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Chapter 9
“Wait, didn’t you read the message I sent you?” I asked.
Peyton seemed to have let his guard down and rid himself of all his wariness. He sounded so gentle that his voice was almost like a feather. “I’m clear who the person I have feelings for is, and my memory is not mixed up. I’ve crushed on you for a decade,
after all.”
He had a crush on me. It finally hit me that he was actually saying these words to me.
My calm heart started racing when my gaze met his. My hormones took over my brain, making me lose the ability to think. My jaw dropped, but I couldn’t think of anything to say.
Peyton was still waiting for me, though. He patiently waited for me to respond to his feelings.
In the end, I asked him the question that plagued me. “What is it about me that’s worthy of your feelings?”
He was so outstanding, and I was the opposite.
He seemed to know that this bothered me, so he immediately answered. “Maybe it’s because people just shine when they’re doing the things they like. No matter how much our teachers and classmates disliked you and how horrible your family was, you never stopped forging ahead.
“You studied hard and did the things you thought were right. You didn’t give up on yourself just because the world kept telling you you were wrong. That’s why you’ve always been the one leading me on my journey. You’re like my beacon.”
I stuttered at his heartfelt confession. I couldn’t form a coherent sentence. “N–No, I’m not. Why… Why would you think that? 1-
11
Peyton interrupted me. “I wrote a love letter for you. Do you want to read it?”
I knew what he’d written–I’d committed it to memory in my past life. It was precisely because I knew the contents that ! w never have expected him to have secretly liked me for so long.
Still, why had he ended his life?
I was afraid I couldn’t change Peyton’s ending in this life, so I racked my brains and tried to think of anything that had happened around the time he’d taken his life. I finally remembered something and asked him a question.
“Will you be sad if I were to marry someone else, Peyton?”
He replied immediately. “Why would you marry someone else? Do you have someone you like? Is it Shane or someone else? Can I have a chance to pursue you before you choose another man?”
I could tell how frantic he was, so I could pretty much guess the reason for his death in my past life.
In my past life, Mom had forced me to marry someone because she thought I was at the right age. It was also because she wanted grandchildren. She’d even gone as far as to set the date and send out invitations to my friends and family. It was an attempt to force me into compliance.
I’d run away from home and from her. Then, it was after settling down somewhere that I’d learned of Peyton’s death. Perhaps his agency had taken the love letter from his belongings in hopes of exploiting him one last time.
At that thought, I sent him a voice message. I said, “I won’t marry anyone else. I like you, too, Peyton. I’ve liked you since ten years ago.”
I’d guessed that my confession would please him, but I didn’t expect him to be so overjoyed. Not only did he take to Twitter to explain the reason for his injury, but he also asked everyone not to blame me.
“After all, standing up for and protecting the person you love is something that you instinctively do.”
Chopter
This made the Internet explode again.
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Chapter 10
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Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
