"Not at all," Shanley said with a gentle smile, his voice soft and reassuring. "It would be my honor to trade it all for the most unique and priceless treasure in the world."


    "Oh." Juniper was still holding a piece of candy, a thoughtful frown on her delicate face.


    The wait for her response was pure agony for Shanley.


    "I don''t want this junk,” Juniper dered, pushing the safes away with a deep scowl.


    Junk? The word sent a ripple of shock through the room. A fortune worth hundreds of billions was junk? And she didn''t want it?


    "You don''t want it?" Shanley''s expression immediately grew heavy with panic, his voice trembling slightly. "Why not?"


    This wasn''t about rejecting the assets; this was about rejecting him.


    "I nced through it, and most of it is real estate andpany shares," Juniper exined, her longshes fluttering as she looked up at him, her beautiful lips pouting with displeasure. "If you give it to me, does that mean I''ll have to manage it all? I''ll have to take over your job, make the money, and then support you on top of it?"


    Juniper''s expression shifted to one of indignation as she red at him. "You''re trying to use me as freebor! So that was your scheme all along. You''re so sneaky."


    Listening to herint, Shanley couldn''t help but let out a chokedugh. What on earth went on inside that brilliant head of hers?


    Jimmie, Harold, and Melvin all sighed in unison. They finally understood which door God had closed for Juniper. Her intelligence was terrifyingly high, but her emotional awareness... well, that still needed some work.


    "Pfft—” Kurt couldn''t hold it in any longer and burst outughing. This was hrious. His future cousin-inw''s EQ was going to make this courtship a real challenge.


    "Tsk." Lue, lounging on the sofa with one leg crossed over the other, watched the whole "meledrama"


    unfold w d with great amusement, Sh? had been worried for nothing. Her Juniper was not so easily fooled.


    "I understand," Shanley said, seizing on the key point of herint "If it''s too much work, I can manage everything for you. You just have to collect the profits each year


    Juniper fell into deep thought. That solution wasn''t half bad.


    "And the profits are quite good," Shanley added, pressing his advantage "As it stands, the ie is in the tens of billions.


    annually, and it''s protentia


    each year the future


    to grow


    immeasurable."


    "That much?" Juniper''s head snapped up, her eyes shining.


    "Of course," Shanley confirmed with a slight smile, his voice deep and certain. "Juniper, it would all be yours."


    "Deal," Juniper said with a decisive nod.


    “Hm?” The agreement came so quickly that Shanley was caught off guard. “So, you''re agreeing to be my fiancée?" he asked, his voice stillced with disbelief.


    "Yes," she replied without a moment''s hesitation. As far as she could tell, there was no downside to the arrangement. And more importantly, there was money. Lots of money!


    "Why aren''t you saying anything?" Seeing the frown on Shanley''s face, Juniper leaned in close to him, fluttering her long eyshes. “You''re not backing out, are you?"


    Shanley''s brow twitched. Just as he was about to speak, he felt something slide onto his wrist. It was a sandalwood bracelet, intricately carved with the letters: J&S.


    "Toote to back out now," Juniper said, a slow smile spreading across her face, her voice a low, possessive murmur. "From now on, your money and you... are all mine."