On a bench by the roadside.
Eating the breakfast Josh Hamilton brought me, I mumbled, "I heard the Royal Pastry Shop got bought out. Not sure who, but they must have deep pockets!"
Josh Hamilton, sitting next to me, visibly stiffened, then forced a smile and said, "You... already know?"
Remembering what he said yesterday about buying the cake shop for me, my heart softened, and I immediately comforted, "Oh, don't be sad, those rich people just have too much money to burn!"
Josh Hamilton's lips twitched, and he seemed even sadder.
Men have strong pride—I understand!
"My dear, honestly, I'm just happy to eat the cake you bought for me. As for the cake shop..."
Before I could finish my sentence, my phone buzzed.
The contact name: "Crafty old devil."
It was my ruthless father.
I felt a bit guilty, so I quickly stuffed the remaining buns into Josh Hamilton's hand and ran to the side to take the call.
"Eleanor, sweetie, I've been thinking. If you ever get homesick, just come visit us. You know we've pampered you all these years, you won't be able to handle all the tough stuff out there!"
"Do you think I've had it hard?"
I glanced back at Josh not far away, and my heart felt as sweet as if I had drunk honey.
My dad seems to be unable to get through to me the hard way, so now he's trying to guilt-trip me with family emotions.
I know exactly what he's plotting.
For some reason, my mom had suddenly developed an interest in traveling these past few years.
And not just any travel, but world travel.
In the past two years, she's gone on four spontaneous overseas trips, leaving my dad—who's obsessed with love—at home, which had him all worked up.
He wanted to video call her for twenty hours out of the day if he could.
He says it's because his wife is too naive, afraid she might get deceived.
Fortunately, after all these years of watching couples, I've built up an immunity to it.
So, my dad started manipulating me emotionally.
He insists on having me take over the company. He says he's too old and doesn't have the energy anymore.
I can see through it—he just wants to travel the world with my mom and can't wait to hand over the company to me.
If I were a bit weaker in resolve, I'd have fallen for his trick.
"Dad, I've told you before, I want to live a fulfilling life through my own hard work!"
"Ugh! Are you mad at your dad now? What I said earlier was just in the heat of the moment."
"Hmph!"
"Let's not talk about that anymore. Eleanor, do you know who bought the Royal Cake Shop?"
I wasn't interested in anything else, but I was very interested in this.
At that time, I begged my dad to negotiate with them, but they wouldn't sell for less than five million.
The owner said that they weren't in it for the money, but for the sentiment.
"So, who bought it?"
My dad purposely teased me, "Can you guess."
"Dad, now you're just being silly! If you're not going to tell me, I'll hang up!"
"Wait, wait, I'll tell you. Do you remember that talented person from the Hamilton family I introduced you to for matchmaking?"
"There is something like that. What's his name again?"
My dad continued, "Eleanor, think about it, the cake shop you love so much was bought by him. If you two get married, wouldn't it be easy for you to eat cake anytime you want?"
Indeed, the Royal Cake's cakes are sold in limited quantities each day and need to be pre-ordered, so you can't always get them.
But just because I love cake, I ended up following my dad's wish to get married off and take over the company. How lame is that?
"Dad, do you really underestimate your daughter?"
