The men knew exactly what kind of person the President of the Neal Group was, and there was no way they would discuss business with him. Something fishy must be going on!"What's the matter? Don't you believe me?" Joshua raised an eyebrow slightly."Mr. Neal, please stop joking with us. You know very well who we are, and if word gets out that you're doing business with us, it will damage your reputation," the head of the group spoke up."I sought you out precisely because I know who you are," Joshua said calmly.The men were puzzled. Joshua continued, "If you disagree, I wouldn't mind sending you all to the police station right now. I have evidence of everything you've done."The men instantly panicked upon hearing that. "We agree! We'll do whatever you say!"Joshua spoke slowly, enunciating each word clearly, "A girl will come here tomorrow. When she arrives, I'll confess my feelings to her. If she rejects me, you will kill me."The group was dumbfounded.Was he in his r
"I already told you what needed to be said, but there's one more thing I want to emphasize," Joshua reminded."Go ahead.""No matter what happens tomorrow, you must not harm that girl.""No problem, we promise," they all agreed. Joshua nodded and did not say anything else. He had them wait in another abandoned warehouse. After making sure the bodyguards were in place, he found the leader of the security team and gave him some instructions."Those people are all fugitives from major crimes. After tomorrow's events, hand them all over to the police.""Understood," the team leader, a slim and energetic man, replied."They are dangerous individuals, after all. When Cynthia arrives tomorrow, you must secretly ensure her safety. She must not encounter any accidents," Joshua said, placing his trust in no one else.The team leader confirmed, "Got it."After discussing everything, Joshua let them get to work. These bodyguards had no knowledge of Joshua's conversation with those people
With all these doubts in her mind, Cynthia quickened her pace. After a while, she saw an abandoned warehouse not far away. Checking that there was no one around, she headed toward the warehouse.Various bad scenarios started to cross her mind. Was Joshua trying to kidnap her, or was he planning to force her to do something? With these suspicions, Cynthia entered through the open warehouse gate. The interior was messy and covered in dust, with spider webs hanging from discarded items scattered on the floor.Cynthia frowned as she took a few steps inside. It was then she noticed Joshua tied to a chair, with several men standing nearby. Those men seemed strangely familiar to her."You're here." Joshua smiled as if he had been waiting for her.Cynthia took in the situation, then asked, "What's going on here?"Kidnapping?It did not seem like it, considering he had messaged her earlier, and it was his bodyguard who brought her here."As you can see, I've been kidnapped," Jo
"Stop messing around," Cynthia warned."Four.""Joshua!""Three.""Stop joking around; nothing is worth that.""Two."Ignoring her pleas, Joshua kept counting.Cynthia realized that she could not persuade Joshua as he already made up his mind. Then, she looked at the four men. With a swift movement of her right hand, a custom-made poker card appeared in her palm.Joshua persisted, "One."As expected, Cynthia refused to agree. Suddenly, he wondered if she would mourn him or feel any regret when these people inevitably killed him.The criminals saw Cynthia's silence as approval and, according to their agreement, the one with the knife lunged at Joshua's chest.Swoosh!In an instant, a powerful force swept toward them, and the assailant's wrist was cut open as the knife clattered to the ground.Seizing the opportunity, Cynthia charged forward.The criminals, now enraged and forgetting Joshua's warning, were desperate to capture her."Fuck! Grab that woman!" the leader curse
"Then why do you keep acting recklessly?" Cynthia could not understand why he was doing it.Joshua did not answer her question. He stubbornly asked, "If I had been killed by that person just now, would you have felt sorry for me?"Cynthia hesitated, unsure why he suddenly asked such a question. "I would never let anything happen to you while I'm around. If I couldn't defuse the danger, I would at least stabilize the situation," she replied, avoiding a direct answer.Her silence told Joshua that she was confident in dealing with those people. Frustration began to well up in his eyes.Not noticing his emotional turmoil, Cynthia discarded the rope and looked at him."I found you, so come back with me.""The game isn't over yet," Joshua said in a deeper voice.Confused, Cynthia asked, "What game?"Joshua stood up, acting somewhat unpredictably. "You have to choose between agreeing to date me or taking my life. Until you make your choice, the game isn't over.""Why?" Cynthia aske
"I know I deceived and lied to you, and I admit that. But I did all that because I was terrified of losing you, afraid that I wouldn't have your attention and care." Joshua let down his guard, allowing Cynthia to understand him fully.Out of fear, he had acted desperately, putting on a performance just to please her. He would pretend to be whoever she liked, fearing that she might reject him. He dreaded her dismissing the present him because of the past Joshua. He feared others intruding into her world, causing her to ignore him completely."Cynthia, make a choice." Joshua smiled gently,He acknowledged his weakness. Before being rejected, he believed that he had a chance as long as he tried hard enough, just like Matthew next door. However, after receiving such an unequivocal and instant rejection, he became fearful and understood that he had two choices: force her to be with him at the risk of his own life or let her drift further away from him, perhaps leaving him forever.Cyn
"My name is Josiah Neal, and it rhymes with your name, Cynthia," Joshua introduced himself to Cynthia, changing his name.Cynthia was taken aback.Joshua had intended to stop there, but he could not hold back. He walked over and embraced Cynthia, leaning his chin on her shoulder. "If you don't remember me, then no one will know I ever existed in this world."Cynthia hesitated, but eventually, she slowly embraced him.Feeling his body tense, she reassured him, "I will remember. Josiah rhymes with Cynthia."Joshua's heart was filled with warmth, and all those extreme thoughts and behaviors disappeared at that moment. He used to think that he wanted all of Cynthia to belong to him, but now he realized that as long as she remembered him, he only needed one embrace, a hug exclusively for him."Come back with me." Cynthia released him from the embrace. "I'll take you out and show you beautiful places and fun things.""No need. To me, you're the most beautiful scenery in this world and
Joshua struggled, holding his increasingly painful chest. They stood at the warehouse door when he said to her, "I'll die. When Sean treats me again, that's when I'll disappear."Joshua did not know how much time he had left, but he was confident he would not live forever. If Cynthia agreed to be with him, he would never accept Sean's treatment again and just be with Cynthia for the rest of his life. However, Cynthia did not like him; in that case, he saw no need to fight. He could not bear to watch Cynthia be with someone else, and he definitely could not live after she rejected him.Suddenly, Joshua froze."Or are you trying so hard to save me because you don't want him to die?"A whirlwind of emotions stirred within Joshua at the thought of this possibility."I want both of you to be safe. I don't want either of you to die, and I don't want anything bad to happen to either of you," Cynthia answered sincerely. Josiah had never done anything to harm her, and even his actions