Filed to story: A Second Chance with My Billionaire Love
“Uh, I don’t know if it’s okay to tell you that.” Amber pursed her lips, looking awkward.
“Why not?” Liam looked at Amber’s lips and suddenly recalled the kiss they shared in the lounge before. He subconsciously pursed his lips. “Getting married or canceling the marriage involves two people. I think I have the right to know.”
‘Fine!” Amber snapped.
She became dispirited all of a sudden.
Helpless, she explained, ‘Dad didn’t agree with me canceling the marriage with you. He claimed he’d kill you if I did that. He also wouldn’t let Ms. Ellsworth and Ms. Osborne go. He couldn’t see me turn into a laughingstock because it concerned his reputation. This affair will also affect the status of my family to everyone, as well as his power.”
“I knew it! It wouldn’t be that simple. You can’t just cancel the marriage on your own. We have to discuss this properly,” Liam said.
Having found a sudden breakthrough, he became agitated and started to reason with Amber.
*Canceling the marriage is very childish. You’re making everyone a fool. We need to consider it properly. As for me … It’s fine if we go ahead with the marriage.”
“It’s fine. Calm down. I told you I wouldn’t cause you trouble.” Amber hurriedly tried to comfort Liam. “I won’t cancel the wedding, but I’ll be marrying Matt instead.”
Flabbergasted, Liam’s face fell. He became quite angry. “Nonsense! I disagree!”
“Huh?” Dumbfounded, Amber did not expect to see Liam show such a strong reaction. She asked softly, “Why don’t you agree? Isn’t it a win-win solution?”
“What? No, it isn’t! It’s nonsense!” Liam calmed his rapid breathing. He earnestly tried to advise Amber, acting like he was her senior. “You said marriage isn’t a joke. We can’t get married to people we don’t love, or we’ll be miserable. I agree with that. I know you’re mature now. But then, you said you’re going to marry Mateo. Isn’t that nonsense? You don’t like him. Why do you want to marry him?”
“I don’t like Matt, but he likes me. I think I’ll be very happy to marry a man who loves me. But if I marry the man I love, I’ll be unhappy, Amber explained seriously, her tone calm.
“I agree!” Leia eagerly snapped her fingers and hurriedly supported Amber. “We women are simple. We’ll gradually fall in love with the men who are sincere and kind to us. But men are different. They’re cold and aloof, and they don’t have a heart. Even if you’re sincere and kind to them, you can’t move them. They’ll never love you. Instead of wasting our youth for a man who doesn’t love us, we might as well marry the one who loves us and enjoy the happiness of being adored.”
Leia, though not experienced in love, was deeply affected by it.
At first, she assumed that her first boyfriend loved her the way she loved him. However, it was an utter lie. She found herself a clown. Disgust hit her every time she recalled that memory.
Her second romance involved a messy relationship with Xavier, and it frustrated her. It seemed like she could never get a happy ending with him.
In short, the similarity of both of her romances was that the men didn’t love her that much. On the other hand, she loved them passionately.
Regardless if it was a relationship or marriage, there was a difference if the man didn’t love the woman as much as she loved him. The origin of all the pain came from that difference.
For instance, a woman might hope to get a hug from her lover the moment they woke up. However, the man was full of disdain. That difference would disappoint the woman and make her feel bad. Then, she would start with a bad day.
But if a woman married a man who loved her greatly, she would be able to experience his full love and adoration for her when she woke up in the morning. Gradually, she would be affected by that love. She would find herself a wonderful and worthy person. She would grow to be more confident and happier.
“I think so too,” Amber said.
She took a deep breath and sighed, filled with emotions. She looked regretful but eager.
“I was foolish in the past. I thought love could touch others, but these days, I finally understood it. Yes, love can touch others, but it’s different between men and women. Men won’t be touched by the women’s love for them, but it’s the exact opposite for women. I know Matt has always liked me, and it isn’t like the affection between siblings. I’ve always respected him as my brother, though, so I kept my distance from him. I didn’t see him as a possible candidate as my man.”
“Matt and I have discussed. We agreed to give it a try so we could help Liam leave safely, resolve this mess, and satisfy Dad and everyone. Maybe it’ll work, and we’ll be in love with each other. Isn’t that a happy ending?” Amber said.
She was bright and enthusiastic. Finally, she looked up and saw other people other than Liam.
The moment she met Liam, she seemed to have been bewitched and could no longer see other men. She was full of love, regardless if Liam was good or bad. She felt that as long as she could be with him, she could tolerate everything.
Though Benjamin had long planned to let her marry Mateo, she had been firmly against it. She even threatened to kill herself.
“You don’t know, but Dad raised Matt as my prospective husband. Then, Liam came out of nowhere. I could think of nothing but marrying him. I told Dad that I would kill myself if he didn’t let me marry Liam. It scared him and made him adjust his plan. He regarded Liam as his son-in-law and kept Liam as the heir of the fort. I thought I could protect Liam that way. Dad wouldn’t harm him, either. But today, I realized how childish and selfish I was.” At that point, Amber looked apologetic.
“I naively thought that it would be great as long as Dad didn’t harm Liam, but I didn’t think that it would imprison Liam if he was forced into a marriage he didn’t want and to a woman he didn’t love. He’d be physically safe, but his soul would be forever stuck. I shouldn’t trap him because of my selfish desires. He should return to the world he belongs to. He should enjoy a vast world.”
“You’re very thoughtful. Yes, Liam isn’t suited to stay here. Thank you very much for letting him go,” Leia thanked Amber sincerely.
“Don’t thank me. You should thank Matt. He came up with this idea!” Amber laughed. “Matt knows Dad’s temper. If I cancel the marriage just like this, he’ll be furious with Liam. But if I marry another man Dad previously approved of, he won’t be that mad. He’ll also consider letting you guys off. Then, we’ll only mind our own business and stop disturbing each other.”
Benjamin had always been an extreme person. Previously, he wanted Liam dead, but Amber stopped him by using the excuse of her fake romance with Liam.
However, Flossie’s arrival exposed their fake romance. If Amber hadn’t quickly come up with a resolution, Flossie and Leia would end up miserably, let alone Liam. Hence, she came to a heartbreaking decision.
However, she wasn’t as carefree as she made herself to be. She didn’t feel that women could be touched by men’s love. She knew very well she would never fall in love with Mateo. Similarly, Liam would never fall in love with her.
Amber had thought things through. Loving someone meant making unconditional sacrifices. She would be happy as long as the man she loved was happy. She was willing to marry Mateo in exchange for Liam’s freedom. She felt that this was also a kind of happiness.
*Anyway, I came to reassure you guys. Just stay here like you’re on a trip. Enjoy yourselves. I’ll handle my dad. Don’t worry!”
With that, Amber left the room with ease of mind.
Only Flossie, Liam, and Leia were left in the room.
Amber was like a breeze, gently touching their faces and raising some feelings in them before leaving calmly. Liam stood where he was, silent. His poker face made it hard for others to guess his feelings.
“Wow, Amber’s great! I was wrong about her. It wouldn’t be a bad thing if she’s my sister-in-law, either,” Leia said. She watched the direction Amber had gone while perched on the sofa, her mind full of thoughts.
At first, she went to the fort full of hostility. She assumed that those rude people had used cunning means to trap Liam there. She even imagined many ways to successfully rescue Liam out of there.
After Amber’s reassurance, Leia felt a strange loss.
“Yes, Amber is great. When I came here alone and finally met Joanne, I wanted to take her away, but Benjamin wanted her dead. Amber threatened to kill herself, which gave me a chance to leave. Now that I’m talking about it, Joanne and I… We owe Amber a huge favor!” Flossie recalled the time she first came to the fort.
She was full of gratitude for Amber and wanted to repay the latter, hence she firmly insisted on attending the wedding though it was far away. She wanted to congratulate Liam and thank Amber.
“I even got a very precious wedding gift for you guys, but I didn’t expect things to end up this way… It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have come.” Flossie was full of regret, and tried her best to move her legs to get out of the bed. “Will you guys make peace if I leave? She liked you so much, but now, she wants to marry Mateo. Is she angry at you?”
‘It’s not your fault. Don’t pressure yourself.” Liam hurriedly pressed Flossie down and sighed. “She’s mature and knows she won’t be happy by forcing things. She chose to give me up. It’ll happen sooner or later. Your arrival only sped up that decision-making process. I think it’s a good thing. It’s better than seeing her regretting it after we get married.”
“What about you?” Flossie’s eyes were fierce. She stopped beating around the bush and demanded Liam, “Do you want to cancel the marriage too? Do you think it’s a mistake and want to stop it?”
“I didn’t dwell on it too much.” Liam’s eyes shone meaningfully. “Right from the start, we were just putting on a show. Later on, I thought maybe our marriage wouldn’t be that bad. She’d make a good wife. I was sure of that.”
‘So, you’re reluctant to part with her?” Flossie kept asking Liam.
She was pleasantly surprised to see him finally face his feelings for Amber. He had stopped using her as a shield. She could see that he cared about Amber, but he was too arrogant to admit it.
“No, I’m not!” Liam finally looked sober.
He shook his head as if he had come to his senses.
Standing, he said, “I’m not suffering from Stockholm Syndrome. Benjamin did so many crazy things to me! If I fell in love with his daughter, I’d look down on myself. At most, I lost something to help me control Benjamin.”
Agitation filled Leia. She grabbed Liam and asked, “What do you mean? What did that old guy do to you? He must have done a lot of bad things! If not, you wouldn’t have changed so much. You look desperate and dispirited. You weren’t like this in the past!”
In the past, Liam always bickered with Leia and drove her mad. But in short, he was a bright and optimistic man. He would make others happy the moment they met him. He was full of positivity unlike what he looked at that moment. He was like a man who had spent his time in darkness-his eyes were dull, and he seemed like one with a twisted mind.
“I don’t want a gloomy brother. I want a bright brother. I want you to be as bright and enthusiastic as you were before!” Leia said seriously, cupping her brother’s handsome but grim face.
“You’re rude and crazy.” Liam frowned and pulled Leia’s hands away. He kept talking to Flossie. ‘Plus, you don’t have to be this grateful toward Amber. There’s another reason why you and Joanne could escape. It wasn’t because Amber threatened to kill herself.”