To the One Who's Only Cold to Me - Chapter 8

“Huh?”

It was a criticism she hadn’t expected. Aisha blinked, feeling her mind go blank. Ian bit and released his lip, displeasure clear on his face.

“No matter how close we were as kids, that’s not how a noble lady should behave or speak. What noble lady talks about her engagement herself like you just did?”

“Aisha. Maybe the Count of Parden’s family allows such behavior, but by my standards, what you just did is completely unacceptable. A noble lady talking about her own engagement? It’s embarrassing to even look at.”

The pale color of her face had spread to her lips. Ian looked up from her trembling mouth. Her large sky-blue eyes looked ready to burst into tears from his harsh words. Ian muttered “so annoying” under his breath and scraped the floor with his shoe.

“Crying again? Why?”

“I… I just…”

“Didn’t I tell you a few days ago? Don’t cry alone and make me out to be the bad guy. Just because you cry, doesn’t mean everything gets solved.”

Drip. Her sorrow finally spilled out. Tears streamed down her cheeks, but Ian’s face remained unmoved. As if tired of her, he looked away and lifted his teacup.

“Well, maybe this is actually a good time. Since I’m already the bad guy, let me be clear. It’ll be better for both of us.”

As he finished speaking, his Adam’s apple moved. Aisha stayed frozen like a statue until he finished the elegant gesture of lifting and sipping his tea.

Ian glanced at the full teacup in front of Aisha. Unlike his empty cup, hers reflected her tear-streaked face like a mirror.

Seeing her crying in front of him didn’t bother him. But seeing her reflection crying in the cup did. Annoyed by his own reaction, Ian ran a hand through his hair and stood up.

Aisha’s eyes widened as he came closer. Ignoring her surprise, Ian dropped down next to her, grabbed her face with both hands, and lifted it carelessly.

“Don’t cry. I’ll explain it kindly.”

Her tear-soaked face was wet and pale. Ian wiped under her eyes with his fingers, pretending to sound gentle.

“You have eyes. You can see how things are right now.”

He could see her eyes wavering, caught by his sudden shift in tone. That made it all the more entertaining. How she was lost and confused by just one word or action of his.

“Listen carefully. I’m not politically close to the Count of Parden or your brothers.”

He spoke to her like teaching a toddler, even though Aisha already knew that. Treated like a fool, Aisha desperately tried not to cry. But seeing his mocking face made her sorrow burst out like a dam breaking.

“I’ve never opposed your family because of our childhood connection, but that could change. I can’t keep being considerate just because of the past.”

Aisha hadn’t thought Ian would go so far as to see her family as enemies. Yes, their families were in different factions, but except for extremists, they still interacted.

Even her father Graham did. He traded and attended parties with others, except for a few of the old noble families who didn’t treat him as a person. Ian’s father, the former Marquis of Lloyd, had even been best friends with hers. So then why…?

Her tears, which had been pouring down from the sense of injustice, came to a halt.

“That’s also why I never got engaged to you.”

Just as Aisha was about to say that her father and their family weren’t enemies, Ian’s next words—engaged—choked her silent.

“With the uncertain future between our families, how could I make you my fiancée?”

He looked sad as he said he couldn’t marry her. The moment she heard it directly from him, Aisha fell into a daze, her mouth shut. Ian looked at her blankly and then sneered.

“What if you stab me in the back? The Lloyd family only has me as the direct Heir. If I’m gone, that’s the end. You know, it’s not uncommon. A bride ruins her husband and takes over the family.”

His cruel words drained Aisha’s will to speak. She just blinked silently, slumped over. Ian’s sneer vanished. He stared at the teardrop on her eyelash and spoke more quietly.

“Making me say it out loud You really don’t understand kindness. Just like at the charity event.”

Ian began squeezing her face tighter. Aisha groaned in pain as the pressure increased quickly. The area under her eye felt like it might break. Ian studied her pain slowly and bit his lip again.

“Lady Aisha. I’m only saying this because you didn’t understand. So listen carefully.”

“Hhh…”

“For the reasons I just told you, I’m going to keep my distance. So stop coming to me like this and don’t expect anything from me.”

“I-Ian… It hurts…”

Unable to bear it, Aisha weakly placed her hand over his. But that was all. Though she was in pain, she didn’t fight back or dig in her nails.

“Didn’t you hear me just now? I said I’ll keep my distance. And you still call me Ian?”

Even that seemed to bother him. Ian’s face darkened. He let go of her face and harshly knocked her hand away. Her back and arm hit the couch.

Ian stood, watching her silently brush her arm. She couldn’t even lift her head anymore. He found it pathetic. He picked up a white napkin from the table and wiped his wet hand.

“From now on, behave properly and show some manners. You really lack etiquette. ‘Ian’? That’s far too familiar, isn’t it?”

He threw the used napkin onto the table and spoke in a calmer voice. But Aisha, frozen, couldn’t look his way.

As she kept her gaze fixed on the crumpled napkin, Ian’s eye twitched. He picked up another napkin and held it out to her. His polite gesture, bending at the waist, made Aisha glance between his face and the napkin.

“Wipe your face. It’s soaked.”

When their eyes met, Ian smiled beautifully. Why was he always like this? Aisha, for the first time in her life, thought Ian might be insane. Even so, her trembling hand reached for the napkin. Ian let out a laugh.

“I’ll do it.”

Just before she touched the napkin, he pulled it away. Only then did Aisha realize he was teasing her. Her expression stiffened. Yes, to him, she was just a toy to play with and throw away.

But even knowing that, she couldn’t be angry or push him away. Aisha looked at his gray-blue eyes, lowered her head, and let her body relax. As if expecting this, Ian brought the napkin to her face.

She was always so easy. That’s why she annoyed him. He wanted to scratch at her calm surface. Thinking of what more to say, he recalled a conversation with his younger sister, Sophia.

“One more thing. I wish you’d show some manners to my sister too. I heard you ignore her, thinking we’re definitely going to be engaged. That’s not right.”

She looked visibly hurt. Ian knew the truth too. Based on what he remembered of Aisha and Sophia, it was obvious who had started the fights. But, just like he told Sophia he was her brother, not Aisha’s. And Aisha had three brothers of her own. Men who’d drop everything if their sister cried.

Thinking of them made Ian’s gaze grow colder.

“I used to think Sophia was exaggerating, but after seeing you today asking about an engagement so shamelessly, I believe her. Lady Aisha Parden, show some respect to my sister. Understood?”

Even though it must’ve hurt her pride, Aisha didn’t say a word. She even nodded slightly. No more tears either. Ian found her lack of reaction unsatisfying. He dropped the napkin he used to wipe her face and stood up.

“Well, I need to eat lunch… Take care on your way home.”

As he coldly turned away, his foot nudged the crumpled napkin. Aisha looked at it instead of his back. It was crumpled and pathetic just like her. Was that how he saw her too?

Just then, Ian’s voice came from the doorway.

“James. Lady Aisha is leaving. Escort her to her carriage.”

It was a dismissal. Aisha clenched her fist. James entered, stopping when he saw Aisha sitting alone on the couch. He didn’t know what to say. Even to him, the young master had gone too far.

“That young lady…”

Aisha, her hands shaking, suddenly stood. She forced a smile at the surprised James. She looked like she could fall apart at any moment.

“I think I should go home now.”

Despite her trembling body, her voice was calm and steady. But James saw the tear slipping down beneath her tilted sky-blue eye and sighed with sympathy without realizing it.

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