The Man Who Destroyed Me Is Now Begging to Mend Me 89

She thought, ‘Wait, so Richard didn’t come to Grace Abbey to pray? He’s here to collect acorns.

She thought, ‘So, this is the real hack for getting rich, huh? The oak trees outside the church must have heard so many prayers that those acorns are bound to bring extra luck. That’s so clear of him!

“Mr. Sterling, that’s impressive,” Sophia said, flashing him a thumbs–up, her eyes sparkling with admiration and respect.

Richard stared in silence. The attendant swung his net until he had a bag stuffed full of acorns, and Harley trailed after him into the hall, ready to hand over a donation.

“Mr. Sterling, did you come all the way up to Grace Abbey for those acorns?” Sophia teased.

Richard replied with a nod, “My father has got a craving for them, and I happened to come here.”

Sophia felt puzzled and asked, “Your father? He snacks on these?”

Sophia thought, ‘I always picture someone as rich as Edmund feasting on gourmet food, yet he’d go for something so ordinary

Back in the day, people only ate acorns when times were tough and there was nothing else to put in their stomachs.

Richard replied with a nod, “My father survived the famine years. Back then, there was barely any food anywhere. You had to dig up wild greens, chew on leaves, eat acorns, and even nibble at tree bark.”

He went on, “Every year when this season rolls around, he always asks me to bring back acorns. It’s his way of honoring those hard times.”

Sophia felt a rush of emotion and thought, ‘Trace any family back a few generations, and you’ll find roots in the dirt. Don’t let the Sterling family’s current success fool you. They’ve had their share of hard times, too.‘

“Mr. Sterling, I know how to make bread with acorns. If you don’t mind, I could make some for Mr. Edmund Sterling,” Sophia offered.

Sophia couldn’t forget how sweet Richard had been when she was banged up at his place. It felt only right to give something

back.

Richard’s eyes were as dark and still as a deep lake, but he didn’t refuse. “In that case, I’ll have to trouble you,” he said.

“It’s no trouble at all,” Sophia said, waving him off with a grin.

“We used to be poor, and every spring I’d sneak out to the hills behind our place and pick acorns and hunt for bird eggs. Whenever my foster parents weren’t home, I’d make acorn pancakes,” Sophia recalled.

But there was no hiding that smell. One time, her foster father came home early and caught her right in the act. He beat her half to death that day.

After that, she wouldn’t dare cook acorn pancakes in the house anymore. She grabbed a cast–off pot from a neighbor and made it right out in the hills. She would scarf them down before sneaking back home.

Richard listened to her casually share those memories, and he couldn’t help but feel a pang in his chest.

‘Just how rough was her childhood, really?‘ he wondered.

And now, even after being found by her real parents, it was like they showed her less love than they ever did to a foster kid.

“Listening to you, I kind of wish I could’ve seen your childhood for myself,” Richard said.

Sophia shook her head and replied, “It sounds dramatic, maybe, but that’s how it was for us country kids. It was nothing worth bragging about. What about you, Richard? What was your childhood like?”

Richard glanced back at his childhood and shrugged as if there was nothing special worth telling.

“School,” he answered, keeping it short.

“Anything besides going to school?” Sophia probed.

“Cram school, and more homework,” Richard said.

Sophia couldn’t help but stare at him, not sure what to say.

So it was all classes and cramming. That’s pretty boring. But for some reason, I kind of envy that, she thought.

“Back then, I hardly had any time for studying outside of class. Most afternoons, I was busy with chores and cooking dinner,” Sophia said.

“If I didn’t finish my homework before sunset, that was it. They wouldn’t even let me turn the lights on to study once it got dark,” she continued.

Sophia didn’t want to seem pitiful or wallow in self–pity, but for some reason, being with Richard made her long to open up and share everything.

Talking to him about those heavy memories felt healing, as if confiding in him could soothe the scars from her childhood.

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