Chloe Marshall turned to her side and looked at her. "But, Nora, when you have sothing in your grasp, you shouldn’t let it go so easily. Once you let go, it might be like a balloon that you can never get back."
Nora Ainsworth froze and turned back. "Chloe, I completely forgot to ask you. A few nights ago, you didn’t co back. Where did you sleep? Don’t tell it was at Ethan Ellsworth’s place?"
Chloe Marshall’s face instantly turned bright red. "Well, that night, Madam Ellsworth insisted on pushing us into the sa room. I wanted to co back, but Boss Ellsworth wouldn’t let ."
Nora Ainsworth was stunned. "And then—you two did *it*?! Chloe? How did you manage to pounce on Ethan Ellsworth?"
Chloe Marshall’s face grew even redder. "No, Nora! I didn’t pounce on him. It’s not what you think."
Nora Ainsworth lay down, looking at her. "Then what happened? Tell everything."
So Chloe Marshall told her the whole story from beginning to end. After hearing it, Nora Ainsworth went nuts. "Chloe, why didn’t you take the chance to do *it* with him?! Don’t you realize he tricked you with his words?"
Chloe Marshall looked dazed. "Huh? I was tricked?"
Nora Ainsworth didn’t know whether to laugh or be angry. "You’re such an idiot. You think your blood was boiling because of so deer blood or whatever? Would you have felt that way if it wasn’t for him? Forget about just holding his hand all night—even if you had done sothing else, you wouldn’t have been the one losing out."
It was as if Chloe Marshall had just woken from a dream. "You’re right! If it wasn’t for Boss Ellsworth, would I have been so uncomfortable for so long? He made it seem like it was my fault, but he’s the real culprit!"
A corner of Nora Ainsworth’s mouth twitched. "You’re only realizing this now? You really are clueless."
Chloe Marshall turned her head. "Nora, do you think... am I really stupid?"
"Why do you ask that?"
"Because Boss Ellsworth always calls that. After a while, I’ve started to think I really am stupid."
Nora Ainsworth looked at her seriously. "Chloe, haven’t you realized? Why do you think Ethan Ellsworth always calls you that? The truth is, he knows you’re not stupid."
Chloe Marshall looked at her, pondering. "Nora, I don’t know. Maybe he just does it on purpose because he thinks it’s fun."
Nora Ainsworth shook her head. "In my opinion, that’s not it at all."
Chloe Marshall fell silent. After a long mont, she said, "Nora, that’s impossible. He couldn’t be interested in . I don’t even believe it myself."
Nora Ainsworth smiled. "Whether he is or not, Chloe, you’re worthy of being loved. You’re quiet and a bit ditsy, but sotis you break out of your shell and show people a different side of you. That side of you is truly heartwarming."
Chloe Marshall replied, a little embarrassed, "Nora, hearing you say that makes want to re-examine myself."
"No need to re-examine anything. Just stay the way you are. I believe it would be a cri anywhere in the world if a kind girl like you didn’t have a man to love her. Let’s get so sleep. We have work tomorrow."
Chloe Marshall tucked in her blanket. "Nora, good night."
「Elsewhere, soone lay awake all night. These sleepless nights had been going on for several days now.」
Every night, around midnight, the n in Black on duty would see their Young Master out for a run. After his run, he’d go to the gym to continue his workout. Everyone knew in their hearts that ever since Nora Ainsworth left, the Young Master had been losing his mind.
But the worst of it wasn’t what was happening now. The night Nora Ainsworth walked out the gate, the Young Master, who had been on the third floor, went completely berserk.
That night, he gathered all the n in Black and fought them one-on-one. No one dared to actually fight back, so they all beca his punching bags.
The tragedy of that night was that all these normally stoic n in Black were beaten until they were grimacing in pain.
Ever since that night, this group of n in Black had noticed a change. The Young Master stopped taking his anger out on them and started tornting himself instead. He’d run around the courtyard in the middle of the night and wouldn’t sleep until three in the morning.
Tonight was no different, so everyone nominated their captain to go and try to talk so sense into the Young Master.
After much deliberation, the captain finally agreed.
He ran up beside Quentin Grant, matching his pace. "Young Master, seeing you like this every night... we can’t bear it. Please, just beat us up instead. Don’t do this to yourself."
Quentin Grant glanced back at him. "What about ? Is sothing wrong with ?"
The captain had no choice but to say, "Actually, I know I shouldn’t be saying this, but we n in Black also want to offer our Young Master so advice. Miss Ainsworth likes you, Young Master. We could all see that. If she left, I think it was also because of you."
Quentin Grant stopped running and faced him. "Keep talking."
"I think, Young Master, you first need to determine if she still likes you before you can take the next step."
For the first ti, he revealed his true feelings to a subordinate. "She said she doesn’t like at all."
"But won are all like that, Young Master. The vast majority of them say one thing but an another. They might say that with their mouths, but in their hearts, they really do like you."
Quentin Grant’s eyes lit up, then dimd again. "Impossible. That’s enough. You’re dismissed. I’m going back to rest."
The captain nodded. Seeing that he had stopped running, he felt a little relieved.
A crowd of n surrounded him, all talking at once.
"Captain, what did the Young Master say?"
"Captain, what on earth did you say to the Young Master? He stopped running."
"Captain, you’re amazing."
"..."
The captain waved his hand. "Alright, I didn’t say much. I just said that won often say one thing and an another—that when they say they don’t like you, they actually do. But the Young Master said it was impossible. In any case, at least he’s stopped torturing himself, so we can all feel a little better."
Everyone nodded in agreent.
Quentin Grant returned to his bedroom, stepped into the bathroom, and turned on the shower. He stared intently at his reflection in the mirror, suddenly recalling the ti he and Nora Ainsworth had stood before this very mirror, nestled together. What a beautiful, pleasing sight that had been.
In the blink of an eye, things were the sa, but she was gone. Her words from that night constantly replayed in his mind.
’She said she only did it to get revenge for how he had treated her before. Was that it?’
’Was she telling the truth?’
’But it seed so plausible.’
’Saying one thing and aning another?’
’Whether she was being disingenuous or not, I certainly was.’
’I said that even if she knelt before and begged to co back, I wouldn’t give her a second glance. That was a lie.’
’When I said those things to the dia, it was deliberate. I wanted to make her jealous. I didn’t an any of it.’
’But clearly, it didn’t work.’
’In fact, it really seems like she’s never coming back.’
Sitting on the bed, Quentin Grant felt helpless. He couldn’t think of a better way. Getting her to stay by his side willingly now seed like an incredibly difficult task.
His pride and self-respect wouldn’t let him lower his head and ask her to make up. Maybe he was scared—scared of her rciless ridicule. Or maybe he just didn’t want to face this cruel reality so soon.
Lying there, the whole room was filled with mories of their past. This bed was the evidence, the witness to their ti together.
But why was he the only one left, withering away in this bustling city?
He opened his phone. No texts from her. No missed calls from her.
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