To the One Who's Only Cold to Me - Chapter 32

“What are you scheming?! Hey! Can’t you apologize properly?”

Daniel shouted, furious at Sophia’s behavior. Startled and scared of Daniel, Sophia let out a small scream and stepped back when she saw his face twist angrily like he was about to charge at her.

At that moment, Arthur, who had been quietly sitting until now, suddenly stood up and spoke.

“Brother, don’t yell.”

Daniel frowned at his younger brother’s urgent voice and looked back at him. Even Edward, who had been silently sitting, turned his eyes toward Arthur.

“This is an important meeting.”

Meeting Aisha’s eyes among the confused expressions of the family, Arthur sat down again and spoke as if to explain himself. Sophia, who had looked at Arthur like he was her last hope, felt betrayed when he ignored her after saying that. But Arthur didn’t look back at her again, his lips tightly pressed together.

“Sophia.”

Ian called her name as if giving a final judgment. Realizing there was no way to escape, Sophia finally looked at Aisha, the victim of the rumors she had spread.

‘How dare you! How dare someone like you humiliate me like this?’

Looking into Aisha’s calm eyes, anger boiled inside her. In Sophia’s mind, Aisha wasn’t even a real noblewoman. A girl who wouldn’t have even dared to look her in the eyes before was now sitting on the couch, waiting for an apology. It was unbearably humiliating.

‘No! I don’t want to! I won’t!’

Sophia even thought about biting her tongue. She would rather kneel to a beggar on the street than kneel to Aisha.

‘That’s right. If I pretend to faint, they can’t force me.’

Clenching her fists and barely holding back tears, Sophia came up with an idea to escape the situation. But the moment she started pretending to stagger, someone grabbed her shoulder firmly from behind.

“Ah…”

At the sudden pain, Sophia turned around in shock. Her heart dropped. Ian was standing very close, staring at her with eyes she had never seen before. His blue eyes clearly said: Don’t even think about it.

Under his terrifying gaze, Sophia lowered her head deeply. There seemed to be no way out. She looked around the room one last time. But everyone Parden sitting on the couch, the servants standing behind, even the notary fiddling with his glasses were all looking at her with stern expressions.

“Hic…”

In the end, Sophia began to cry and slowly fell to the floor. Her face turned pale as if she had suffered the worst humiliation.

“I… I was wrong…”

A tiny voice, barely audible, came out of her mouth as she knelt. The notary picked up his pen and began writing something down.

“It won’t happen again. Please… hic… please forgive me.”

Even though the words weren’t long, it took her a long time to say them. Everyone seemed to be waiting for her to say more, but Sophia stayed quiet after asking for forgiveness.

‘I can’t… not anymore…’

That was Sophia’s limit. It wasn’t acting anymore her breathing became uneven, and her vision turned white. Even Aisha, who was watching from in front, looked worried and uneasy.

“You call that a proper apology?”

As silence fell over the room and people exchanged glances, Daniel stepped forward. He thought Sophia’s apology was worse than no apology at all. She was the one who caused the problem, yet she acted like the victim. But the moment he stepped forward, Sophia clutched her chest and slumped forward.

“Hic… hic…”

Though she hadn’t fainted, she was crying and gasping as if she might collapse. Aisha, uncomfortable with a forced apology like this, turned to the notary and spoke.

“I think this is enough.”

At her words, a look of relief briefly passed across Graham and Arthur’s faces. The notary turned toward Marissa. Marissa sighed deeply, rubbed her forehead, and nodded. Just as Daniel was about to shout that this wasn’t enough, Edward stopped him.

“You two, please sign here.”

The notary handed Ian a document. It was a formal legal contract listing twenty-six conditions, stating that if Sophia harmed Aisha’s reputation again, she would face a full trial and be required to pay massive compensation. Ian signed without hesitation, then handed the paper to Sophia. Still kneeling, she barely managed to take the pen and wrote her name.

“Lady Sophia should get some rest. She looks unwell.”

After signing, Sophia stood up shakily. Her face was ash gray. Unable to watch her any longer, Arthur tried to suggest calmly. But Marissa coldly replied to her youngest son.

“The count’s house seems uncomfortable for Lady Sophia. It might be better for her health to return to the marquis’ estate.”

As Marissa practically cast Sophia out, Arthur tried to step forward, but Edward stopped him. Pushing Arthur back, Edward called a maid and turned to Ian.

“Your Grace, may we escort Lady Sophia to her carriage?”

“Sophia, go ahead and return by carriage.”

Ian nodded. A maid came and helped Sophia up. Normally, she would’ve snapped at a maid for touching her, but now that her pride was shattered, she quietly followed.

“Your Grace, perhaps you should return with your sister.”

As Sophia disappeared through the parlor door, Marissa spoke sharply to Ian. She and the other Parden already knew Ian’s proposal to Aisha and her likely response. In fact, Ian had sent a letter with the seal of the Marquis of Lloyd just before his visit briefly stating his intention to propose.

‘No. As your mother, I cannot allow this engagement.’

Marissa, along with Daniel, opposed the idea of Ian and Aisha’s engagement. So she wanted to make sure Ian didn’t even get a chance to say the word “engagement.”

“Ma’am, I have something important to discuss.”

Despite clearly understanding Marissa’s intent, Ian didn’t back down. He spoke politely, then turned toward Graham. After a brief pause, he deeply bowed and said:

“Sir, may I have a moment? There’s something I need to tell you.”

At the sudden informal way of addressing Graham, Marissa frowned. But Graham, ignoring his wife’s look, nodded and stretched out his arm like an invitation.

“Sure, in my study…”

Just as Marissa turned to stop Graham, her beige dress fluttered slightly Aisha had stepped forward.

“Father.”

Graham turned to his daughter. Aisha walked between Ian and Graham, then looked at Ian.

“Your Grace I have something I’d like to say to Ian. Could you let me speak first?”

Now, only Ian and Aisha were left in the large parlor. Ian looked at Aisha, who stood a short distance away, and felt a strange tightness in his chest.

After a brief silence, Aisha looked up at him. This was the first time Ian had met her eyes since the palace ball, and he flinched without meaning to.

“I heard you sent a letter asking to get engaged.”

Aisha brought up the topic of engagement. Ian’s eyebrows slightly rose when he heard the word from her mouth. But only for a moment. He soon returned to a blank expression and nodded.

“Yes.”

“Why all of a sudden? You said you didn’t want to get engaged to me.”

Caught off guard by her direct question, Ian hesitated. He hadn’t expected her to ask this. After a brief pause, he repeated what he’d said to Edward.

“Because I have to take responsibility for what Sophia did to you.”

He didn’t explain everything, but it wasn’t a lie. He had brought up the engagement to deal with Sophia’s situation. But saying it aloud made him feel unpleasant. Trying to push away the rising discomfort, he added something he didn’t really need to say.

“That’s all. So don’t get your hopes up…”

“I’m not.”

Aisha cut him off coldly. Her blunt response surprised Ian, and he bit his lip.

“I never had any hopes, Ian.”

Aisha even smiled a little as she said that. Seeing her so indifferent crushed whatever confidence Ian had. He stared at her face, his eyes sharp.

“Then, Ian what if I don’t want to get engaged to you?”

“What?”

Aisha Parden rejecting an engagement? Ian had never imagined such a thing. He snapped back, startled. But unlike him, Aisha looked calm. Still smiling faintly, she asked again.

“Would you take responsibility for what Sophia did some other way?”

Ian didn’t answer. He just glared at her in silence. Aisha met his sharp gaze without flinching. Then she turned her head and looked out the window.

“Of course. To you, it was obvious.”

“You never once thought I’d say no to the engagement.”

Her pale blue eyes shimmered in the sunlight. Her quiet voice carried resignation. Ian quickly stepped forward, closing the gap between them.

This girl… How dare she? He couldn’t stand it. Furious, he grabbed her chin and turned her face toward him.

“What are you trying to do right now?”

“You’re the one who wanted this from the beginning. I don’t even care that much about being engaged…”

“Mother and Daniel strongly oppose it. Daniel said if I get engaged to you, he won’t even look at me again.”

Aisha explained the situation in a calm tone, her face held by his large hand. As her small mouth moved, revealing white teeth, Ian suddenly remembered their kiss that day. Without realizing it, he licked his dry lips.

“And I’m not sure anymore either.”

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