To the One Who's Only Cold to Me - Chapter 44

Marissa felt chills the more she talked with her son. She had always believed she trusted no one outside of her immediate family. But she realized that was a mistake. Marissa might have been angry with Ian, but she had never once thought he would threaten their family.

‘That just means I grew fond of him.’

Unlike her husband, Marissa didn’t care for Ian as much as she did her own children. However, she had known him since he was very young. Unconsciously, she had come to trust him.

“Does Ian still meet with Duke Levantus these days?”

Once doubt took root, all the past events she had brushed aside under the name of trust came rushing back. Edward nodded in response to his mother’s question.

“Yes. I didn’t suspect anything before since they only met at the regular old noble meetings But I heard that sometimes, after the meetings, they meet alone.”

The immediate response suggested that Edward, her cautious eldest son, had already been somewhat suspicious. Marissa spoke with a bitter expression.

“Don’t tell your father yet. But let’s start looking into Ian’s activities from the past few years.
I don’t like the idea of putting someone on him, but being cautious won’t hurt.”

“It won’t be easy to do anything behind Father’s back. It’ll take time since I have to be careful.”

“There’s no way around that. Edward, I trust you.”

Seeing his mother look somewhat drained, Edward slowly nodded. Marissa was about to tell him to leave so she could rest when a thought struck her, and she asked another question:

“By the way, what’s going on with Arthur? Why hasn’t he contacted us? Is he doing okay at the academy?”

At the mention of Arthur’s name, Edward’s expression also turned bitter. After a moment of hesitation, he revealed a secret he had discovered.

“Mother, there’s something I need to tell you about Arthur.”

“It’s good that no bones were broken. Most of the swelling is gone, and the bruises should disappear in about two weeks. But until then, you need to avoid alcohol and smoking, and take your medicine regularly.”

“Got it, now leave.”

Ian, sitting on the bed, waved the doctor away even before the ointment was fully applied.
Noticing the patient’s foul mood, the doctor quietly packed up and left without saying much.
Once the door closed and silence filled the room, Ian leaned back.

Thud.

The weight of his body hitting the bed made his wounds ache, especially the area below his eye.
The throbbing pain deepened when he frowned, so Ian forced his face to relax.

‘I must’ve lost my mind.’

Lying carelessly on the bed and staring at the ceiling, Ian felt ashamed of himself. He hadn’t gotten into fistfights even as a child yet here he was, brawling at his age. And not only did he not win outright, he ended up needing a doctor and medication. The situation was so ridiculous it made him let out a dry laugh.

Still, while he felt ashamed, he didn’t regret what happened. That arrogant prince, sending letters to another man’s fiancée, asking to be partners he had to be taught a lesson somehow.

‘Well, that turned out nicely.’

He was said to be good with a sword, but clearly not with his fists, Ian thought, smirking as he recalled Jared’s split lip. But the smirk soon disappeared, and Ian’s face turned hard.

“Why…”

Why did he feel this way? He had gotten into a fight with the prince. Though Jared had said he wouldn’t make an issue of it, other royals or worst case, the emperor might. If the emperor decided to punish him, Ian would have no defense.

And if Jared played dirty and claimed Ian attacked him unprovoked, Ian could end up rotting in prison or worse, lose his head.
It was a very risky move.

Yet Ian laughed, even after throwing himself into such danger.

‘Aisha.’

The reason for it all came to him right away. He wanted to deny it, but there was only one reason he had gotten into such a childish fight with the prince: Aisha. He hated seeing Jared hanging around her, whispering in her ear, holding her waist while dancing, taking her hand and calling her his partner.

“That’s just I’m acting like I’m fighting over Aisha.”

Ian realized it felt like jealousy. As he lightly touched the bruised area on his face, his eyes widened.

‘Could it be that I still?’

It wasn’t his first time feeling jealous. When he liked Aisha as a boy, even her brothers being close to her used to make him mad.

‘No. Those feelings are gone now. She only annoys me. I don’t even want to treat her kindly anymore… So what is this?’

Ian shook his head. He had felt love before he knew what it was.
Wanting to protect someone, care for them, make them smile. That’s what love was.

But how did he feel now? Aisha annoyed him, she was a bother, and sometimes he wanted to see her cry.

‘Ian.’

Thinking of her brought her voice to his ears. And then he suddenly pictured her red lips.
Remembering how they felt on his skin, Ian blushed and sat up.

“Damn it.”

Now sitting on the bed again, he looked down. Just below his stomach his body had responded.

“This is insane.”

He pressed his forehead and ran a hand through his hair. He tried to calm his body down with deep breaths, but it only made things worse.

‘I… I’m getting aroused by that girl.’

Finally admitting it, Ian hung his head in self-disgust. He began searching for excuses.

‘That stupid kiss That was the problem.’

If they hadn’t kissed that day, this wouldn’t have happened.

“Or maybe this is better. It just means my body’s reacting, not my heart.”

Trying to calm his confused emotions, Ian clung to that idea. He convinced himself that his reaction was just lust.

‘She’s annoying, but she is pretty. And kind of cute too. Even her crying face isn’t so bad it kind of fits the mood…’

Thinking about it more, Aisha’s looks were exactly his type. A small, pale face, big soft eyes, and expressive features that showed all kinds of emotions. And though she hid it well, she had a very shapely figure…

Even objectively, Aisha was beautiful someone hard to find even in high society.

Now that he had labeled his feelings as lust, Ian’s thoughts turned more vivid. He spaced out briefly, then caught himself and lay back down.

‘Do I really need to go find another woman?’

His face and body both ached. But the idea of another woman didn’t appeal to him at all.
Lusting after someone he claimed to hate Confused by his mixed emotions, Ian covered his eyes with his hand and closed them.

Knock knock.

But rest was not allowed. James called from outside the bedroom in a troubled voice.

“Sir, the young lady is here again. She says it’s important today, so please…”

Ian slowly opened his eyes. Aisha was outside. Now that he thought about it, she had come every day for the past few days. Ian’s eyes sharpened. He was about to tell James to let her in, then realized his current “problem.” He quickly rolled to his side under the bedsheet and shouted toward the door in an annoyed voice.

“Let her in.”

As soon as Ian gave permission, James opened the door. Aisha carefully walked into the bedroom and made her way to Ian’s bed.

When she reached the large bed and saw the broad back of the man lying there, she sat down on the edge. She reached out her hand but didn’t have the courage to touch him, so she pulled it back to her chest and asked softly,

“Ian, how are you feeling?”

The day Ian and Jared got into a fight, Aisha returned with Edward and, at least for that moment, forgot all the feelings she’d had for Ian.

Though she felt sorry toward Jared, seeing Ian bleeding, one eye half-open, made her feel anger toward Jared. That’s when she realized she still had strong feelings for Ian.

“Can I see your face? You were really hurt that day.”

Of course, after coming back, the memories of the past returned making her angry and disappointed with Ian again. But she didn’t want to express those negative feelings to someone injured. So she set them aside and came to see him. Even though he had sent her away several times, saying he wasn’t feeling well.

Still, since he agreed to see her today, she thought they could finally talk.
But Ian didn’t respond to any of her questions.

“Does my being here bother you? Then I’ll just”

She started to stand up, not wanting to cause trouble for a hurt man.
But suddenly, a large hand reached out and grabbed her slender wrist.

“Ian?”

“Where do you think you’re going? Didn’t you come to visit me?”

His tone was gruff, but he was telling her not to leave. Aisha turned back toward Ian.

“Yes. I came to check if you’re okay.”

Her cheeks turned slightly red seeing part of his chest exposed through the blanket.
She had known Ian a long time, but she rarely saw him looking this vulnerable.

Noticing the blush on her face, Ian let out a soft laugh. After a pause, he said something completely unexpected.

“Aisha, you like me, don’t you?”

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