The Officer's Runaway Wife & Secret Son novel Chapter 213

Before the plane had even taken off, Simon had contacted an agency to have the house in Heron Bay thoroughly cleaned. The refrigerator was already stocked with drinks and fruit.

After a busy morning, Simon collapsed onto the sofa, his long legs sprawled over the edge of the coffee table.

"I can't do this anymore. I'm falling apart," Simon groaned, grabbing a cushion to prop up his head. He pointed at the sunset outside the window. "Clara, do you see that? It looks like my fading youth."

Clara, standing by the kitchen island cutting fruit, stuffed a piece of melon into his mouth.

"Shut up. It looks like an egg yolk to me."

Simon chewed the melon, muttering that she was losing her romantic soul.

Heron Bay's sunsets were legendary among the artistic crowd. The house was a white, two-story villa with a private courtyard. The garden walls were draped in blooming bougainvillea. It was close enough to the sea to offer a view, but far enough to avoid the excessive humidity.

In the yard, Clara's dad walked around with his hands behind his back, circling three times. He couldn't suppress his grin.

Having lived in staff housing all his life, seeing such a spacious, bright courtyard was a dream. "I'll move those rose bushes later. I can set up a trellis by the wall and plant some passion fruit. They climb fast, and we can make tea with the fruit."

Clara's mom, who was in the kitchen cleaning the fresh seafood they'd just bought, poked her head out to tease him. "Give it a rest. We just landed and you're already trying to farm. This is someone else's house; the landlord might have something to say if you mess up their garden."

"It's fine. Change whatever you want."

A cheerful male voice chimed in from the kitchen.

A slightly portly but kind-faced man was helping Clara's mom organize the cookware. He wiped sweat from his brow and smiled. "Mrs. Bridges, plant away. Around here, as long as you don't demolish the load-bearing walls, you can do whatever you like. Treat it like your own home."

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