Chapter 35: A Dinner Conversation

For a while, neither of us spoke.

Gwen quietly pushed the food around her plate, clearly lost in thought.

I let her have the silence, knowing she would speak when she was ready.

“Mom…” she finally said.

“Hm?”

She hesitated, staring down at her plate before looking up at me.

“If I choose Material Science and Energy Engineering… would it actually help Chris?”

“No,” I replied gently.

Her shoulders dropped slightly, and I could see the disappointment in her eyes before I continued.

“Not because it isn’t useful, but because I don’t think that’s why he suggested it.”

She looked at me, confused.

“If Chris needed an engineer, he could hire hundreds tomorrow. If he wanted someone to work in that laboratory, he has more than enough money to recruit some of the best scientists in the world. That’s never been something he lacked.”

I paused, letting my words sink in.

“So no, I don’t think he asked because he needed your skills.”

“Then… why ask me?” Gwen asked quietly.

“Because he trusts you.”

She blinked.

“I don’t think he was trying to decide your future for you,” I said with a small shake of my head.

“If you had told him you weren’t interested, I honestly don’t think he would have mentioned it again. Chris doesn’t strike me as the type of person who forces people into a path they don’t want.”

I leaned back slightly in my chair.

“I think what he really wanted was someone he could trust to be there. Someone he already knew, someone he was comfortable with. If that laboratory ever becomes important to him, he’d rather have a familiar face inside than another stranger, no matter how qualified they are.”

Gwen quietly absorbed my words, her gaze drifting toward the staircase where Chris had gone only a few minutes earlier.

I smiled faintly as I set down my fork.

Looking at Gwen, I couldn’t help asking, “Do you really think buying this entire neighborhood was just for convenience? Or that bringing all those cars here was only because he likes them?”

Gwen blinked.

“That’s… what he said.”

“That’s what he told us,” I corrected gently.

“But I don’t think that’s the real reason.” I paused for a moment before continuing.

“I think he was scared.”

“Scared?” Gwen repeated, clearly unconvinced.

I nodded.

“Scared for us.”

My gaze drifted toward the staircase where Chris had disappeared only minutes ago.

“Think about everything he talked about today. Buying the neighborhood. Building a laboratory for you. Bringing everything closer to this house. It all sounds excessive at first, but what if he wasn’t thinking about convenience? What if he was asking himself, ‘What if something happens to Helen while she’s traveling to work? What if something happens to Gwen on her way home?’ We’re always wondering what might happen to him. Have you ever stopped to think that he might be doing the exact same thing?”

Gwen lowered her eyes, quietly absorbing my words.

After a brief silence, I continued in a softer voice.

“Listen, Gwen. Chris was raised very differently from most people. You might think he seemed insensitive because he didn’t grieve his parents the way others would, but that’s because his idea of family isn’t the same as ours.”

“He wasn’t raised by his parents. They were always busy, always away. Because of that, his mother made sure no maid, nanny, or servant stayed long enough for him to grow attached. Every time he started getting close to someone, they were replaced. He never had the chance to build a lasting bond with anyone. In the end, he grew up trying to create something that felt like a family out of people who were never meant to stay.”

Gwen hesitated before asking, “Is that why… he has so many problems with relationships?”

I let out a quiet chuckle.

“Partly. From what I understand, his mother knew that. She only stepped in whenever he became too serious about someone or if she believed a girl had ulterior motives.”

Gwen frowned thoughtfully.

“Then why did she choose you? Why not another man to look after him?”

I smiled to myself.

“Because she trusted me.” Folding my hands together on the table, I continued, “She knew Chris kept everyone at a distance. To him, most people were simply employees doing their jobs. So she wanted someone who wouldn’t just work for him. She wanted someone who could become his family.”

A small laugh escaped my lips.

“Honestly, I thought it would take months. Maybe even years. I expected him to keep me at arm’s length. Instead, he accepted me almost immediately. It was almost like he’d been starving for a family without even realizing it.”

Silence settled over the dining room as I found myself looking toward the staircase again.

“I think his mother understood him better than anyone else,” I said quietly.

“She knew exactly what he needed, even if he didn’t.”

Across from me, Gwen remained silent.

A small shiver ran down her spine as she imagined the woman I was describing.

To understand her own son so completely, to predict the kind of person he would become years in advance, and to leave behind someone she trusted to fill the role he never realized he wanted…

It was frightening.

“She really was terrifying,” Gwen murmured.

I silently nodded.

As the silence returned, I studied Gwen for a moment before letting out a quiet sigh.

“I think… we need to have this conversation.”

She looked up at me in confusion.

“About what?”

“About your relationship with Chris.” I paused, choosing my words carefully.

“He’s become comfortable around us surprisingly quickly, but I’m more concerned about you. After hearing what those men intended to do to you… after seeing how you’ve kept your distance from boys ever since… how did you become so comfortable around him?”

Gwen remained quiet for a few moments before a small smile appeared on her face.

“The same could be said about you, Mom.”

I couldn’t help smiling back.

“I suppose it could. But that doesn’t answer my question.”

Holding her gaze, I finally asked the question that had been sitting in the back of my mind for days.

“Do you like him?”

The moment the words left my mouth, I watched her carefully.

Her ears slowly turned red, and she lowered her head, avoiding my eyes.

Several long seconds passed before she finally took a deep breath.

“…Would it be a bad idea if I did?”

I slowly shook my head.

“Don’t answer my question with another question. Just answer me honestly.”

The dining room fell silent once again.

Finally, in a voice so quiet I almost didn’t hear it, Gwen whispered,

“…Yes.”

I wasn’t surprised.

The way she’d looked at him, the way she always found an excuse to be near him, the disappointment on her face whenever he left—I had noticed all of it.

If anything, I’d expected her to dismiss it as nothing more than a small crush.

Letting out a slow breath, I quietly replied, “Then… I think it’s a bad idea.”

Her head snapped up.

“Why?” she demanded, her voice far sharper than I’d expected.

“Is it because… you want a chance with him?”

For a moment, I simply stared at her, unable to process what I’d just heard.

Where had that come from?

I had expected embarrassment, denial, maybe even an attempt to change the subject.

Jealousy was the last thing I’d expected.

I frowned, my voice taking on a reprimanding tone.

“Gwen. How could you even think something like that? It’s not like that.”

She immediately looked away, clearly realizing what she’d just implied, but I was still annoyed by the accusation.

“No,” I said firmly.

“The problem isn’t me.”