Chapter 34
The number seemed to scare Fabrizio.
He raised his hand to refuse, but I interrupted him.
"I remember you said you wanted to build an orphanage on the empty lot next to the church, so more homeless children would have a place to stay."
"And our church is already very old. For the Lord's sake, you must accept this money and give it a proper renovation."
My eyes were full of trust. I knew Fabrizio would spend every single cent of these three million on the church and the orphanage.
He absolutely wouldn't use any of it for himself.
My words put Fabrizio's mind at ease, because with this money, he could actually do all those things I just mentioned.
I said this because I knew these two things had always been his hopes and wishes.
I used to go with him to knock on the doors of those business owners and believers, asking them to donate something.
But most people refused.
Some donors didn't have much money themselves, and what we got was nowhere near enough to accomplish these two things.
Now with this money, all of Fabrizio's wishes could come true.
He looked at me with loving, gentle eyes.
"Sonya, I know you're a kind child. When your own life got better, the first thing you thought of was giving back to the church."
"I believe the Lord will see this kindness of yours and forgive you for the things you think you did wrong."
Walking into the church, I looked around.
Everything was exactly the same as before I left. I'd only been gone a few days, but it felt like a lifetime ago.
"By the way, Father, I'm getting married soon. Will you come to my wedding?"
I came here with another purpose - to invite Fabrizio to my wedding.
Hearing this, Fabrizio's expression dimmed for a moment.
He knew this was my fate, something I couldn't escape.
"Of course, Sonya, my dear child, I'll definitely be there. I'll witness the most important moment of your life."
Hearing Fabrizio say this made me happy, and I told him about holding the ceremony at the church.
Fabrizio's eyes lit up too, and he nodded repeatedly.
"That's wonderful. Your husband must be a very kind man to be willing to follow your wishes."
Hearing Fabrizio's assessment of Kane, I guiltily looked away.
Seeing me like this, Fabrizio understood.
His smile faded, but he still said seriously to me, "It's okay. Even if he's not a kind person, he must respect and care for you, otherwise he wouldn't have agreed to your request."
Fabrizio's words were like opening the door to a new world. I hesitantly looked up at Fabrizio.
Respect me?
I realized I'd never actually seen contempt for me from Kane.
He clearly knew what kind of family I had, what kind of past, but the words he spoke to me were always gentle and kind.
Except when I first tried to escape.
I knew coming to the church was the right decision. All the awkwardness and sadness in my heart could be resolved with just a word or two from Fabrizio.
I talked with Fabrizio for a long time.
Nina and Athena just listened quietly beside us, their expressions becoming especially peaceful.
When the bells rang, I knew I should leave.
But I really couldn't bear to leave this place. At the church, I felt like I'd found where I belonged.
Fabrizio seemed to see right through my thoughts. His voice sounded especially ethereal in the church.
"No matter where you are, as long as your heart devoutly believes in the Lord, your home will always be here."
The reluctance in my heart was eased by Fabrizio's words. I stood up and bowed deeply to him.
"Dear Father, I'm leaving now. Thank you for saying this to me. I'll remember it always."
Getting in the car back to the manor, my mood was completely different from before.
Before, although I'd quietly accepted Kane in my heart, I was still somewhat worried.
But after leaving the church, I felt more certain.
I didn't need to worry that one day Kane would get tired of me and I'd have nowhere to go.
As long as the church existed, I belonged there.
Thinking of this, I leaned my head against the window and smiled softly.
Back at the manor, Nina had to return to her small room.
But I could tell Nina was very happy.
When we parted, Nina grabbed my hand.
"Dear Sonya, I'm so happy to see your change today. Like the Father said, you deserve everything good in this world. You're my best friend, and even if a world superstar fell for you, I'd still think he wasn't good enough for you."
After saying this, Nina turned and walked into her room.
I smiled, feeling warm inside, and went back to my own room.
After the whole day, I was actually quite tired.
After all, I used to spend most of my time praying at the church and never did anything physically demanding.
No one had ever told me that shopping could be such an exhausting thing.
I lay on the bed, not wanting to move at all.
It was Athena who pulled me up, helped me wash up, and then carried me back to bed.
I slept deeply, not even knowing when Kane came back.
When I opened my eyes, it was already morning, and Kane had me in his arms, sleeping soundly.
I could smell the faint scent of smoke and alcohol on Kane.
Seeing his furrowed brow, I couldn't help reaching out to smooth it.
Feeling my touch, Kane, in his sleep, gently moved away from my hand, turned over with his back to me, and continued sleeping.
I have to say, the smell of alcohol on Kane was pretty strong.
I remembered when my stepfather used to come home.
If he'd been drinking, my mother would prepare some hangover soup for him.
I still remembered what my mother put in the hangover soup.
So I carefully got out of bed, planning to make some hangover soup for Kane.
I might not be able to do other things for Kane, but I could do this.
Besides, I was his fiancée, so doing these things was only right.
Thinking this, I went to the kitchen.
I opened the refrigerator that looked big enough to be used as a bed, picked out the ingredients my mother used to use for hangover soup, and started cooking.
Before long, other servants came into the kitchen one by one.
They were a bit surprised to see me in the kitchen. When they heard I was making hangover soup for Kane, they smiled knowingly.
When I carried the hangover soup back to the room, Kane was already awake.
He sat on the bed, the covers piled at his waist, revealing his muscular upper body. Hearing the sound at the door, Kane looked up and met my eyes.
"When I woke up and didn't see you beside me, I was a bit upset, but you went to make soup for me, right?"