Adro returned Grace's smile. After working together for several days, Grace was finally willing to look at his face for more than ten seconds. "My career is going well."
"I’m happy for you. I see you're doing a lot of commercials and films. Congratulations," Grace said.
"You noticed?" Adro's smile widened, and his shoulders lifted.
Clearing her throat, Grace shrugged. "Of course. You keep appearing on TV and the internet."
"Oh, that's true. Haha..." Adro scratched the back of his head.
"By the way, about that incident, I truly apologize." Adro continued. "All this time, I've been introspecting myself. I realized that I was way out of line with you. I shouldn't have forced my feelings on you like that."
Sighing deeply, Grace responded, "I also apologize for being so rough to you, but I still believe it was the best decision for both of us. I hope we can now put the past behind us."
Adro nodded. "I agree. We're both professional w
"You... that bastard," Sean hissed before giving a cynical chuckle. "What wrong have I done to meet you here?" "I come here with my friends," Adro explained, then shook his head briefly before glancing at the woman in Sean's embrace and returning his focus to him. "Running into you here, there's something I want to talk about." Chuckling, Sean replied with a disdainful tone, "Do you think I'm willing to waste my time on trash like you?" "Should I beg?" Adro asked, not at all provoked by Sean's insults. Seeing Adro's face and his hurried demeanor as if something crucial was at stake, Sean clicked his tongue before turning to his girlfriend. "Babe, can you go back to the table alone? There's something I need to discuss with him." "Just don't take too long, okay?" the black-haired girl replied before leaving them. Outside the club's back door, Adro faced Sean, who stared at him in disgust. "Why did you break up with Grace? Were you just playing with her?" Opening his folded arms,
Coldness crept up Grace’s spine. She could only hang her face, staring at the floor."You are a liar."Adro's words felt like a knife stabbing Grace's heart. However, her body remained stiff."From the beginning, I knew you were a liar. You always said you're fine when you're not; you always covered up how people treat you unfairly; and worse, you also concealed your feelings with lies. But why did I still fall for it?"Holding back her tears, Grace made a sound from her dry mouth: "I'm sorry. I...”"I don't need your apologies." Adro replied in firm intonation, "I need you to be honest. What's the point of apologizing for your lies if you'll lie ag
Compared to facing rejection when expressing his feelings, for Adro, it was even more challenging when he had to restrain his feelings.It's hard to believe that all this time, Adro's feelings were not unrequited. When he couldn't hold back from making Grace his own, it turned out that she was desperately holding back her feelings to protect the heart of a woman she didn't even know."Oh my God, Grace, I can't even distinguish between kindness and naivety because of you," Adro said while stroking her hair. "All this time, you held back your feelings when you knew that I loved you. How could you manage to do that?"Although Adro's embrace felt like heaven, Grace pulled her body away. She wiped her tears and spoke, "Now I've explained it to you. No more lies, and nothing is hidden from you. I hope you understand why we can't be together.""No," Adro replied, keeping both of Grace's arms within his grasp. "Instead, because I already know the truth, I'm more
Grace's eyes briefly widened as the elevator doors closed. She glanced at Adro, who still wore a faint smile. "Did I really look so out of place?"Adro shrugged his shoulders. "I just sensed you looked a bit tense, yet I wanted you to feel comfortable coming here."Blushing, Grace cleared her throat and replied, "Well… This is such a luxurious building."Adro nodded. "I know. But it doesn't feel as comfortable as being in your home.""Nonsense," Grace scoffed. "How could anyone feel uncomfortable in such a penthouse? Not just anyone can live in a penthouse.""I was born and grew up in a palace that was much more luxurious and grand than this, yet I never
Grace's eyes widened as she discovered Adro was peacefully sleeping beside her, holding her close. Adro’s bare upper body prompted Grace to sit up and check her body under the thick blanket. A long sigh escaped as she found herself still clothed. Assisted by the moonlight streaming through the nearby large window, Grace realized they were on a spacious bed. Meanwhile, almost the entire room remained dark. 'How did I end up here? I don't remember anything.' Grace thought. "Grace, what's wrong?" Startled by the heavy, raspy voice, Grace turned to find Adro opening his sleepy eyes. His crystal blue irises seemed to glow in the darkness from reflecting the light beamed in from the window. "Why am I here, Adro?" Grace asked. "Hm?" Adro furrowed his brow. "You fell asleep, so I carried you to bed. You drank too much beer." "We... slept together?" Grace hesitated. Rising to his seat, Adro replied, "I don't see anyone else here but us." Grace fell silent, her face a little lower. The
"Whose son?" Keneth furrowed his brow. Then, he clicked the speaker menu on the screen on the car dashboard.Listening in on Keneth's brief conversation, Adro and Grace fell silent while exchanging glances."She said Adro was a woman’s son who disappeared in a car accident six years ago. She kept pleading with us to meet Adro after seeing him on TV." The woman on the phone explained."Does she have any proof? What's her name again?" Keneth asked."Eve Marviez. She has photos with Adro, and I believe you should see them. Now, Eve has no immediate family and is somewhat ill.""That's impossible. I don't have family here." Adro said to Keneth.
"Even identical twins don't look as much alike as this," Eve said, reaching for Adro's hand and collapsing onto her knees. "You are my Febian. Have you forgotten? Have you been brainwashed?"Adro shook his head, still wide-eyed. "This is impossible.""Are you sure?" Merhit asked, trying to help Eve stand. From the beginning, she suspected that Adro might be Eve's real son due to their striking resemblance."I am. This is the first time I saw her." Adro replied."You are my Febian! Please! Why are you doing this to your own mother?" Eve exclaimed, struggling as the nurses tried to make her stand up.As Adro continued to deny it, Eve became more hysterical until she was short of breath, and pain gripped her chest."Eve, are you okay?" Merhit asked, noticing Eve's difficulty in breathing. Then she turned to the other nurse. "We need to take her to the medical room.""Alright." The man nodded and lifted Eve's frail body out of the visitat
"Wh-what do you mean?" Adro widened his eyes."We've promised to be together forever. No matter what happens, we have to stay together. This time, let me be the one to fight for you." Grace spoke."Grace… are you sure?" Adro held both of her shoulders."The only precious thing I have now is you, Adro—not a career, not money, or anything else. I love you so much, and I'm willing to lose everything just to be with you."Adro's lips quivered. He clenched his jaw and dropped his head. "I wish I could stop you from doing this. I'm so sorry, Grace."Smiling, Grace warped Adro inside her arms. "You don't need to apologize. From the beginning, you had to go back because you had responsibilities in your original world. I used to have nothing to fight for. All I knew was to stay alive until I died of old age. But now I have you, Adro. And remember: Helping you return is my pro