CHAPTER 119: CHAPTER 119: DID YOU EVER LOVE ME

Within a few minutes, she saw the elevator doors open, and he walked out wearing all black casual attire.

She had rehearsed countless opening lines, yet the moment she saw him, her mind went blank, losing all ability to think.

Until he stood in front of her, looking down at her with a voice and gaze as cold as ice: "What’s the matter?"

Only then did Erin Bishop gather her wandering thoughts, her gaze shifting for half a second before looking at him again, opening her mouth to ask: "Don’t you have anything to explain to me?"

"Explain what?"

"What do you think?"

"If you’re here to play guessing games, then you can leave now."

Erin Bishop smiled wryly, never having seen him speak to her in such an unfeeling manner, her heart truly feeling somewhat uncomfortable.

Because in the past, when she saw him talk to others this way, she always felt she was the special one, and now, she too had become "the others."

"Today your mom told me everything about what happened back then."

She thought he would also have some nostalgia, to reminisce a little about their past, but he immediately replied: "It doesn’t matter anymore."

Erin Bishop smiled: "Perhaps it’s no longer important to you; you leave when you want, so carefree. But me? I’ve never been able to let go of this, unable to let go of you all these years..."

Zane Rhodes just looked at her indifferently, without saying a word, showing no emotional fluctuation.

His heart of stone left Erin Bishop almost unable to cry; to be precise, she was afraid that crying in front of him would make him find her laughable.

Originally, she had many things she wanted to say to him, longing to hear him explain just once about the past, even if just a single sentence, she would believe whatever he said. However, his cold attitude made her lose the courage to continue speaking.

Taking a deep breath, she looked at the familiar man in front of her, feeling the distance between them growing immensely vast.

"Perhaps you’ve long since let go of what happened back then. I shouldn’t continue to cling to you. I just want to ask you one thing, did you ever... love me?"

He looked at her, and after several seconds, finally opened his mouth to answer: "Does it matter if I loved or not, the ending is the same?"

"I just want to know if you ever loved me!" Her voice choked up a little, stubbornly seeking an answer.

She wanted to know, in those days when she loved him deeply, whether he ever loved her wholeheartedly.

"Perhaps."

His ambiguous answer made tears fall instantly from her eyes. Perhaps what she thought was a beautiful youth was, in Zane Rhodes’ eyes, merely an ordinary and forgettable experience.

Scenes from the past flashed in her mind, making her unable to look at the man in front of her any longer. She turned around, opened the car door, got in without delay, started the car as if trying to escape, and quickly drove away.

Zane Rhodes stood there, watching the direction she left, standing for a long time. Only when her car completely disappeared from sight did he retract his gaze, lowering his head to hide the loneliness in his eyes, and walked back inside the building.

He didn’t want to use his own hardships as an excuse, hoping she could forgive, because he indeed left her.

If being ruthless could help her forget and let go, then he thought, this might be the best way for her, freeing her, liberating her soul.

"Where did you go?"

Back inside, Zoe Whitman stood in the hallway questioning him.

Zane Rhodes didn’t even glance at her, changed into slippers, only saying: "The plane ticket for the day after tomorrow, if you don’t go back, your father will come to pick you up himself."

Hearing this, Zoe Whitman got anxious, following him into the living room, asking confusedly: "Why do you insist on sending me away? Why don’t you like me?!"

"There’s no need to ask why so much, don’t waste time here, it’s not going to end well."

Zoe Whitman took a deep breath, staring at the back of his head, saying: "Don’t forget how my leg got injured!"

"That’s exactly why I’m letting you go back, don’t ruin your life because of me, having injured your leg."

"You know I like you!"

"Even if you marry a man who doesn’t love you, do you think you’ll be happy?"

"I don’t care, I just want to be with you!" Zoe Whitman urgently walked up to him, pleading, "Cancel the ticket, tell my dad not to come, let’s get married, okay?!"

Zane Rhodes pushed her hand away, a hint of helplessness and impatience in his tone: "Stop it, why wrong yourself, it’s not worth it for me."

Zoe Whitman cried anxiously, looking up at him: "I’ve learned ballet since I was young, won countless awards, even international masters said I was a rare talent. Do you know how much I’ve dedicated myself to dancing? Do you know how much effort my family has spent to nurture me?! Do you know how high their expectations for me are?! Do you know how desperate I was when the doctor said I could no longer dance after the car accident?"

"...I truly wanted to die, and if even you leave me now, then I truly have nothing left."

"Your life is your own, you can’t threaten anyone with it."

"So you’re determined to send me away?"

"Yes."

Zoe Whitman let out a cold laugh, raised her hand to wipe away her tears: "Alright, Zane Rhodes, I can leave, but don’t think about being with any other woman. At worst, we’ll just hang on like this for a lifetime; apart from me, don’t think you’re marrying anyone else!"

Ronan Rhodes said no more, turned, and went into his room, locking the door.

Zoe Whitman, standing in the living room, was furious. She stormed into her own room, slamming the door heavily, burying her head in the pillow to cry.

Erin Bishop drove her car to the roadside, her vision blurred by tears, unable to see clearly. She stopped the car right there, crying uncontrollably on the steering wheel.

But inside, she felt a sense of relief, something she couldn’t let go of for years could finally be cast aside now.

She no longer longed for the shattered mirror to be made whole again; he was no longer the person he used to be.

Or perhaps back then, he never even thought about spending a lifetime with her...

Erin Bishop took a deep breath, took out a small wooden box from the compartment, once opened, it was full of candy wrappers, those colorful, iridescent candy wrappers.

She used to say she liked eating this kind of candy, and he would often buy it for her. But in reality, it wasn’t the candy she loved; it was the feeling of being thought of by him.

She kept all the candy wrappers, saying she would scatter them like petals on their wedding day. Now when she thinks back, her idea might have seemed naive and ridiculous to him.

The small wooden box was opened with the candy wrappers neatly inside.

Erin Bishop rolled down the car window, extended the box out of the window, turned it over, and the candy wrappers instantly spilled out, some falling to the ground while others drifted away with the night breeze.

Crying uncontrollably, she reached for the last piece of candy wrapper in the box, threw it away, just like discarding the last sliver of hope in her heart for reconciliation.

The car started, causing the candy wrappers on the ground to whir and scatter in all directions, in utter disarray...