Mr. Rhodes fell silent for a moment before sighing. "If you two don’t have a child of your own, what will happen to you in the future? Her daughter is already an adult, and you have no relationship with her. Do you really think she’ll treat you like her own father and take care of you?"

Roman chuckled, a little perplexed. "Dad, I’m not that shameless. I never raised her, so on what grounds should she treat me like her own father? When my time comes, I’ll be grateful if she just helps arrange my affairs."

Hearing Roman’s words made Mr. Rhodes feel even worse. He opened his mouth to speak, his voice laced with anxiety. "Have you really thought this through? You really don’t want a child of your own?"

Seeing the worried expression on his father’s face, Roman didn’t have the heart to upset the old man any further.

Roman took his father’s hand and said earnestly, "Dad, if marriage was just about procreating and passing on genes, I could just go to a hospital and donate sperm. Why go through all this trouble?"

"The way I see it, marriage is about having a companion in your old age—finding someone you love to spend the rest of your life with, sharing all of life’s joys and sorrows. Everything else is secondary. Dad, I truly love her. I want to become a part of her life, and I want to share my life with her. To me, that’s the real meaning of marriage."

"Dad, Winnie is a wonderful mother. She’s raised her daughter to be an outstanding young woman—more impressive than any other person her age I’ve ever met. It’s a blessing to have someone like that in the next generation. Besides, I have a nephew. For Winnie and me, there’s no need to take a risk and roll the dice on another child."

Mr. Rhodes looked at his eldest son, remaining silent for a long time before finally speaking slowly. "...I know you have a mind of your own. I’ve known for a long time that I can’t tell you what to do..."

Mr. Rhodes knew his eldest son, Roman, was different from his younger son. Roman had been strong-willed since childhood; no one could ever force him to do something he didn’t want to do.

’He’d always insisted he would never marry or have children. The fact that he’s now found someone he loves and is considering marriage is already a blessing from my late wife’s spirit. I shouldn’t ask for anything more...’

But Mr. Rhodes was, after all, a man of traditional values. The knowledge that Roman wasn’t planning to have children still caused him a pang of sadness.

Seeing his father’s expression, Roman smiled and patted his hand. "Dad, a person’s life is just a short journey of a few decades. I’ve already walked half of mine. I want to walk the other half with her. Nothing else is important."

Mr. Rhodes mumbled, "I was just hoping you could have a child to carry on the bloodline..."

Roman smiled. "Why does passing things on have to be about bloodlines? When I die, my body will decompose and return to the earth. The molecules and atoms that made up my body will rejoin the cycle of life in the universe, becoming parts of other things. Isn’t that a form of carrying on, too?"

"Every planet in the universe has a lifespan. Life on Terra, too, will eventually come to an end. When that happens, all living things on this planet will return to nothingness... Is it really so meaningful to be fixated on passing down a bloodline?"

"Dad, isn’t this disaster the universe’s answer to humanity? Nothing lasts forever. In this life, being able to spend a few decades with the person you love is more than enough."

At this, Mr. Rhodes fell silent once more.

After a long while, he finally nodded. "Alright. Since you’ve thought it all through... I won’t say anything more."

In truth, from his earlier chat with Winnie Summers, Mr. Rhodes could already tell she was a good woman.

Although he wasn’t entirely satisfied with her being a divorced mother, since Roman was happy, Mr. Rhodes decided to accept it.

With this thought, Mr. Rhodes sighed and said, "Well, since things have come to this, you should find a time to arrange for our two families to have a meal together."

Roman scratched his head. "Whoa, Dad, don’t get ahead of yourself. It’s not a done deal yet... We’ve been talking all this time, but she might not even say yes!"

Mr. Rhodes’s eyes widened. "Not a done deal? And you already gave her that brooch worth billions?"

Roman found this rather amusing. "I’m the one pursuing her. Am I supposed to wait for a sure thing before making a move? Only give her a gift after she agrees to be with me? I couldn’t do something so shameless."

"Even male animals in the wild know to bring a gift to the female when they’re courting. Surely I’m not worse than an animal! Besides, even if I hadn’t given it to her, I wouldn’t have given it to anyone else. That being the case, what’s the difference between giving it to her now or later?"

The implication was clear: if it didn’t work out with Winnie Summers, Roman had no intention of finding someone else. He would simply remain single.

Hearing this, Mr. Rhodes flung Roman’s hand away and snapped, "What nonsense are you talking now! All you do all day is try to make me angry! You better think of a way to lock things down with her, and do it soon!"

...

Every word of the conversation in the living room reached the ears of Ronan Rhodes and Sophie Thorne, who were eavesdropping from a guest room.

Ronan tried to hold it in, but he just couldn’t anymore.

He pulled Sophie Thorne over to him and said indignantly, "Hey... what right does he have to say raising me almost killed him? What did I ever do? I wasn’t some little terror as a kid! Honey, you tell me, was I a naughty child?"

Sophie Thorne shook his hand off in annoyance, frowning. "Oh, give it a rest. You almost made a huge fool of yourself over this. You were so sure Big Brother was interested in Melody... It’s a good thing I didn’t believe you, or I’d be looking just as ridiculous as you right now!"

Ronan scratched his head in embarrassment. "Well... it’s not my fault. How was I supposed to know Big Brother would be interested in Miss Summers... A divorced woman with a child..."

Noticing Sophie Thorne’s glare, Ronan quickly waved his hands to backtrack. "Honey, don’t get me wrong! I don’t have a problem with divorced mothers. In fact, a woman who divorces and keeps her child shows she’s responsible! I have a lot of respect for them!"

"...I-I was just biased by my own assumptions... Honey, you know how it is in our circle. Don’t all the guys in their forties end up marrying some twenty-something? How was I supposed to know Big Brother would be different?"

Sophie Thorne snorted. "Biased by your assumptions, huh? Ronan Rhodes, does this mean you’re also planning to dump me when you’re forty and find yourself a twenty-something?"

Ronan scrambled to explain. "You’ve got me all wrong! How can you say that? Other than you, I..."

Before Ronan could finish, the sharp ring of a cell phone cut him off.

Ronan frowned and answered the phone with a hint of annoyance. "Hello?"

Whatever was said on the other end, Ronan’s expression gradually grew serious.

"Okay... I understand... Yes, that’s fine. No problem. You go ahead and arrange it," Ronan replied gravely before hanging up.

Putting down his phone, Ronan looked at Sophie Thorne, a flicker of worry in his eyes. "That was Carter Jennings," he said. "Zane Simmons’s parents had a fight, and now they’re separating."

"Carter Jennings said the hotel’s presidential suites are all full. He asked if we could spare one of our vacant suites for Miss Walsh to stay in temporarily."

Sophie Thorne nodded. "The suites across the hall and next door are both empty. That’s perfect. Miss Walsh can move in there."

Ronan continued, "...And there’s more. Zane Simmons’s young girlfriend is in trouble. All the hotel doctors are gathered in the medical suite right now. It looks like she’s going to lose the baby!"

Sophie Thorne was stunned. "What?!"