Looking at the disheveled Lin Yue in front of her, no matter how much resentment or grievance she still held, Isabella could no longer bring herself to speak them out.
She bit her lip, her voice trembling as she accused, “Even though I kept getting in your way, always causing trouble for you, why are you still so good to me… I just don’t understand. I don’t get it!”
Isabella sobbed, just like she did the day Lin Yue was on the verge of death, shedding countless tears for this man.
Clearly, I’m the one who’s always relied on him, tossing every problem onto his shoulders—so why does he still treat me so gently…
Looking at the silent man before her, her heart softened.
She could only mutter weakly, “You… you say something, you annoying guy…”
Her voice was barely audible.
If she claimed she truly found him annoying, that would be the joke of the century.
“Because I need you…”
Lin Yue could barely force out these words.
It wasn’t because he’d been hit too hard—he just knew that saying anything else would only deepen her misunderstandings.
So it was better to tell her, in the simplest, clearest way, and support her.
I need you.
Just those four short words shook Isabella more than everything that had happened in the council hall combined.
What does “I need you” even mean…?
Does he want me to work for him?
Isabella had thought of that one possibility that secretly delighted her, but having already tasted disappointment once, how could she so easily trust the true meaning of his words?
(Maybe he just wants me as her substitute…)
[Her? It’s still a pity.]
[Isabella, if the young master of the Hawk family favors your sister, you’ll have to take her place…]
Those words that once made her question everything floated up from her memory.
She feared Lin Yue was the same: claiming to love and respect her, but ultimately just using her.
And when someone better came along, she’d be tossed aside without hesitation.
“If, in your eyes, I’m just a tool to become stronger, a bargaining chip for your future ambitions, then why not just tell me from the start? Why say those ridiculous things in the council hall… “
“And then, after saying all that, still claim you don’t like me, don’t want anything to do with me… I’ve never met anyone as cruel as you…”
To give someone hope, then take it away, was a hundred times more painful than being openly used from the beginning.
“I never said I wanted to sever ties with you, I just…”
“Liar!”
“It was Bella who told you to come here—you never even really looked at me! You’ve always treated me like a fool!”
Isabella shook her head desperately, as if trying to wake from the dream Lin Yue had given her.
What a stubborn woman!
Thinking of how she felt at the time, and the painful memories from her past, Lin Yue did something rare—he lost his temper at a key character, shouting loudly, “I did NOT!”
Lin Yue’s sudden outburst startled Isabella out of her wits.
It was the first time he had ever spoken to her in such a harsh tone… or rather, since she’d known Lin Yue, she’d never seen him act like this.
Isabella couldn’t help but soften her tone, though her words were still stubborn.
“Then why won’t you look at me properly, why won’t you take responsibility for what you say…”
“How have I not taken responsibility?”
“You just haven’t!”
Just remembering the words he’d exchanged with Yuan back then made her chest ache all over again.
“Then tell me, what does taking responsibility mean to you?”
“You… at least swear an oath!”
When Isabella said those words, even her voice trembled.
She didn’t want Lin Yue to give her any more false hope, yet deep down she couldn’t help but hope that, just maybe, he would put her feelings first.
How foolish, how unreasonable of me, for a woman like me to….
Lin Yue gritted his teeth, his gaze earnest as he stared straight into her tearful gray eyes.
He seemed to see that girl lying in a hospital bed, hooked up to oxygen, her life hanging by a thread.
He loathed his own helplessness, hated that he couldn’t stop life from falling apart.
Even the game had to punish him for every mistake and miscalculation.
He didn’t hesitate for even a moment, shouting, “I swear, from this day forward, I’ll witness your growth and transformation, and I will never let you down!”
“You’re lying! You only see me as a bargaining chip, a tool for your own gain! If you find someone better, you’ll just replace me, and then…”
“You are irreplaceable!”
Even with Airella and Liya and the others—though it wasn’t about saving anyone, before that moment came, he would fight with all his might and never give up!
“Until you have true freedom, I will never, ever abandon you!”
“So, are you satisfied now?!”
Seeing Isabella’s stunned expression, he felt he had made himself perfectly clear.
Ah, why…
“Why… why are you like this…”
Countless emotions tangled through Isabella’s heart, swirling into a sweet, chaotic mess.
At last, she’d heard the words she’d waited almost nineteen years to hear from someone.
I…
In that moment, the dark clouds in her heart finally scattered, the negativity born of not being recognized quietly swept away by those brown eyes.
He was the first, and the only one.
T.
Flutter—
Her heartbeat slowed, yet each thump rang out clear and sweet.
Even Bella hadn’t noticed the deepest longing in her heart, now laid bare by this man who had shamed her, peeked at her, made her cry, made her laugh, and from whom she could not escape.
Drop…
For the third time, she found herself crying because of this man.
Crying doesn’t solve anything, and yet… why do I become so fragile in front of him?
Watching Isabella finally calm down, Lin Yue let out a deep sigh.
He never wanted to guess a woman’s thoughts again—it was just too damn exhausting and bewildering.
Why do women always fuss over the weirdest things?
All he’d wanted to do was help her regain her confidence, and now look—so much confusion and drama, it was just tiring…
He pushed away a stone and sat down, only to feel something digging painfully into his chest.
“Oh, right, almost forgot…”
Lin Yue fished a small box out of his jacket pocket—the very one holding Isabella’s earring.
“These are your earrings, aren’t they? The matching set with Isabella’s.”
“That day was my fault. I shouldn’t have talked about you behind your back. After you dropped it, I kept carrying it around, waiting for the chance to return it to you…”
Lin Yue had noticed that Isabella was missing something that day.
It wasn’t until he opened the box that he remembered Isabella’s character was designed to wear earrings.
As it happened, he’d found it, and after everything today, it seemed the perfect time to return it.
He opened the box and took out the earring.
“We’re good now, aren’t we? Here.”
How could he… even notice something like that?
Isabella took the box mechanically, slowly opening it.
Inside, the ruby earring lay quietly, looking just as it always had.
She didn’t realize that Lin Yue’s casual act had struck her heart with a decisive blow!
She stared blankly at Lin Yue’s face, as if she hadn’t heard a word he said, motionless.
In truth, she knew there was only one reason she cried.
Her heart had already fallen deep into those steady, amber-like eyes, unable to escape.
She would lose her composure at his every frown or smile.
She would lose her cool detachment whenever she saw him.
Because he was the only one—the special one…
“But really, what happened to you? Why’d you suddenly start acting so unreasonable? I thought you were going to—mmph!”
Just as Lin Yue breathed a sigh of relief and was about to make a joke, Isabella suddenly seemed to lose all control.
She cupped Lin Yue’s face, lunged at him, and pressed him beneath her.
The ruby earring slipped from her hand, sparkling as it fell, reflecting the profiles of the two of them.
In this moment, the so-called treasure no longer seemed important at all.
“Isabella, you—!”
In an instant, Lin Yue’s mouth was stopped by something incredibly soft.
He snapped his eyes open to find Isabella’s delicate eyelashes right before him.
Her breath was moist, hot and urgent, flooding his senses like a spring…