His Unveiled Passion

Marissa nodded politely. "Oh, alright. I'll wait here for him. It's no trouble."

Sophia hummed in acknowledgement and made light conversation with her. She could clearly see how Marissa felt about Stephen.

But deep down, Sophia was not pleased with the idea of her son ending up with Marissa. In her heart, Tessa was her true daughter-in-law.

The moment she thought about Stephen and Tessa's relationship, Sophia felt a wave of frustration.

With James and Jacqueline both arrested, and Rowena having passed away, there was no one left to object to them being together.noveldrama

The only remaining obstacles were Samuel, and more importantly, the knot in Tessa's own heart.

If only the two of them could reconcile.

It had been some time since she last saw Tessa. The thought alone made Sophia sigh.

Marissa noticed and glanced at her with concern. "Mrs. Jacobson, is something on your mind?"

Sophia smiled faintly and sighed again.

"I've been worrying about Stephen's future. He and Tessa broke up and still haven't gotten back together. I think about it every day, hoping they'll work things

out. I even dream of Tessa marrying into the family soon and giving me a grandchild. Stephen is already 30 and still single. It really troubles me."

Marissa's smile faltered for a moment.

Sophia pretended not to notice. She sipped her coffee and asked with a smile, "Marissa, are you seeing anyone right now?"

Marissa shook her head. "No, not yet, Mrs. Jacobson."

"How old are you now?"

"I'll be 27 soon."

"Oh dear, you're not that young anymore. Why aren't you dating? Should I introduce you to someone? One of my close friends has a son who is a year older than you. He just returned from abroad. I could arrange for you two to meet." Sophia replied in a deliberately nosy tone, playing the part of the well-meaning older woman who enjoyed meddling.

Marissa's heart sank. She finally understood. No matter how successful or impressive she was, Sophia only ever saw Tessa as her daughter-in-law. Even if Marissa had everything else, she still wouldn't be accepted.

"That won't be necessary, Mrs. Jacobson. Lalready have someone in my heart. And if it's not him, I'me not interested in anyone else," Marissa said, hiding her

disappointment behind a graceful

smile.

Sophia feigned curiosity. "Who is he? Do I know him?"

Marissa played along. "You know him very well."

"Then, you'll have to bring him by sometime. Let me take a look and see if he's good enough for you."

"Alright."

Another ten minutes passed. Stephen eventually came downstairs.

Two men followed behind him. One of them was his assistant, Samson. The other was a stranger Marissa didn't recognize.

Once the unfamiliar man had left, she asked, "Stephen, who was that man just now?"

Instead of answering, Stephen sat down on the couch and asked indifferently, "Why are you here?"

Marissa hesitated for a moment. "Didn't you say yesterday that we'd talk about the collaboration another day? I'm here to follow up."

Stephen responded with cold detachment. "Did you bring the proposal?"

"I did. It's all in here," she said, pulling out a flash drive and handing it to him.

Stephen didn't reach for it.

It was Samson who took it from her and plugged it into the laptop he had with him. He opened the

brough

files and displayed them for Stephen to see.

Stephen glanced through the documents quickly.

When he finished, he shook his head. "No."

Marissa froze.

"If you want to work with me, bring something worthwhile. Don't waste my time with something like this again. Stephen said coldly. His tone was sharp, his words completely devoid of courtesy.

With that, he stood up and walked away, not bothering to look back at her reaction.