Too late for a second chance (Lila and Dorian)

Lila's gaze remained calm as she silently considered Xyla's words.

She didn't respond right away, so Xyla continued, "You seem close to Ms. Joyce. I was wondering if I could ask-why didn't the arranged marriage between their families go through? Would you mind sitting down for a bit at that cafe over there?"

Lila met Xyla's eyes. Aside from curiosity, there wasn't much emotion in them.

But she didn't nod.

Instead, she simply said, "I don't know much about it, so don't overthink things, Ms. Zimmerman. The two of them probably didn't move forward with it because their personalities and values were not aligning."

Xyla frowned slightly. "Personalities and values?"

Lila wasn't about to go into too much detail, so she kept her answer vague. "You've spent time with Vince, so you should know he's easygoing, polite, and respectful.

"He treats people with kindness and carries a strong sense of responsibility. As for Ame... she's always been free-spirited and used to doing things her way.

"Marriage was never something she wanted. One values stability and the other craves freedom. Naturally, their ideals didn't match."

Xyla listened, deep in thought.

It made sense.

But to Xyla, it all felt a little too surface-level. Was it that simple?

Still, Lila had made her stance clear.

After a brief pause, Xyla asked, "So, it was Ms. Joyce who didn't want the engagement?"

remained polite but noncommittal. "I don't

"Got it. Thank you

said goodbye

in the passenger seat, having overheard their conversation, turned

is her

hesitated. "Ms. Hart's words should be reliable. But whether she was holding something back...

married, even if he didn't love me, he'd still

her, then softly finished the thought. "But a marriage

filled the car. Neither of them had

flower shop not

a few sunflowers, pairing them with delicate complementary blooms, and waited as

bet.

area, a familiar figure

"Matthew."

name, Matthew turned around. He was wearing a black baseball cap and a

the flowers in her

I

she spoke, her eyes carried a soft smile, like the brightest star in the

seemed so...

earliest memories of marriage were nothing but shouting

on each other, and when that wasn't enough, they turned it on

of his childhood had been filled with bruises, leaving him deeply

after meeting Lila

watching how effortlessly harmonious their relationship was, he realized that marriage didn't have to be a cycle of yelling and