Chapter 16
“Grete, getting a tattoo really hurts.”
His voice had a touch of humility, and coupled with his slightly trembling body and reddened eyes, he looked particularly
pitiful.
“I have always loved you. I know you blame me, blame me for not protecting you later, blame me for not being firm enough when I chose you. You see, later I got this tattooed back on.”
His attempt to show weakness didn’t work on Gretchen.
“Did it hurt?” Her gaze fell on the tattoo, her words tinged with a hint of concern, giving him a glimmer of hope in his heart. But the next sentence made his heart sink completely.
“But what does this have to do with me? Howard, I didn’t ask you to get a tattoo, and I don’t need you to prove your fake love t
me.”
Her indifference was like a sharp knife, stabbing into his heart. In that moment, Howard felt like he saw a huge gap between
them.
He unconsciously tried to get closer step by step, wanting to bring their relationship back to the way it used to be, but someone
didn’t want him to succeed.
“Sir, please behave yourself.”
The man’s clear voice with a hint of coldness, his hands with distinct joints firmly holding out to grab Gretchen’s hand, Howard looked at the man who suddenly appeared in front of him in astonishment, feeling a sudden sense of crisis in his heart
He was wearing a thin white shirt, just standing there, like the cold sun of winter, lazy and indifferent, as if the faint starlight of autumn night, distant and aloof. It didn’t matter that he looked almost perfect, but from those eyes that seemed to freeze at a glance, no emotion could be seen. The coldness, like maggots on the bone, seeped into his marrow through the hand that was
held.
“Lorenzo, when did you come back? Why didn’t you tell me?”
Unlike Howard’s surprise, Gretchen saw the man in front of her, and her voice couldn’t help but rise a bit, with a hint of
excitement.
“Just got back, wanted to see you first, so I came straight over.” Hearing her voice, Lorenzo finally let go, the chill all over his body instantly melting away as he slightly smirked. But he didn’t forget about Howard next to him, so he pulled her back a few steps, distancing themselves from Howard. “Who am I, and what’s my relationship with you?”
Howard was shocked, staring at the man who suddenly appeared, his heart gradually consumed by anger and jealousy. He stared at Gretchen, as if unwilling to believe, and as if questioning her, “Who is he?”
But no one answered his words.
Gretchen and Lorenzo didn’t even look at him, they just walked towards the company together, “Grete, wait!” Seeing that they completely ignored him, Howard panicked. He quickly stepped forward and directly grabbed Gretchen, his voice trembling slightly, “He was just here to provoke me, right? I know I was wrong about what happened before. You can hit me or scold me however you want, but please don’t joke about this…”
Feeling the warmth coming from her wrist, she paused her steps, looked down at the position of her wrist, and felt a wave of irritation for no reason. She forcefully pulled her hand out of his hand, took a step back to create some distance, and finally couldn’t keep her calm tone when speaking.
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“What do you want to do? Why do I need to joke with you? Howard, don’t assume everyone is like you, treating emotions as a
game.”
The obvious rejection and hostility in Gretchen’s eyes stabbed Howard in the heart like a thorn, with a sharp pain that made it hard for him to breathe. But what he couldn’t bear the most was her leaving.
He approached step by step, with a pleading look in his eyes, “Grete, you clearly loved me, how could you…”
“Love?”
Upon hearing this, Gretchen just found it funny. There was a hint of sarcasm in her eyes, but it somehow made him feel a bit chilly. He paused for a moment, then heard her continue, “Howard, the person least qualified to talk about love here is you.”
Howard never thought he would meet a Gretchen like this one day.
Different from the outgoing and sunny person he first met, and different from the quiet and reserved person he encountered at the Wiggins’ villa later, she was now looking at herself, and all he could see was anger.
Howard didn’t understand. He hesitated for a moment, trying to explain, but didn’t know what to say.
His silence didn’t soften Gretchen’s heart, it only brought a cold sneer.
“What are you trying to say with that look? Are you trying to say that I left you because I was too heartless back then?”
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