"Do you think I need money? You actually want to profit from the bird's nests on Swallow Island?"
"That's not what I meant."
"Then what did you mean?"
"Even between close siblings, clear accounts make for good relationships. If you just give me all the bird's nests on Swallow Island, providing the manpower and resources, while I give you nothing in return, I wouldn't feel at ease..."
Adrian Desmond stared at the woman before him. She always seems to get her identity confused, he thought. She's my woman; I should be the one supporting her. Yet, she always feels the need to prove herself, even to me.
"What are you to me?"
"Your wife!"
"You're my woman! What's mine is yours! But you always insist on keeping accounts with me so meticulously. It makes me feel like you're still planning to leave me."
Sienna's small hand clasped his larger one, the contrast between their skin tones stark.
