After dinner, Mr. Campell stood up and deliberately walked past Tom, whispering to him, “Mr. Fritz, if you can, could we have a word in the yard?”
“Sure, uncle,” Tom agreed immediately.
Then her father walked out of the dining room, and Tom followed him. Agnes saw this and wanted to follow, but Mrs. Campell grabbed her arm, stopping her.
“I have something to talk to you about,” Mrs. Campell said to her daughter.
Agnes looked out the window again; the two men had already disappeared from sight, probably heading towards the vegetable garden in the backyard. Under the night sky, the warm yellow lights in the yard were already on. The backyard of the villa was lush, with flowers on one side and vegetables on the other.
Mr. Campell stopped in front of the vegetable garden, and Tom halted beside him.
“Mr. Fritz.”
“Uncle, please call me Tom,” the man said gently. “I may be older than Agnes, but I am still a junior.”
“Alright,” Mr. Campell turned to look at him. “Tom, I want to ask you, what do you like about my daughter?”
Tom met the middle-aged man’s gaze and thought seriously. “She is kind-hearted, youthful, and energetic. Being with her makes me very happy. I am willing to give up some things I previously wouldn’t for her.”
“For example?”
“For example, leaving the lab and returning to the company as an heir,” Tom answered honestly. “This also gives her a sense of security.”
Hearing this, Mr. Campell was slightly taken aback and asked directly, “Are you considering the future?”
“Yes,” Tom nodded. “I already see her as my marriage partner. This is not just dating; we are talking about marriage.”
When he said this, he appeared particularly responsible and determined. The seriousness in his deep eyes slightly moved Mr. Campell.
By the vegetable garden illuminated by streetlights, the two men’s gazes met in silence.
“How much older are you than Agnes?” Mr. Campell asked.
“Twelve years older,” Tom answered honestly. “But that’s not an issue; I’m in good health, get annual checkups, and exercise daily. We don’t have a generation gap.”
“Did she stay with you when she went abroad?” Mr. Campell asked again. “Or did she stay at a hotel?”
“She stayed with me.”
Mr. Campell’s chest tightened slightly but his face remained calm as he asked, “Did you sleep together?”
Tom did not expect such a question at their first meeting but it showed how much he cared for his daughter.
Tom did not think too long before answering honestly, “We slept in the same bed but didn’t do anything.”
Mr. Campell stared into his eyes without blinking and determined that he was not lying.
This also showed that Tom was a very responsible man.
In the living room downstairs, Spencer and Summer sat on the sofa with a book on prenatal education in their hands.
Upstairs on an elegant terrace, Mrs. Campell sat across from her daughter who was clearly preoccupied with thoughts of Tom.
Not knowing what her father would talk about with him made Agnes anxious as she worried about her beloved.
Mrs. Campell saw through her daughter’s thoughts immediately and said to her, “Don’t worry; your father has a good temperament and won’t eat him alive.”
Agnes came back to herself and asked, “Mom, what do you think about me dating Tom?”