Rose was suddenly at a loss for words.
Dr. Nathan was clearly far more perceptive.
"A young man like Mr. Robinson," he said, "with countless high-society women competing for his attention, is willing to register a child under his own name, publicly accept the label of having fathered a child out of wedlock, and now cooperate with you to help you secure custody of Ariel—even sacrificing his own marriage. Do you really think he’s doing all of that simply to be a good Samaritan?"
"..."
Dr. Nathan gave a meaningful snort. "The Robinson family is easy to marry into, but much harder to leave. Since you’ve already decided to marry him, you might as well stop overthinking everything and simply live a peaceful life. After all, Ariel already sees him as her father."
Rose found herself speechless.
She had, in fact, been instinctively avoiding questions like these.
"There’s nothing wrong with that," Dr. Nathan continued. "Even if everything is laid out in the open before the Knight family, Mr. Robinson can still serve as a safe harbor for you."
He knew Trevor well.
In his opinion, Trevor was level-headed.
More importantly, he genuinely cared about Ariel.
That alone was enough.
"At the very least," Dr. Nathan added quietly, "he’s done what Ryan never could."
He said nothing more.
After hanging up, Rose rubbed her temples as a headache began to form.
For a moment, she couldn’t tell whether she was making the right decision or the wrong one.
So many of her choices had been made out of necessity rather than desire.
Fortunately, Ryan had shown absolutely no reaction to her decision to remarry.
Although his indifference seemed cold and heartless, at least he wouldn’t interfere with her plan to marry Trevor and secure custody of Ariel.
Rose forced herself to stop dwelling on it.
She focused all her attention on revising her thesis, intending to submit it within the next day or two.
That afternoon, her phone rang.
Without checking the caller ID, she answered.
"Rose? Are you busy? Are you free today?"
The familiar voice immediately made Rose remove her glasses.
"President Ellis?"
"Don’t be so formal," Julia laughed. "Just call me Aunt Julia."
"Aunt Julia."
Julia chuckled. "I’m at a couture bridal boutique. They specialize in custom wedding gowns. Why don’t you come take a look? I’ll be waiting for you."
Rose hadn’t expected Julia to be genuinely serious about planning a wedding.
She was already shopping for wedding dresses.
Massaging her temples again, Rose replied, "Okay. I’ll be there soon."
Since Julia was already waiting, refusing would have been rude.
Rose decided she would find an opportunity to explain everything after she arrived.
Soon afterward, she reached the boutique.
The moment she walked inside, Julia greeted her warmly and took her hand.
"I’m not sure what style you like, so I wanted you to see everything yourself before we make any decisions."
"There’s really no need to go to so much trouble," Rose said. "Something simple will be enough."
Deep down, she always felt that if a marriage wasn’t built on genuine love, all of these elaborate preparations somehow betrayed the sincerity that a wedding was supposed to represent.
Julia smiled. "How can a young woman settle for a simple wedding?"
She happily led Rose farther into the boutique.
Eight stunning wedding gowns had already been prepared for her to choose from.
The moment Rose stepped inside, she was dazzled.
She had never worn a wedding gown before.
Yet no woman could remain unmoved by something so beautiful.
She couldn’t help recalling her first marriage.
It had been rushed and confusing.
There had been no ceremony.
Just a marriage certificate that had bound her to the Knight family for seven years.
"Would you like to try one on?"
Julia winked at her.
The sales associate beside them smiled.
"We often have unmarried young women come in just to try on wedding gowns for fun. Think of it as an experience."
Rose smiled politely.
She was just about to decline when another sales associate greeted new customers.
"Ms. Ellis."
Hearing Samantha’s voice, Rose instinctively turned around.
Samantha was walking toward them arm in arm with Ryan.
She greeted Julia warmly.
Ryan casually glanced at Rose before giving Julia a polite nod.
Julia remained calm.
After briefly looking at Samantha, she ignored her completely and greeted Ryan instead.

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