To the One Who's Only Cold to Me - Chapter 95

“Ian, you! You always do whatever you want!”

Aisha, who had been arguing for a while, suddenly shoved Ian hard and raised her voice. Even though they were in an alley, her loud tone drew some attention from passersby. Only then did Ian bite his lip and let go of Aisha’s arm.

“I told you before. Let’s not see each other for a while.”

“I don’t want to see you, Ian. I don’t even want to think about you!”

Aisha glared at him, breathing heavily, and shouted. Ian looked into her light blue eyes and was shocked.

“And stop sending flowers. It’s annoying. I don’t know what to do with them each time.”

They were the same color, the same size, the same eyes he had always seen. But they felt unfamiliar. The blind affection that was always there when she looked at him was gone.

Startled, Ian blinked quickly to clear his vision. He even rubbed his eyes, but Aisha’s gaze still looked distant and cold.

The realization made Ian’s body lose all strength. He went pale, suddenly drained of energy, unable to say a word.

“Aisha!”

The silence between Ian and Aisha was broken by Edward, who had rushed out from the restaurant. Someone had told him his sister was arguing with someone, and he had come out right away.

Edward spotted Aisha and then recognized Ian standing in front of her. His face hardened immediately. As Edward clenched his fists and walked toward them, Aisha quickly jumped forward. Ian instinctively reached out toward her as she left the alley, but then lowered his hand, as if he thought better of it.

“Edward, it’s nothing.”

Worried that things might escalate, Aisha clung to Edward’s arm. Edward gave his trembling sister a reassuring smile and gently patted her head.

“Aisha. Do I look like Daniel to you?”

“But still…”

“Go home first.”

Even though her brother spoke kindly, Aisha kept glancing back. Edward gave her a soft smile to ease her worry, then turned to Ian the moment she reached the carriage.

Ian had come out of the alley just after Aisha. Edward walked up to him, stopping a few steps away, his expression stiff.

“You.”

“Edward.”

Ian expected Edward to curse at him and tell him to stay away from Aisha. But instead, Edward looked at him with disgust and muttered under his breath as if spitting out the words.

“You ungrateful beast.”

Marissa was pacing nervously around the room, which was unusual for her. Count Parden, on the other hand, sat calmly on the couch, puffing on a cigar with his eyes closed.

“Do you still not understand how serious this is?”

Marissa, who had walked from the door to the window, glared at her unmoving husband and finally burst out. At her sharp voice, Graham slightly tilted his head.

“It’s not just the sapphire business. Everything from the ruined herbal project to the northern mines those were all Ian’s doing.”

She stepped closer to her husband and glanced at the table. Piles of documents were stacked on it, some stamped with the seal of the empire’s top intelligence guild a snake and an apple tree.

Marissa sat across from Graham and picked one up. She had read it several times but still couldn’t believe it.

After catching her breath, she spoke in a tired, defeated voice.

“I didn’t want to believe it, but Ian really…”

Her trembling voice was filled more with sorrow than anger. Graham put out his cigar in the ashtray as he watched his wife’s clenched fists shake. Though he didn’t show his emotions as clearly as Marissa, there was bitterness in his eyes too.

“Graham, do you know what’s even scarier?”

Marissa let out a deep sigh and looked at her husband. Graham folded his hands and signaled her to continue.

“Of all the projects Ian has been sabotaging, the ones hit hardest are all connected to the Lloyd family. Specifically, projects that once belonged to them but were transferred to us.”

“And he did it all so secretly, hiding every trace. If we hadn’t investigated thoroughly, we’d still think it was the old noble faction trying to interfere.”

“Marissa.”

Graham finally spoke as Marissa’s voice grew more urgent. He didn’t even glance at the documents and gave her a forced smile, trying to calm her down.

“Let’s not jump to the worst conclusion. Maybe Ian is just trying to reclaim what once belonged to the Lloyd family. You know how proud he is. Maybe he just wanted to succeed at what Cliff failed.”

“If that’s true, he should’ve told you, or at least used his own name! Would he really go behind our backs like this?”

“Graham, face it. I never suspected it either, but the timing is too perfect. Look. All these issues started right after Ian left the Parden house.”

“You’re misunderstanding. Ian left because of politics”

“Enough. How long are you going to keep ignoring it?”

Marissa raised her voice and held up one of the papers in front of her husband. Graham finally glanced down at it, pressured by her determined eyes.

“Look. These are what we asked Edward to investigate.”

“There are other problems too but look who Ian met during his trip to Rivad. That’s not all. The reports and records from that time? All gone. Someone took them.”

“If someone found out what we hid back then, it would be easy to misunderstand. The investigator Ian met especially him, you openly accused him of being the criminal. And who is Ian spending time with now that he left the Parden house? The Duke of Levantus.”

“Marissa. Ian is around the Duke because they’re in the same political camp. And the investigator he just met him while traveling…”

“No. Ian used to avoid the Duke, but at some point, they started getting close. And the trip… ever since he came back, Ian changed not just toward Aisha, but even toward you. Has he ever stayed silent during any of the recent palace meetings?”

Marissa scolded herself for ignoring Edward’s reports about Ian confronting Graham in public. At first, she thought it was just political theater. But things had grown more serious, and since it was Ian, she had let her guard down.

“I wish I were just overthinking this. But Graham the Duke is sly. You know that better than anyone. How many times has he fooled people? He sets traps quietly, and seduces others so cleverly.”

Marissa was sure the Duke of Levantus was behind Ian. She was convinced he had manipulated Ian into joining his side. She didn’t want to believe it, but the evidence from her own investigation, the guild reports, and the circumstances all lined up.

Still, Graham remained unsure. Marissa felt both frustration and sympathy. She understood. Even she, who didn’t love Ian as much as Graham did, had never imagined such a betrayal.

“Ian is the child we raised. Don’t you know him? He may want power or wealth, but he wouldn’t turn against us just for that. So what’s left? A personal grudge.”

“I said I might be overthinking, but honestly, I’m sure. Ian suspects you were behind what happened to his parents, just like everyone else did back then.”

They had trusted Ian for so long. But now, when Marissa stripped away all emotion and trust, all she felt was fear. She wasn’t angry she was terrified of the boy she had once loved now holding a knife behind their backs.

“To be honest, I’m scared. Whether or not the Duke is using him, Ian isn’t a helpless child anymore. He’s grown up. He’s a powerful noble, just like you. And now imagine someone like him turning against us with revenge in his heart.”

Marissa shook her head repeatedly, trying to brush off her fear. She told herself she was being irrational, that this was just a wild theory. But in the end, she couldn’t lie to herself. She believed she was right and needed to act.

“Graham I know it’s hard, but we need to tell Ian about what happened with the marquis couple.”

After days of agonizing, Marissa had come to a simple conclusion: If this was all a misunderstanding, the only way to solve it was to clear it up.

“Even if Ian finds out, your friend’s honor won’t be ruined. Ian’s not going to go around talking about his parents. And he’s not a child anymore.”

Of course, it wouldn’t be easy. They had hidden the truth for good reasons. But if they stayed silent and something terrible happened, it would be a tragedy for everyone.

“Graham, say something.”

“I…”

Even after all her pleading, Graham hesitated. Ian was like a son to him, someone he couldn’t bear to see hurt.

“This all happened because we kept it hidden!”

When Graham still said nothing, Marissa shouted. She could understand her husband’s feelings, but her fear had reached its limit.

“I’ve followed your wishes until now. But not anymore. Look at what that one secret has caused your arrest, our family shaken”

“It’s time he knew the truth. Is it so hard to clear up one misunderstanding? How long are you going to treat a grown man like a five-year-old? You think you’re protecting him, but you’re not. You’re smothering him because of your useless guilt!”

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