Chapter 242
I had been lowering my head to avoid Soren’s gaze, but he led to meet me exactly by looking down at me. I couldn’t avoid him.
I feigned calmness and decided to play the fool. “I was just lling a joke, man. Why so serious?”
“But I wasn’t joking. This is why you’ve been revoked the right to joke about it. Equivalent exchange,” he replied patiently, as though he hadn’t just said the most absurd thing. “It’s your turn to Introduce yourself now.”
I froze. “What am I supposed to say?!”
“Hmmm… I’m not interested in your earnings and savings Those are yours. But I’m interested in your relationships. What did you like about Edward? Do you still love him? Who else is vying for your attention right now?”
What?! What were we doing–playing Truth or Dare?!
My jaw hung slack. I couldn’t even make a sound.
Soren studied my shock and smiled encouragingly.
Finally, I found my voice. “I decline to play!”
Soren was hellbent on strong–arming me. “No can do. I’ve answered your questions honestly. You should reciprocate–it’s only fair.”
His smile was still there, but he radiated a new aura of authority.
It reminded me of who I was talking to–Soren Kenway, the scion of Metropolis‘ most aristocratic and powerful family, who always had things under his control.
His gaze burned into me, as if he were watching me with the intensity of a hawk.
“Well… I mean, I knew Edward since we were in our tweens.” I began. “My family and his had been friends for generations. When my parents divorced and a lot of things happened, he took care of me, paid attention to me, and after a while…”
It just happened.
Edward and I didn’t have a real start. It was something that naturally came to be. Everyone else thought we were meant to be a pair.
Then, Edward got sick and bedridden. I took care of him, because that’s what girlfriends do for their boyfriends- simple as that.
Reflecting on it now, perhaps he didn’t cherish my heart because he never had to work to earn it.
Wasn’t that just human nature?
I had convinced myself that pouring my soul into loving someone would inspire their deepest, most sincere love in return. I had hoped that if he saw how good I was, how unconditionally I loved him, he’d cherish me. Maybe, just maybe, he’d reciprocate.
But that wasn’t how the world worked. The more I gave, the less I was valued in his eyes. The more he took me for granted, the more he believed I was the one who couldn’t live without him.
What a fool I had been. It had taken me far too long to see the truth. No wonder Edward had used and abused me.
“What do I like about him? Well…” I trailed off, raking my brain for an answer.
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Chapter 245
Nothing came to mind.
Finally, I said, “I don’t know. Maybe it’s because he’s good looking and took care of me at the time?”
Soren continued cooking meat, then put some on my plate
“You grew up without love, Taylor. Your mother died when you were young, your father was apathetic, and your stepmother was outright abusive. The only thing Edward did right was showing up at the right time, doing the bare minimum,” Soren remarked.
“You fell head over heels for him because you were that hungry for affection. But you didn’t actually love him. What you loved was the feeling of being loved.
“And life’s circumstances turned you into such a kindhearted, lonely girl that you would give all of yourself to anyone who would show even the slightest concern.”
I felt like someone had opened my eyes to the truth. Was this what my feelings for Edward amounted to? W ever just… gratitude?
Was this why I walked away from the pain of our falling–out so easily? Or why I so quickly fell for another man afterward?
