The woman stared at the mansion rising behind the little gray house.

Her mouth opened, but no words came out.

The man slowly removed his sunglasses.

“My parents live in the small house because they chose it.”

She blinked, confused.

“But… the mansion…”

“Is mine,” he said calmly.

The older couple stood quietly on the porch, their smiles gone now.

The woman forced a laugh, trying to recover.

“I didn’t mean it like that.”

The man looked at her for a long second.

“Yes, you did.”

Her face tightened.

“I was just surprised.”

He stepped closer, still calm.

“You saw my parents wave at you, and your first thought was that they were beneath you.”

She looked toward the older couple, suddenly ashamed.

His mother’s eyes were wet.

His father looked down at the porch floor.

The man’s voice softened, but it hurt more.

“My father built that mansion. Then he moved into this house because my mother said big rooms feel lonely when children grow up.”

The woman swallowed.

“I didn’t know.”

“That’s why I brought you here first.”

She stared at him.

“It was a test?”

He shook his head.

“No. It was a chance.”

The butler stood silently behind him.

The woman looked at the mansion again, then at the small house she had mocked.

“I can apologize.”

The man’s eyes stayed cold.

“You can.”

Her hope flickered.

“But not as my future wife.”

Her face collapsed.

He turned toward his parents and walked to the porch.

His mother whispered, “I’m sorry.”

He took her hand.

“For what?”

She glanced at the woman.

“For embarrassing you.”

He kissed her forehead.

“No, Mom.”

Then he looked back at the woman standing alone on the sidewalk.

“She embarrassed herself.”