The Million-Dollar Heart by Rebecca Ryan

Soren's bravado instantly put the man next to Arnold on high alert, instinctively reaching out to shield Arnold behind him.

"May | ask who you are?" The man's good upbringing didn't allow him to get angry immediately, but the emotion in his eyes was

quite apparent.

Soren ignored him and looked towards Arnold, "What are you doing?"

Arnold, confused by the question, replied, "What else would | be doing in a restaurant? Eating, obviously!"

"But this is a couples' restaurant."

"So what?"

Arnold didn't see any difference between the two. After all, Soren wasn't his date, so why the ?

"Do you not know him?" the man's eyebrows were now knotted together.

This question somewhat baffled Arnold, "Well, | can't say | don't know him, but we're not that close."

"If that's the case, I'll have to ask you to leave and not disturb our meal, or I'll have to call security." The man stood up abruptly,

forcing Soren to look up at him.

The height difference between them was clear, and Arnold watched the scene with satisfaction.

Ah, the feeling of being protected was indeed different; Soren didn't even need to handle it himself.

Before leaving, Soren gave Arnold a harsh look, one that seemed to convey a clear message.

He wished he could strangle him right there.

Arnold just shrugged helplessly; nothing was more important than his date right now.

It happened to be the weekend, and Vivienne's family was out shopping at the mall. From afar, Percival spotted Soren standing

alone, looking rather upset.

Following Percival's gaze, Vivienne saw Soren and smiled, "Should we go say hi?"

No sooner had she spoken did Vivienne realize something was amiss. "What's he doing there? On a stakeout?"

Soren's stern look and tightly pursed lips suggested he was preoccupied with something serious.

"He seems to be watching two men in the restaurant across the street, but they don't look like criminals. They're just eating

quietly," Juliette observed from the railing.

Percival, now aware of the two men inside, quickly reassured himself there was no cause for concern.

"Let's go. Weren't you guys excited to try that restaurant? Let's not worry about this for now." Percival gently patted the children's

heads.

Seeing this, Vivienne quickly caught on to what Percival was implying. If he chose not to approach, it must mean something was

up.

Once the children were fully engrossed in their meal, Vivienne leaned in to ask Percival, "So, do you know those two men Soren

was glaring at?"

Percival laughed at her choice of words, "What on earth have you been watching lately?"

"Don't dodge the question. Tellwhat's going on."

"Remember the potential rival | mentioned to you about Soren?"

With a nudge from Percival, Vivienne's memory was jogged, "Don't tellone of those two men is Anna's love interest?"

As she spoke, Vivienne reconsidered; the intimate, unconcerned manner of the two men replayed in her mind.

No matter how she looked at it, those two seemed like a couple!

"It's not exactly a love interest. I've bumped into them a few times, and his attitude towards Anna is more like a brother's to his

sister?" Percival explained.

"Well, this is going to be interesting," Vivienne smirked, amused.

From Soren's actions, it was clear he was on to something, even ready to record with his phone, hinting that today would be

eventful.

Indeed, as Vivienne had guessed, Soren began recording with his phone shortly after she left.

Arnold and hispanion had already noticed Soren's actions. The man looked puzzled at Arnold, who seemed unfazed.

Thinking Arnold hadn't noticed, he didn't realize Arnold's barely concealed smile was because of Soren.

After several aborted attempts to speak, the man finally let Arnold have his say, "Don't worry about him. If he wants to film, let

him. As long as he makes us look good, | won't press the issue."

The man laughed helplessly, "Alright then." He then served sfood into Soren's bowl.

"Besides, this involves my little sister's feelings. If today helps them take a step forward, I'm willing to be a bit ufortable."

Arnold's wordspletely eased the man's concerns. Knowing how much Arnold cared for his sister, if he was okay with it, they'd

let Soren be.

Later, the man whispered to Arnold, "Do | get any credit for this?"

Arnold looked at him in surprise, then burst into laughter, "Of course, you do. Without you, | couldn't help them. You're the main

force!"

Soren couldn't hear their conversation, but seeing them laughing and enjoying themselves didn't improve his mood.

When he returned to the lab, Anna was wrapping up the day's reports, getting ready to leave.

"Leaving so early today?" Soren asked.

Anna couldn't shake the feeling that something was off with Soren. Had something happened?

"Yes, I've finished my tasks for the day and was planning to head hearly." Anna was already dressed, "Is there something you

need help with?"

Soren didn't respond to her question but asked another, "Are you going halone?"

"No, Arnold said he would pickup today."

Soren narrowed his eyes at the mention of Arnold, again!

"He probably won't have tto pick you up today," Soren snorted after a pause.

"Huh? How did you find out?" Anna was utterly baffled. It was odd because Arnold hadn't mentioned he couldn't make it today, and

how on earth did Sorene to know?

Soren, with his head down, was flicking through his phone. After a short moment, he turned the screen towards Anna, "Because |

saw him having dinner with a guy at a bistro known for romantic dates."

Anna's eyes widened in shock.

Oh crap! Soren caught them in the act; does this mean Arnold's secret is out?

Anna glanced at Soren's expression, wondering if he was cool with the whole LGBTQ+ thing. And if he found out she was also

hiding this, would her image in his eyes take a hit?

To avoid such a scenario, Anna chuckled nervously, "Soren, might you have gotten it wrong? A bistro is still a place to eat, and with

the weekend crowd, maybe they just couldn't find another spot and settled for..."

"Are leaning on each other, wiping food from each other's mouths, and holding hands also things just friends do?!" Soren cut her

off.

He was visibly upset that she was still trying to make excuses for Arnold. Why couldn't she just trust him?

While feeling agitated, Soren pulled up a video he had recorded. Anna could hardly bear to watch.