CHAPTER 98: BURNED BY DOUBT

"Are you getting close to him now to try to defend him?"

Rome’s brows knitted together.

Sylvia froze for a moment, then lowered her gaze.

"No... it’s just that... you really don’t know him that well. You two are brothers and twins, but maybe if you tried talking to him more, you’d understand him—"

"Stop it."

Rome’s voice turned icy, cutting her off completely.

"You seem to be getting closer to him than to me. Why? Is he more fun to be with than me?"

Sylvia blinked twice, her eyes widening in surprise at his words. Rome’s gaze was cold and filled with a jealousy she had never seen before.

"H-how can you say that, Rome?"

"Tch. I’m saying... since you seem happy just mentioning his name, why not make him your boyfriend instead of me? You even seem so close to him, calling him Greece,when only the women he sleeps with usually call him that. So I’m starting to wonder... has he charmed you? Do you want to be with him more than with me?"

"W-what?"

Sylvia’s eyes flared with emotion, disbelief written all over her face.

"H-how can you say that to me, Rome? There’s nothing I’ve done to make you this jealous. I was just saying that Greece isn’t as bad as everyone thinks he is!" she said, slamming the book she had been holding tightly.

"Tch!..You clearly taking his side."

"W-what?..You know, you need to cool your head first before talking to me. Maybe then you’ll realize you’re not making any sense right now!"

Sylvia then stood abruptly and hurried away.

Rome remained seated, watching her retreating figure.

He slowly clenched his fists as the weight of his words settled in.

Why do he get so jealous of Greece every single day without realizing it?

He couldn’t help but feel guilty for saying all of those things to Sylvia.

He shouldn’t have let his jealousy take over his emotions and twist their closeness into doubt, making him question her feelings for him because of her relationship with Daniel.

Damn it... he messed up again.

*********

Several days passed, yet Rome still couldn’t figure out how to approach Sylvia.

He had replayed countless scenarios in his head, waiting for her in the morning, trying to catch her after class, even thinking of cornering her in the library, but each attempt ended the same way, with her slipping further and further away from him.

It had been days since she had started distancing herself even more, and he was slowly going crazy trying to talk to her. No matter what he did, she simply didn’t want to face him.

Even though they were living together in his condo, Sylvia had started sleeping in a separate room.

He wasn’t used to waking up without seeing her beside him, and the emptiness left him restless. He tried waking up early to talk to her, but she would leave before he even had the chance.

At school, she spent most of her time in the library, and whenever he attempted to approach her, she would move closer to the librarian, who was very strict. Even the slightest noise could get him reprimanded, leaving him unable to say anything to her.

After classes, she would leave early for her part-time job, returning home late at night when he was already asleep from waiting too long.

Rome felt completely lost. His birthday was only three days away, yet he and Sylvia still hadn’t reconciled.

How could he even think of proposing at this rate?

"Hey, Rome. What’s up? Drinking again?"

Rome looked up, hearing a familiar voice.

He immediately grimaced when he saw it was Ingrid, the woman who was supposed to be his fiancée, but after he rejected their engagement, had become Daniel’s instead.

"Tch. Don’t talk to me."

"Oh... why so cold? It’s not like there’s anything wrong with me talking to you, right? We’re still close friends, despite you rejecting me as your fiancée."

"Close friends? I don’t remember ever being close to you. Not even for a second. So don’t assume we’re close."

Rome snapped before downing the whiskey he had been staring at for a while. He didn’t want to get drunk, he just wanted to cool his head. Maybe then he could reflect on himself and realize that perhaps he really was the problem in their relationship.

"Pffft... but I remember us talking," Ingrid replied with a sly smile. "It was when I told you I noticed your girlfriend getting closer to my fiancé. Closer than we ever were with them."

Ingrid then smirked flirtatiously at the bartender. "One Louis XIII, please."

Rome’s gaze grew colder as he muttered. "Tsk... because of what you said, Sylvia doesn’t want to talk to me. She probably thinks I suspect something between her and Daniel..."

"Pffttt—what, don’t tell me you actually believe she doesn’t have a secret relationship with Daniel?" Ingrid said with a mocking laugh.

"They don’t have any secret relationship, so quit saying bad things about Sylvia!" he snapped.

"Pffft—oh, but I’m only pointing out what I’ve been noticing. You know I’m not blind to their closeness. And you know Daniel, he’s a playboy who’d go after any woman he sets his eyes on. So it wouldn’t surprise me if he went after your girlfriend too. I mean, he even stole his best friend’s girlfriend once. So what’s stopping him from doing the same to you? You two aren’t even that close, so it’s not impossible he’d try to steal your girl from you."

A sly smirk curved across her lips.

Rome’s fist clenched tight. He hated how Ingrid made it sound believable.

He knew Sylvia didn’t have any hidden feelings for Daniel, but Daniel himself... was another story.

His twin was a shameless jerk who lived to annoy him in every possible way. It wasn’t far-fetched to think he might use Sylvia to get under his skin.

"Tsk. Stop saying ridiculous things and don’t talk to me," Rome growled, his voice low with warning. "I’m planning to propose to Sylvia, so don’t you dare try to poison me against her. I’m not letting anyone get in my head, not even you."

"Oh? So you’re not even a little curious? Not even if I showed you some... interesting proof of your twin brother and your lovely girlfriend secretly dating?"

Rome froze. His eyes narrowed as Ingrid lifted her phone with a sly look. Instinctively, his hand shot out, gripping her arm hard. The muscles in his forearm flexed, his jaw tightening with anger.

"Don’t you dare lie to me. I’m not going to listen to your nonsense anymore, so back off!" he hissed.

Ingrid winced, her face twisting in pain as his grip tightened. She placed her free hand over his, trying to pry it off.

"R-Rome, y-you’re hurting me... I just want to h-help you, okay? Please, just look at this—even for a second!"

Before he could stop her, she shoved the phone in front of his face. On the screen was a photo, Sylvia holding hands with a familiar man who looked exactly like him, but it wasn’t him. It was Daniel.

Rome’s grip faltered. For a moment, his chest felt hollow.

He snatched the phone from her and began scrolling through the gallery himself, searching furiously for more photos, checking if they were real or just edited pictures.

No matter how many times Rome went through each photo, he couldn’t find a single trace that they had been edited.

The pictures weren’t just of Daniel and Sylvia holding hands in public, there were even shots of them gazing into each other’s eyes as if the world belonged only to the two of them.

But it wasn’t those photos that froze him completely.

There was one picture that shattered his world. Sylvia’s face was close to Daniel’s, her hands cupping his cheeks lovingly, as if she were about to kiss him.

The phone slipped from his hand and clattered onto the floor.

"W-what the hell..? That was my latest phone, Rome! Dad just bought it for me last week. How can you just drop it like that?" Ingrid’s indignant voice echoed in his ears, but he didn’t care.

How could Sylvia do this to him?

Judging by the angle and quality, the photos had clearly been taken just recently.

Did that mean the reason Sylvia had been avoiding him these past days... was because she was secretly dating Daniel now?

Was she planning to replace him with his own twin?

The thought hollowed him out.

He hadn’t realized how tightly he’d been gripping his glass of whiskey until it shattered in his hand, shards falling as blood dripped down his palm.

"Oh my god, Rome! Your hand is bleeding!" Ingrid cried in panic, rushing to grab his wrist.

"Hey, you! Get me some medicine or something to stop the bleeding!" she barked at the bartender, who quickly scrambled to obey.

Ingrid pressed a napkin firmly against his wound, then cupped his cheeks as she looked at him with concern in her eyes.

"How can you do this to yourself, Rome? Just because of your girlfriend, you’re falling apart like this? What if you discover even more of her secrets behind your back? I’m afraid you’ll lash out at Daniel again."

Rome’s thoughts were a storm, his chest burning with anger, betrayal, and confusion.

He didn’t even know how to process the emotions threatening to consume him.

On impulse, without thinking, he yanked Ingrid closer.

His lips crashed onto hers in a kiss that was bitter and heavy with despair, nothing like the warmth he always shared with Sylvia.

The moment their lips met, he realized how wrong it felt. He shoved her away almost instantly, as if burned.