Prosperous Marriage: Married to My Brother-in-law

Except for Noah Reyes and his son, the men of the organization are mostly patriarchal, believing that men shouldn't cook because they feel that, as men, they should be working hard outside during the day and bearing the family's burdens, and when they come home at night, they naturally should enjoy being served by their wives.

Camila Ruiz first followed him to the kitchen, seeing him expertly wash rice and prepare the meal, and adeptly ready various ingredients, her heart grew warm once again, feeling lucky that they turned from childhood foes to lovers now.

In childhood, he used to bully her, often making her cry, and she'd complain to the adults, causing him to be scolded by them. Now, he absolutely wouldn't bully her anymore; instead, he's eager to give her all his love and affection.

People, sometimes, are just so incredible; with the passage of time, emotions change the most.

Silently turning around, Camila Ruiz left the kitchen and began to browse the luxurious Main House alone.

She only knew that the organization was mysterious, but didn't realize its wealth was even more enigmatic. Just this Manor alone showed that its wealth was extraordinary. The Horne Family was the city's top family and also the wealthiest. Even though their large villa covered quite a vast area, compared with the Nameless Manor, it wasn't as expansive.

Over a decade ago, people didn't pay attention to the Nameless Manor, because at that time it was newly built without any scenic beauty. Looking around, apart from the buildings, it felt barren. Now, the Nameless Manor is lush with greenery, its natural beauty making it hard to leave.

After visiting the first floor, Camila Ruiz proceeded upstairs.

Compared to the first floor's hallway, the second floor's hallway was slightly narrower but more lavishly arranged without losing elegance.

Born into a wealthy family, Camila Ruiz wasn't very impressed by the decorations, unwilling even to show a hint of amazement.

When she opened the door to what was once Noah Reyes's Study Room, seeing the clean, fresh, and orderly arranged space, she couldn't help but step in.

In her memory, Uncle Noah Reyes felt as mysterious as the organization itself. She had met him several times, yet each meeting felt like he was an enigma resembling her godfather.

The arrangements in the Study Room were much like her father's, giving Camila Ruiz the first impression of Noah Reyes's Study Room.

She sat at the desk, initially dazing for a few minutes before carefully flipping through the books on the desk, deliberately avoiding touching anything that resembled documents or letters.

Suddenly, she noticed many paintings pressed below the books. Curiously, she removed the books and picked up the paintings. There were so many that Noah Reyes or someone else carefully bound them into a collection. The first page was a portrait of Aunt Adele, incredibly lifelike, making it seem as if she were sitting right there.

The bottom right corner of the portrait bore the painter's name.

Noah Reyes.

Camila Ruiz saw those three words without any surprise.

Below the name was a small line indicating the painting's date.

Glancing at the date, it was from a year ago.

Perhaps Noah Reyes painted it when he brought Aunt Adele and his youngest son back to Syrena for a family visit.

Over the years, Noah Reyes's painting skill had evidently improved.

Flipping through the collection, the first dozen paintings were all of Aunt Adele. From each stroke, Camila Ruiz could sense Noah Reyes's deep love for Adele, even if she felt happy now, she couldn't help but feel envy.

Starting from the fifteenth painting, she suddenly realized the subjects had changed to herself.

Even more surprising was that these paintings began from when she was four or five years old, continuing until her current age of twenty-three, with little change in her appearance, just her height.

Who painted them?

Was it Jimmy Horne?

His skill in painting was astonishingly refined.

She was captured on paper, vivid and lifelike, every move as real as can be.

Her heart suddenly felt full.

"Camila."

At some point, Jimmy Horne's warm, deep voice hovered by her ear.

Looking up, she realized Jimmy had entered the Study Room. His apron was gone, likely because he finished cooking and came to fetch her for a meal.

How long had she been immersed in this dense, intricate web of emotions?

He had already prepared the meal.

Turning to look out the window, the moonlight was now much brighter than when the sky first darkened, no longer consumed by artificial light.

"These…" Suddenly Camila became a bit flustered, like she had been caught stealing something red-handed.

Jimmy took the collection from her hands, glanced at it, and with a light smile: "My mom's portrait was naturally painted by my father. Before he found my mom and me, his painting skill couldn't be summed up by one word, 'poor.' Back then, he alone knew my mom's appearance, and when he sent people to search for her, he used a portrait to guide them. But his drawing skill was so poor that the portrait barely resembled my mom, hence the search took a long time without success. Eighteen years ago, they got married, and with free time, my father diligently practiced his painting. Persistence paid off over the decades, and finally, he could paint lifelike portraits of my mom."

Because of love, because of passion, his father persisted for eighteen years, ultimately succeeding in capturing his beloved woman on paper, as if she were real.

And he, gifted and fast-learning, was pushed by the elders to the base when he was five. With Camila Ruiz in his heart, he self-taught painting and his skills far outshone Noah Reyes.

He painted Camila Ruiz from her four-year-old appearance to her current twenty-three-year-old self.

In those years of separation, he relied on imagination to paint, and fortunately, his imagination was reliable, as the paintings resembled Camila Ruiz strongly.

"Your portraits, I painted them."

The words were deep, devoid of apparent emotion yet steeped in affection.

"I love them."

Camila Ruiz reached for the collection again, her lips gently parting to say.

After a deep glance at her, he pulled her from the desk, taking the collection once more, placing it back on the desk under a book with a gentle remark: "Let it stay here; you can look at it anytime. In the future, our children can also flip through it, feeling how deeply as parents we love each other."

"Shameless. Where do we have children?" Camila blushed red.