Stanford drank while answering the questions honestly.
Upon hearing his answers, Roan’s bias on Stanford had changed tremendously.
In the end, he had a conclusion: Stanford was different from other wealthy or powerful men. He had everything, but he had a pure heart.
Stanford was faithful to others.
In terms of love, he was like a teenager, as clean as a blank sheet.
This kind of man was frequently seen among teenagers, but teenagers were too young and inexperienced. They were too immature.
However, Stanford had experienced ups and downs in life. He could even be seen as a winner out of hardships. He was a perfect man in this aspect.
He had a perfect mind and career, but his sentiment was as pure as a teenager’s. This kind of man was rarer than the golden bachelors.
He was precious.
It wasn’t until then did Roan realize how lucky Phoebe was to be with Stanford.
Although Stanford hadn’t fallen in love with her yet, he would make Phoebe happy all her life.
However, now…
Roan was almost drunk.
He still asked Stanford stubbornly, “Do you love her?”
“No, I don’t,” answered Stanford without any hesitation.
However, he was smiling. “I just like being with her together. When she’s with me, no matter what she’s doing, I’ll feel pleased.
“I like to watch her laugh and want to protect her. I hope she can be so happy all the time,” said Stanford.
His eyes became a bit bleary, but a trace of sorrow flashed through them.
When they were on the cliff, he said those ruthless words to hurt Phoebe. For a long time after that, he hadn’t seen Phoebe smile again.
For him, that period was like living in Hell.
He wouldn’t want to experience it for the second time.
Hence, Stanford had made up his mind to protect Phoebe’s smile.
Roan looked into Stanford’s eyes. From his smile, Roan could see through his mind.
Stanford didn’t fake anything. He said everything from the bottom of his heart.
Truth spoke after drinking. Stanford wouldn’t lie to him.
Roan finally felt relieved. He didn’t think it would be wrong to let Stanford marry Phoebe.
Roan believed that, when he told his wife this news after she came back from abroad, she would also be happy about his decision.
“I’m so happy today. Cheers!”
Roan raised his glass high.
Stanford had drunk a lot, but he didn’t refuse. He clinked his glass with Roan’s.
The next morning.
Florence, Ernest, Phoebe, and Collin had arrived at the dining room, but Roan and Stanford, who would always appear at the earliest, still hadn’t shown up.
They wondered where the two men were.
They exchanged glances with each other.
“Phoebe, where’s your father? Should you give him a call?”
Phoebe nodded. Roan always arrived on time. He didn’t call her ahead of that he wouldn’t come for breakfast. Hence, it was a bit abnormal.
Meanwhile, she looked at Stanford’s seat opposite her.
Last night, she took the initiative to message him, but he didn’t reply to her until now. It was also abnormal.
Subconsciously, Phoebe felt uneasy, wondering if anything had happened.
“Beep… Beep…”
She heard the beeps for almost a minute. Until it was automatically cut off, no one answered the call.
Phoebe called her father again, but still, no one answered the phone.
Holing the phone, she panicked. “My father didn’t answer it.” It was pretty rare.
Florence also put down her phone, frowning slightly.
“Neither did my brother.”
The atmosphere became grave suddenly.
Everyone had seen how much Roan was against letting Stanford be with Phoebe. After one night, they both disappeared.
“Could it be that…” Florence stood up nervously. “… they went to fight?”
Phoebe’s face paled instantly, feeling so panicked.
A fight?
She couldn’t imagine it at all. Her father was old, and he couldn’t win against Stanford.
Also, she didn’t think Stanford would fight back considering that was his future father-in-law. He would just let Roan hit him.
Phoebe felt a sharp pang in her heart. “I… I must go find them now.”
Florence grabbed her hand. “You don’t know where they are. How can you find them? Why don’t you ask Judy?”
“Right. Judy always knows my father’s whereabouts.”
Phoebe calmed down a bit. In a hurry, she stood up and hurried to find Judy.
Florence immediately followed her.
Ernest, who was ready for breakfast, saw they leave and sighed helplessly. Florence skipped breakfast again. He said to a maid, “Keep the food warm.”
“Yes, Mr. Hawkins.”
Collin looked at Ernest and asked jokingly, “There seems to be a big show. Are you interested in watching it?”
A show?
Ernest wasn’t interested at all. He only wanted to keep an eye on Florence.
Without answering, he stood up directly and walked in the direction where Florence had trotted away.
Since everyone was gone, Collin didn’t have the mood to have breakfast alone. He was more interested in watching the fun. He stood up with a smile and followed them leisurely.
Phoebe found Judy pretty soon and learned that her father had been in his study since last night without going out.
In the evening, Stanford also went to see him. He didn’t go out either.
Judy knocked on the door to inform them to have breakfast, but no one answered.
According to their family rules, she couldn’t disturb them after informing them once. Hence, she didn’t continue calling them.
Phoebe found her and asked her about Roan’s whereabouts worriedly, making Judy uneasy as well.
“Mr. Jenkins looked quite angry when coming back from the garden. He was quite unhappy about you and Mr. Fraser. However, he couldn’t convince you.
“He had been staying in the study with Mr. Fraser for a whole night. Probably something has happened.”
Upon hearing Judy’s words, Phoebe’s nerves tensed more. Her heart jumped to her throat.
Roan was her father. Stanford was her boyfriend. No matter what happened to either of them, she wouldn’t know what to do.
She had never expected things to become so severe just after she told her father about her relationship with Stanford.
She was both regretful and fearful. In panic, she trotted to the study.
Florence frowned worriedly. While trotting after Phoebe, she said, “Girl, calm down. Mr. Jenkins and my brother are both men of reason.”
Phoebe knew that they were not reckless usually, but what if they had been anger?
If something happened to them because of her, she wouldn’t forgive herself all her life.
The more she wondered, the more panicked she was. She ran at the highest speed of her life.
Florence followed her but couldn’t catch up with her. They distanced from each other more and more.
Florence gasped for breath. “Phoebe, watch out! Be careful with the steps!”