chapter845

"I love you too, Honey," Sienna responded, her voice gentle as she watched the life they had built together flourish.

Their daughter was named Candice—a name chosen by Florence. While Gary and his sons had spent days in heated debates trying to find the perfect title, it was Florence’s spontaneous suggestion that stuck. To the family, she was simply "Candy," the undisputed darling of the household, sheltered by a canopy of boundless affection.

From a tender age, Candice was a bright, sweet-natured child. Her enrollment in kindergarten was so grand it became local legend; several imposing men—her grandfather, father, and uncles—showed up at the gate with banners, flowers, and instruments, reluctant to leave her side even after the school day began. While her cousins doted on her to the point of jealousy, Candice often joked that such overwhelming love was a "burden" she had to carry.

Everything changed on her tenth birthday. Her cousin, Jasper, introduced her to a young man with a strikingly handsome but melancholic air.

"Candice, meet my uncle, Elio!" Jasper declared.

Elio was Mila’s younger brother and the sole heir to the Hoffis fortune. Following Zach’s passing, Tristan and Michaela were consumed by the vast responsibilities of the family empire, leaving Elio to navigate a somewhat solitary childhood. Seeking companionship, he often sought solace with the Morrison children, who—following Jasper’s lead—addressed him as "Uncle" despite their close ages.

At fifteen, Elio was a study in brooding charm. He initially found Candice’s bubbly energy bothersome and tried to avoid her, but ten-year-old Candice was instantly drawn to his quiet depth.

Their bond took a dramatic turn when Candice was twelve. During a climbing expedition with Jasper and Elio, she was bitten by a snake. Without a second thought for his own safety, Elio acted quickly to neutralize the danger. Though both were hospitalized, Elio’s swift intervention ensured a full recovery for them both, leaving an indelible mark on Candice’s heart.

By the time Candice was fifteen and Elio was twenty, the gap between them felt like a chasm. When Elio introduced his first girlfriend to her, Candice spent the night weeping into her quilt, her eyes so swollen the next day that her panicked family rushed her to the hospital for a check-up, never suspecting she had been harboring a secret crush for five years.

The heartache deepened when she turned twenty. Elio, now twenty-five, left Norvania to pursue advanced studies abroad. For Candice, it felt as though her world had crumbled. She spent two years in a daze, her graduation marked by the silent longing for the man who had been her anchor and her ache for a decade.

Now, at twenty-two, Candice is ready to step into adulthood and begin her career. She expected a fresh start, a chance to finally move on. What she didn't expect was to walk into her new office and come face-to-face with the man she had loved in secret for twelve years.

Elio is back—and he is her new boss.