Chapter 1292

"Son, are you serious?" Theia retrieved the fallen fruit, suppressing the shock bubbling in her chest as she asked in a remarkably calm voice.

"What if I am?" Jimmie lifted his gaze, his handsome features completely earnest. "Could you and Dad accept it?"

"Ah?" Theia choked on her words, turning to her husband with a bewildered blink. "I mean, I could..."

"Since when?" Silas demanded, his deep voice tight as he clenched his jaw. He wasn't entirely traditional, but wrapping his head around this would take a minute.

"Recently, I suppose." Jimmie answered honestly, his expression stoic. "I've been wondering if I actually had feelings for him. I wasn't sure before, but I am now."

"How did you figure it out?" Silas pressed.

"I react to him." Jimmie's Adam's apple bobbed before he added, "And only him!" "Cough, cough, cough..."

Silas hadn't expected his son to be quite so blunt. Choking on his own saliva, he broke into a violent fit of coughing.

"Easy now, take a breath," Theia quickly handed him a glass. "Have some water."

So, the rumors were wrong. Her son wasn't asexual; he was just into men. Honestly, for them, it wasn't exactly thrilling news either way.

"Who is it?" she asked, her expression slightly strained.

"I can't tell you right now," he replied, his voice dropping to a gravelly rasp. "He might not even like me back. I'm going to have to chase him!"

"If you two can handle it, I'll give it a shot," Jimmie continued. "If you can't..."

They both stared at him, fully expecting him to say he would give it up. Instead, he said, "If you can't, there's nothing I can do. Right now, whether my eyes are open or closed, awake or dreaming, he's all I think about."

"If I win him over, I'll bring him home to meet you. If I strike out, let's just pretend this conversation never happened." He pinched the bridge of his nose, suddenly looking exhausted. "I just don't want to keep drifting through my days feeling this lost."

During the two weeks they spent apart after leaving Stellara Country, Jimmie hadn't known what to do with himself. He was constantly bouncing between rationality and just giving up entirely.

He had originally planned to keep his distance, hoping that with time, all these messy feelings would just fade away.

But then the landslide happened.

The second he grabbed Luella's hand over that cliff, he realized he couldn't bear the thought of losing her.

He had completely fallen for her.

"Are you absolutely certain about this, son?" Theia took a deep breath, slowly accepting this new reality.

"Yes." Jimmie thought it over for a second, then nodded firmly. "I am."

"You really can't control matters of the heart, Silas said, standing up with a heavy sigh. His face was still a bit pale. "As long as you're happy, your mother and I won't hay

problem with it."

"But....." Theia stepped forward, looking anxious. "Given your status in the industry, if

this kind of scandal gets out, the fallout could be massive."

"It might not even get out," Jimmie scoffed coldly. "He's got plenty of backups. His roster of pretty boys is practically endless."

"Huh?" Theia was stunned all over again, struggling to form a coherent sentence. "Jimmie... where exactly do you rank on this list?"

"No idea right now." His face darkened, his tone terrifyingly calm. "But I know the list isn't short."

Silas and Theia were left utterly speechless.

***

Sitting in the back of a cab, Luella felt completely floaty.

Had she hit her head so hard during that fall that it actually scrambled her brain?

Why did it feel like Jimmie had been trying to kiss her just now?

Sure, she absolutely appreciated his face and his physique, but she wasn't so far gone that she was hallucinating something like that... right?!

Unless...

Panicking Luella pulled out her phone and frantically typed a message to Richard from s Vanguard. [How do you know for sure if you've fallen for someone?]

Richard: [?]

Luella: [I have this friend. She met a guy recently and is a bit captivated by him But she doesnt know if that actually counts as hiking him. So I'm asking on her behalf-how can she be sure?]