To the One Who's Only Cold to Me - Chapter 84

As Edward dragged a fuming Daniel upstairs, Marissa let out a deep sigh and pressed her forehead. Aisha also kept her head down in silence.

“Um… Master. You have… a visitor.”

At that moment, Ian knocked on the door to the parlour. Marissa, who had said nothing until now, scowled deeply at the mention of Ian’s name. Then, glaring at Graham, she loudly ordered him never to let Ian inside the house. Without another word, she walked out the door her sons had gone through.

“Marissa!”

Graham, who had paused to catch his breath, was about to follow her when he saw Aisha and hesitated. Aisha gave her father a look, urging him to go quickly. At her signal, Graham called Marissa again and ran after her.

Left alone, Aisha quietly gazed at the window near the front door. But that was all. She didn’t approach or look outside. Sitting still in thought for a moment, she looked around at the couch where her family had sat, then quietly returned to her room and lay on her bed.

“Haa…”

Thinking back to the family conflict from a few hours ago, Aisha sighed without realizing it and leaned against the door. Though it wasn’t a loud sigh, Ian flinched as if he’d seen a ghost and stepped forward, calling her name.

“Aisha.”

His voice sounded like he was begging. The unfamiliar tone made Aisha, who had been looking down at the floor, raise her head. Their eyes met in the air.

But only for a moment. Aisha quickly looked away and slowly walked forward. She sat silently in the seat across from Ian. It was a completely different attitude from how she used to glance at him before sitting down. Ian seemed to notice the change and clenched his hands tightly. His heart pounded ominously.

Ian sat down across from her. He opened and closed his mouth several times before finally squeezing out some words.

“It’s really late, I know. But… I had to say something.”

His awkward smile showed how nervous he was. But Aisha simply lowered her head and muttered softly.

“You’re doing whatever you want again.”

Even though her voice was quiet, Ian, who was fully focused on her, felt it echo like a shout in a cave. Caught off guard, he reflexively asked back.

“Huh?”

“You said it yourself, Ian. It’s late.”

“I only came because my father called me. But I don’t feel comfortable meeting at this hour. So I’d like to keep this short.”

Aisha’s voice was calm and emotionless, which made it feel even colder. Ian felt his mouth go dry and a cold sweat ran down his back. He clasped his damp hands tightly and forced himself to speak.

“About today no, yesterday. That woman and I… I…”

How should he explain this? As he tried to talk about what happened with Helen, his mind went blank. All the way here, he had thought he would explain and apologize. But facing Aisha, he couldn’t get the words out.

“Damn it…”

Ian didn’t think what happened yesterday was entirely his fault. Still, even as he felt wronged, he was overwhelmed by guilt. As he bit his lip hard, struggling to speak, Aisha broke the silence.

“I know what happened. So you don’t need to explain.”

When Aisha saw Ian and Helen so close together, she had been more surprised at her own reaction than at the scene itself. Right after witnessing it, she was shocked, but that was it. She didn’t feel unbearable pain or sadness.

Of course, that didn’t mean she wasn’t hurt or disappointed. But the deep ache that used to make her heart twist over even small things was no longer there. In fact, for a brief moment, she even felt strangely relieved.

“I didn’t mean for that to happen. I didn’t do it on purpose. That woman acted on her own. It’s true. I just tried to catch her when she almost fell…”

Her feelings had gone numb. On top of that, seeing her father and brother fight over this, and her family so worried Aisha’s feelings for Ian were turning from resignation into doubt.

“So what? Are you saying what happened between you and her didn’t happen?”

She cut off Ian’s desperate excuses. Her firm tone made Ian freeze. Aisha didn’t pay him any attention and looked at her slightly parted feet. Then, bringing them together, she calmly began to speak again.

“Ian. You say it wasn’t your fault, but yesterday what happened was something you brought on yourself.”

“If there had never been anything between you and Miss Helen, that would be different. But there was.”

“Doing business with her, partnering with her, inviting her to the marquis’ estate, dancing with her, spending time together all of those were your choices, Ian.”

“Ian. I told you many times those things made me uncomfortable. But you said I was overreacting, that it was natural from your point of view. You told me not to be so narrow-minded.”

As Aisha spoke, Ian’s face turned pale. Nothing she said was wrong. Everything she pointed out was something Ian had chosen.

“That’s…”

Ian tried to say something, but Aisha ignored him and kept talking.

“All the things you did with Miss Helen caused rumors. You know that. You know what people are saying about you and her.”

“When others talk about you two all the time, how could I ignore it? I can only pretend not to care so many times. And Miss Helen even came to me herself. She told me that she and you were in a deep relationship and that one day she’d be by your side.”

“What? What are you talking about?”

Ian jumped up in surprise. But Aisha remained calm, her eyes still lowered.

“What’s the point of getting angry now? It’s already happened, and most of the responsibility no, more than half is yours.”

Her words flowed like a quiet melody. Ian was terrified of her calm eyes that wouldn’t look at him, her still eyebrows, and her pale cheeks. It was so scary, his whole body trembled. Struggling to breathe, he called her again.

“Aisha. Aisha, wait.”

“Ian, I can’t trust you anymore. So I’ll only believe what I saw with my own eyes yesterday.”

No matter how Ian reacted, Aisha sat still like a statue. Unable to bear her coldness, Ian stepped closer. He reached out, almost lifting her chin out of habit, but stopped himself and pulled his hand back.

Even though she noticed his hand approach and retreat, Aisha still wouldn’t look at him. After a brief hesitation, Ian suddenly knelt before her.

“Aisha, look at me.”

His voice was tight, almost shaky. Full of fear, he didn’t realize how small he looked as he humbled himself.

“Please, look at me. Okay?”

Ian grabbed Aisha’s hand and rested his forehead on it. Then he began to whisper in a pleading voice.

“I’m really not to blame. What happened yesterday I didn’t do it. Whatever she said has nothing to do with me. Please believe me. I’m telling the truth.”

He sounded like a child begging. A grown man acting like this would have seemed pathetic, but for a moment, Aisha’s eyes wavered as she looked at his blond hair resting on her knee.

“Aisha, you like me. You said you’d love me forever. Doesn’t that mean you’ll always believe me too? So”

“Ian.”

But before he could finish, Aisha’s gaze hardened again. She pulled her hand from his and gently pushed his head away, clearly rejecting him.

Ian, pushed away by her small hand, slowly raised his head in despair. But his expression quickly changed Aisha was looking directly at him.

Their eyes met directly. In that brief moment of hope, Ian slowly reached out to her again. But Aisha shook her head and, with a deep breath, finally said the words she had buried deep inside for a long time.

“Ian, I think we need to take some time apart. First, about our engagement”

“Aisha!”

Realizing what she was about to say, Ian raised his voice. Aisha was startled and blinked.

“Let’s get married.”

Ian quickly said the words he thought might turn things around.

“Let’s get married.”

“You always said it since we were young. So let’s just do it now.”

It was a messy, shabby proposal no diamond ring, no beautiful setting, no romantic words. But the old Aisha would have accepted it with tears and a smile. She might have even said thank you over and over again.

“Since winter is coming next spring would be nice. It’s a bit rushed, but if we hire enough people, we can make it happen.”

That’s what Ian was hoping for. But there was no happiness on Aisha’s face. There was a hint of surprise, but even that faded after a few seconds. Her face returned to calm.

“Let’s fill the wedding hall with your favorite flowers and decorate the reception in your favorite colors.”

“Invite as many guests as you want. Buy anything you like, anything you want…”

Sensing her lack of response, Ian spoke faster. His desperation was obvious, and it made him look even more pitiful to anyone who knew him. But Aisha didn’t let him finish.

“Ian.”

He looked up at her with anxious eyes. Seeing her expression reflected in his blue eyes, Aisha bit the inside of her cheek before slowly speaking.

“This isn’t the time to be talking about that.”

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