Filed to story: A Second Chance with My Billionaire Love
*Pretending?”
Amber shook her head and turned to look at Liam, feeling sorry for him.
“I know Liam. He wouldn’t act this way if he wasn’t in great discomfort. He wouldn’t frown or cry easily even if he was hurt and started bleeding. But just now, he almost fainted. You were cruel toward him. I was wrong about you, Matt!”
Mateo’s face flushed from anxiety. He panicked, having no idea how to explain himself. “Gem, I didn’t. I..” Liam pursed his lips and tried his best to act weak. He waved softly in dismissal. “It’s fine. I’m okay. Don’t blame him. He didn’t mean it. It’s all my fault… I didn’t watch my tongue, and he got angry.”
Mateo, who had finally poured himself a glass of water, nearly choked as he drank. He instantly got to his feet and pointed angrily at Liam.
“Are you out of your damn mind? You bastard! You need to put on a better act! You provoked me first!”
“No, I didn’t.” Liam kept his head low and looked at Amber, filled with grief. “Gem, trust me. I’m not pretending. I didn’t provoke him either. I just told him I wish you could get happiness and hope he doesn’t marry you for his interests alone. I don’t know how he took offense. He leaped and strangled me. If you hadn’t come earlier, I might get killed here today.”
“Oh, great! You’re amazing at twisting the facts.” Mateo swallowed, then smashed a wine bottle. He aimed the broken end at Liam, snarling, “If you spew nonsense again, I’ll kill you right now!”
“What are you doing?” Amber became furious and spread her hands. “Come at me, then! Don’t hurt him! This is between us. You’re just jealous that I like him instead of you. You feel that I don’t want to marry you because of him, don’t you? Yeah, I don’t want to marry you now. Just beat me up. It has nothing to do with Liam!”
Upon hearing that, Mateo was stunned. He felt hurt and reluctant. “Gem… Have you made up your mind?”
‘I can’t marry you. Marriages are supposed to be holy matrimony. I can’t give up and force myself to love you,” Amber retorted firmly.
Amber took a deep breath, her eyes teary. She had long pondered over those words, but was too timid to say them aloud.
She wanted to thank Liam for repeatedly insisting that she try to understand herself and reminding her not to take her marriage so callously.
After some contemplation, Amber decided to not marry anyone.
“I won’t marry you or Liam. I just want to marry someone I love and who loves me back. Only people who love each other can get married,” she said firmly, looking dead serious.
Both Mateo and Liam were stunned.
Liam stopped acting weak; he held Amber’s shoulders and stared at her carefully. “Is that what you truly think?” “Yes!” Amber was shocked by the sudden change in Liam and subconsciously leaned backward.
‘That’s great! I didn’t say those things for nothing. You’re finally enlightened!” Liam nodded with gratification. ‘All I want is for you to understand yourself. There are many messy things and troubles in a marriage. If it isn’t supported by love, you’ll lead a very tiring and painful life. It’ll be too late when you regret it in the future. I’m glad you’ve realized that.
“Thank you.” Amber smiled as she sincerely thanked Liam. “Although you don’t love me, you’ve sincerely taught me something about love. It’s already more than enough.”
Mateo stood aside and watched them look at each other. It frustrated him.
“Don’t you see me? Or do you think I can’t do anything about you two?” he asked menacingly, his face dark. “What do you want?’ Amber snapped.
She had always been gentle, but at this moment, her face was dark.
‘Did you find fault with Ms. Ellsworth and Ms. Osborne again? I’ve already made it clear to Luneth. She decided not to punish them. You need to let them go in a few days. Let’s end it here. You can’t use them to threaten Liam again,” she reminded Mateo, her tone unyielding.
Amber was no fool and could see through Mateo’s tricks. However, she behaved prudently because she didn’t want to have a fallout with him.
Even so, it seemed Mateo no longer wanted to pretend to get along peacefully with them. Hence, she had to give him a waming.
“Humph! What do you mean? Are you choosing Liam’s side?” Mateo demanded icily, finally discarding his facade. “I care deeply about you two. I hope to see you get along well and help each other. But… It seems you don’t want to keep the peace between us. Naturally, I need to choose.”
Amber stood upright as she spoke; though petite, she looked powerful at that moment.
*Fine! Remember your choice today! Don’t cry and beg me in the future!” Mateo snarled.
With that, he smashed the bottle on the floor and left in a huff. He seemed to have made up his mind.
Mateo was gone, leaving Liam and Amber alone in the restaurant. Suddenly, awkwardness and silence overcame them. An amorous feeling hovered in the air.
Liam finally stopped acting. He chuckled awkwardly and sat up straight, then said to Amber,” Thank you for what you did just now. I wasn’t that serious. I was just acting.”
“I saw that.” Amber grinned, teasing him. “I’ve got to say, you acted well. I thought Matt almost strangled and killed you.”
“I’m not that weak. Plus, he’s not that brave either.” A sudden competitiveness gripped Liam; he purposely flexed his arms and acted strong. “Did you think Mateo could fight me? With his physique, I can defeat him with one hand!”
“Mm, I think so too. You must be stronger than Matt.” Amber nodded, giving Liam her full support. She started to feel that Flossie was right to claim that he was just a child.
“By the way, did you talk to Luneth? What did she say?” Liam asked; he knew that Luneth’s attitude was the key to quickly resolving that issue.
If she was willing to make peace, they could resolve this mess in secret. If not, things would get even more troublesome.
“Aunt Luneth was furious and felt bad for her son, but she’s aware of her husband’s temper. She’s too scared to let this accident spread. She wants to check on Grady and make sure he’s fine before we let Ms. Ellsworth and Ms. Osborne go,” Amber replied seriously as she recalled the details of her conversation with Luneth.
“Okay.” Liam nodded, now more relaxed.
Things would be easy to handle as long as Luneth didn’t insist on taking revenge on Flossie and Leia. At most, they would wait for a few days. Liam was sure that Mateo wouldn’t dare to act recklessly despite how pompous he sounded.
At last, that conflict would be resolved peacefully.
“It’s late. You should go to bed,” Amber said gently, looking out at the moon from the window.
After a pause, Liam failed to hold himself back and tried to sound her out. “Uhm… What about you?”
“What about me?” Amber looked at Liam, dumbfounded and puzzled.
“Have you decided not to marry Mateo?’
“Yeah!” Amber smiled brightly. “I don’t want to marry anyone now. All I want is to study more. If there’s a chance, I want to go out of the fort and experience the world a bit. Maybe I can love someone who loves me back.”
Previously, Amber felt that she must marry a man she loved, and only then would her marriage be meaningful. After suffering a setback with Liar, she felt that she needed to marry a man who loved her. Then, her marriage would be more relaxed and secure.
At that time, Amber suddenly realized that there was nothing happier than marrying someone who she loved and who loved her back. The key to an everlasting marriage, which was long and complicated, was not to force herself or her lover.
“It’s great you think that way, but the world might not be as wonderful as you’ve imagined…” Liam said, melancholic.
Amber seemed to have grown up and was no longer the silly young woman who was infatuated with him.
She had her thoughts about love and was no longer stubbom about marrying him. She yearned to explore the world and find a new guy. Liam felt that the girl who had always longed for him would finally leave.
‘The men out there are more wicked than the ones in this fort. There are many cunning and disloyal men. You can’t fall in love with just any guy. Someone pure like you will be lied to and bullied. Do you understand?” Liam advised her eagerly, as though he were her senior. He patted her head gently, making her want to rely on him and indulge in his gentleness. Amber lowered her head, her cheeks flushed. She was moved by how intimate he was with her, but she knew he just saw her as a younger sister. He didn’t see her as a prospective lover. She tried hard to keep her rationale and stop feeling so moved.
“I’m sure the world isn’t as horrible as you said. I saw a lot of wonderful romances happening around the world. I think I can experience one like that too.” Amber was expectant.
Although she grew up in the fort, she had a phone and loved reading magazines. She knew that there were a lot of moving couples in the world.
For example, Flossie and Halston were a famous couple. Their romance was adapted and made into a movie. Amber even cried while watching that movie.
Still, she knew she couldn’t tell Liam that she supported the romance between Halston and Flossie. Liam wouldn’t be able to handle it.
Sometimes, she pitied him, he suffered the pain of failing to win over the woman he loved. She could sympathize with him.
“Liam, cheer up! You need to leam from me. Try to put away your obsession. You can try to let go so you can get a better future,” Amber said, persuading him and also herself.
Stunned, Liam asked, “Why did you start persuading me for no reason?”