turned red, and she held Nicholas‘ shoulders tightly as she shook him.
He scoffed and shoved her hands off. “You’re the one who betrayed us first, Jasmine. Have you forgotten the money you took
from my parents?”
“How do you know Quinn wasn’t with you for your money, then?” Jasmine grew agitated. She looked at Nicholas pleadingly as
tears glimmered in her eyes. “Marrying me is the best option for us both now, Nicholas.
“Once we get married, the criticism about us will eventually pass, and we can be together like we’ve always wanted!”
He pushed her away again, saying scornfully, “You’re making my stomach turn. I’d rather have my reputation destroyed than
marry you!”
He turned and left without another look back. He didn’t wait for Jasmine to say anything else.
After returning and resting for the night, Nicholas regrouped and headed to Quinn’s place the next day. He brought her favorite dishes, too. On his way there, he rehearsed what he would say upon seeing her.
Meanwhile, Quinn was dealing with Steven’s urging for her and Gabriel to get married. “You two aren’t getting any younger, so you should get married now! We don’t have to hold the wedding yet if you guys don’t want people to know. We don’t care about
that.
“We won’t force you two to have children if you don’t want them, either. Anything goes for us as long as you two are happy.”
Quinn was about to say that marriage didn’t represent anything when Steven smiled and said, “We wouldn’t know whether you two are just putting on an act to trick us if you don’t get married.”
She swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue and looked at Gabriel, hoping he would help.
He tugged Quinn out of the apartment as Steven watched them.
“Sorry about that, Quinn. I didn’t expect Grandpa and my parents to push us for marriage so soon. I know you’re unwilling to go that far. I’ll talk to Grandpa about this, so don’t worry.” His eyes flickered gloomily as he spoke.
“Wait!” Quinn stopped him. “Doesn’t that mean you’ll have to go abroad and be with someone you don’t like, though?”
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He didn’t expect to hear that. After a while, he smiled and said, “It’s okay. I’ll think of something to deal with that.”
He’d thought this false happiness could last for a while longer, he didn’t expect to be awakened from this wonderful dream after
such a short time. He didn’t want Quinn to be put in a tough spot, though.
“If you’re willing, let’s get married, Gabe. This has to do with your happiness, and I hope you’ll think this through. Of course, I’ll immediately agree to a divorce if you meet someone you genuinely like in the future,” Quinn said.
Gabriel looked at her in disbelief. Then, joy colored his gaze. How could he be unwilling? He’d long since met someone he
genuinely liked–she just didn’t know it yet.
“Will you regret this?” he asked.
After some thought, she shook her head. “I never make choices that I’ll regret.”
Before Gabriel could say anything, a familiar voice rang out. “What about me, then? You’ve never regretted getting together with
me, right?”
It was Nicholas.
Quinn turned to look at him with a frown. She asked coldly, “Why are you here again?”
“Are you that opposed to seeing me? Anyway, why were you talking about not regretting anything with him? Don’t fall for his tricks, Quinn!” Nicholas cried.
It had only been a few days, but he’d lost weight. He looked haggard and unkempt, unlike his usual put–together self.
This wasn’t the time to worry about his appearance, though. All he wanted to know was what Quinn and Gabriel had been talking
about. Why did he feel so uneasy?
“You’ve never regretted being with me, right, Quinn? Does that mean you haven’t moved on from me? You still love me, don’t you?” He approached Quinn carefully and reached out to touch her face.
She dodged him. “I don’t regret getting together with you–it’s a choice I made. Similarly, I don’t regret leaving you. We’ve been over for a long time now; you don’t have to keep pestering me like this!”
Nicholas wanted to say something else, but Gabriel wrapped his arms around Quinn and pressed his lips to her cheek as Nicholas watched.
Silence descended upon them. The only sound Quinn could hear was the pounding of her heart.
