Samuel memorized everything.
When she finished, she asked Samuel, “What about you? I’ve never really gotten to know you. Do you have any preferences?”
Samuel told her one by one as well.
He also had a habit of showering morning and night.
"I also really like exercise," he said.
A very simple, normal statement, yet Amelia's face turned red.
Perhaps it was because the way he looked at her felt too impure, yet she didn’t dislike it.
"As for other preferences, I don't really have any. You know, I wasn't born as the head of the Crawford family. I lived an ordinary life before, so I'm fine with eating or doing whatever."
After they both shared their preferences, they both laughed.
"We're like we're interviewing each other," Samuel said.
Amelia found it funny too.
From when Samuel confessed his feelings until now, they seemed quite different from ordinary couples.
But neither of them disliked their way of getting along. They were similar people to begin with and didn't even really need to adjust to each other.
Just then, the food from All Seasons Table arrived.
Tasting authentic Phoenician food, Amelia finally opened up her appetite.
Though she naturally had a small appetite, so her so-called "opening up" just meant eating a couple more bites.
"You need to eat more. You're too thin, a typhoon could blow you away," Samuel said. "I'll work hard to feed you properly."
Amelia blushed a little again.
She couldn't help but reflect—was she actually a lustful woman deep down?
Always reading something else into Samuel's words?
But being lustful toward her own boyfriend seemed pretty normal.
After finishing the meal, Samuel ordered a few more dishes.
"Pack these up for me, I'm taking them to go."
"Yes, Mr. Crawford."
The server quickly left.
Amelia was puzzled.
"You're still not full? Or are you bringing food to someone?"
"To someone."
"Who?"
"You'll know in a bit." Samuel kept it mysterious.
He could always easily spark Amelia's curiosity.
Fortunately, they soon arrived at their destination.
Amelia looked at the detention center in front of her, her eyes flickering.
She remembered that before leaving, Natalie had said Quinton loved Mexican food the most.
"You brought me to see my dad?"
Samuel stopped keeping her in suspense. He nodded. "Yes, but not entirely. More accurately, I also want to meet Mr. Richardson."
Natalie really liked him, which he'd earned through effort, sincerity, and a little calculation—that day when Amelia had a fever and was hospitalized, when he ran to the hospital wearing a construction site hard hat to see her, it wasn't actually for Amelia to see, it was for Natalie to see.
Sometimes to win a mother-in-law's affection, you need to use a little strategy.
A son-in-law who's too straightforward won't win his mother-in-law's favor.
But while the mother-in-law was important, the father-in-law was equally important.
Especially after bringing up what happened at Crystal Springs Resort, he urgently wanted to gain the approval of everyone in the Richardson family before he could propose to Amelia.
Yes, propose.
He had already decided that Amelia was the only one for him in this lifetime.
So what if Stanley didn't agree?
He wasn't that illegitimate son who could be trampled on anymore, and Stanley was no longer the person who could decide his life or death with one sentence.
He had worked hard until now just to be able to live the way he wanted.
Call him selfish, call him unfilial—anyway, in his whole life, except for when his identity was switched back, he had never felt a single day of fatherly love.
Before, Stanley had just raised him like a pet.
It wasn't until Samuel showed his abilities that Stanley gave him a few proper looks, but those looks didn't carry fatherly love either, just an appraisal of a pet's value.
So Samuel believed he didn't owe Stanley anything.
Their father-son relationship had always been weak.
"Amelia." He gripped her hand tightly and said seriously, "I truly want to spend my whole life with you, so, can you help me say some good things about me?"
His attitude even carried a hint of humility.
Amelia felt sorry for him in that instant.
Like her, he had grown up without love from the time he could remember.
And now, she had found family members who loved her, but Samuel would never get his family's love.
The mother who would have loved him unconditionally had long since passed away.
And Stanley—more than father-son affection, he cared more about whether Samuel's abilities were strong enough.
Because if Stanley really valued father-son affection, he absolutely wouldn't have immediately kicked Zachary out of the country and had Samuel take his place the moment he learned Samuel was his legitimate son.
Even a dog you've raised for a long time develops feelings, let alone a person, let alone Zachary who was also his biological son.
This showed that Stanley was emotionally very cold.
But from now on, she would be his family.
"Okay, I'll say good things about you." Amelia nodded seriously.
Samuel smiled.
Soon someone came out from inside to bring Amelia in.