To the One Who's Only Cold to Me - Chapter 94

Ian seeing Aisha and Iskan was a coincidence. But the coincidence came at a time when Ian’s mood was already at its worst.

When Ian heard the rumor about Aisha and the crown prince of the Kingdom of Astar, he didn’t stop to think. He just rode his horse straight to Parden. But soon, he reached a crowded street and had to stop. Guiding his horse through the crowd, Ian tried to catch his breath. And at that very moment, he saw a carriage from Parden.

“Aisha?”

Through the window of the carriage, he saw a familiar light brown hair. As soon as Ian saw it, he followed the carriage.

“That man is from the Kingdom of Astar”

It didn’t take long before he saw Aisha get out of the carriage along with a young foreign man. The man had hair and eye color that told Ian right away he was the crown prince of Astar.

Ian’s eyes burned with rage. He didn’t even notice Edward and Emir, who had also gotten out of the carriage. His eyes were only focused on Aisha and Iskan, watching them talk and go into a restaurant together.

“Should I drag her out?”

Ian stood in front of the restaurant, thinking hard. He wanted to storm in and pull Aisha out right away, but the last bit of reason he had stopped him.

Still, as time passed, his patience wore thin. He tied his horse carelessly and slowly walked toward the restaurant.

His face had turned dark, and his blue eyes staring at the restaurant door looked dangerous, almost frightening. People on the street stepped away, sensing the deadly aura Ian gave off.

The restaurant seemed quiet, as if they had rented it all. Ian stood in the alley next to it and tried to look through the window. But he couldn’t see Aisha or anyone else. Frustrated, he hit the wall of the restaurant hard.

The rough wall scratched his hand, but even as blood showed through the torn skin, Ian didn’t care. He was too nervous and restless. For ten days, Aisha hadn’t responded to anything. Now, seeing her with the crown prince after hearing the rumor, he felt like he was going crazy.

In the end, unable to control his jealousy, Ian walked toward the front door of the restaurant. But just then luckily, or perhaps unluckily Aisha appeared by the window.

Ian stopped right away. Seeing her alone, his anger calmed a little. He kept his eyes on her. Aisha was looking outside, distracted. Seeing a chance, Ian waited until she stepped out, and like a hawk catching a rabbit, he pulled her into the alley.

“Aisha.”

Saying her name made Ian feel relieved. After ten long days without even seeing her shadow, now she was just one step away. The headache that had been bothering him disappeared.

But only for a moment. When he looked into her face, the anger he had tried to suppress rose up again.

‘How dare she…’

Ian’s anger came from betrayal. Aisha had told him not to see each other for a while, and yet here she was with another man. That hit his deepest feelings of jealousy and possessiveness. He forgot all his promises to treat her kindly like in the past, and once again acted like she was a criminal.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

His voice was sharp, like broken glass. But Aisha, shocked by the sudden meeting, didn’t react. She just stared at him blankly.

‘Let’s not see each other for a while.’

Since that morning, Aisha had tried not to think about Ian. Thinking about him only gave her headaches, and life without him felt peaceful. She knew avoidance wasn’t the solution, but the freedom from his controlling behavior felt too good to give up.

“Aisha Parden!”

When Aisha kept staring silently, Ian’s face twisted in anger. He moved his hand from her wrist to her shoulder and spoke in a mocking, bitter voice, showing all his emotions.

“You decided on your own not to see me, and now you’re off playing with another man?”

“I get that you’re angry about that thing with Helen. But this? This is too much. You’re my fiancée! And you’re walking around with another man? A crown prince from another country, no less. Did you even think about what people would say?”

As Ian’s sharp words continued, Aisha slowly came to her senses. Her vision cleared, and with the pain in her wrist, she felt a strange emotion rise within her anger. But unlike Ian’s anger, hers wasn’t from betrayal.

‘Why? You did the same.’

Aisha silently threw the words back at him. Even when she clung to him desperately in the past, this question always rang inside her. Why could Ian do these things but not her?

Before, she might have felt hurt, but she never wanted to get back at him. Even when she suffered, she didn’t treat him the same way because she loved him.

But now it was different. Seeing his proud face under that shining blonde hair, her feelings of injustice and revenge boiled up. Something locked deep inside her finally burst.

Ian didn’t notice the change in her expression. He kept talking, still trapped in his own anger.

“You used to meet the second prince, and now some foreign—”

“How did you know the man I came with is the crown prince?”

Aisha couldn’t take it anymore. She shook off Ian’s hand and cut in. Ian was surprised by her cold face and her rejection, but quickly snapped back.

“What? Does that matter right now?”

“Why wouldn’t it matter?”

“He’s a guest of our family. And as a Parden, it’s my duty to host him.”

‘It’s for business. I had no choice. Aisha, I hope you understand.’

As Aisha spoke, Ian’s old words echoed in her mind. His exact same excuse from the past.

“Why are you suddenly talking about duty? I’m saying I don’t like my fiancée walking around with another man!”

“So what? I’m doing my duty as a member of the family. But you think I should ignore that just because you’re upset?”

‘So what? You think I should give up work because you’re hurt?’

Aisha hoped that by saying these things, the pain in her heart would ease. Maybe if she returned his old words, she could heal a little and learn to love him again.

“Don’t act like a child, Ian.”

‘Are you going to keep acting like a child?’

“Aisha!”

“No matter how you feel, that’s not enough reason to stop me from doing my part.”

‘No matter how you feel, that’s not a reason to stop what Grandma and Sofia are doing.’

But even after saying the same things, her pain remained. In fact, it hurt more like salt on an open wound.

‘I… I thought I’d love Ian forever.’

Aisha admitted it. The love she’d held onto since she was young was broken. She had promised it would last forever, but the wounds Ian gave her cracked and shook that love until it finally shattered. All that remained were tiny pieces that looked like they’d soon turn to dust.

That truth made her feel hopeless. She remembered clearly how her love once shone so brightly. When she wiped Ian’s tears under the lemon tree, when she stayed by his side through sickness, when he gave her pearl earrings and kissed her, when she wrote letters to him at the academy, and when she hugged him after graduation…

Those moments sparkled. So why, when she looked back, did the light seem faded?

A deep sadness rose from within. Aisha stopped speaking and let her tears fall. Ian, who had been scowling, froze at the sight. The thought “This isn’t right” hit him hard. He looked down and apologized.

“I’m sorry.”

Hearing her words again, and seeing her cry, Ian started to remember his own cruel lines from the past. Now, he began to understand. Maybe this is why Aisha always cried when she saw him.

“I won’t talk to you like that again. Please don’t cry, okay?”

But Aisha wasn’t crying because of what he said now. So his apology didn’t touch her heart.

“Aisha, let’s go. Let’s talk somewhere quiet—”

“No.”

Aisha wiped her tears and pushed away Ian’s hand as he tried to hold her. Her voice was soft, but firm. Ian looked stunned.

“I’m not going with you.”

Without hesitation, Aisha walked past him. Ian came to his senses only when her long hair brushed past his face. He grabbed her shoulder.

“Let go.”

“Aisha, please. Don’t do this. Let’s just talk.”

As she tried to pull away, Ian held her tightly. His anger was gone, and so was his pride. All he felt now was fear. He was terrified that Aisha might leave him for good.

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