Chapter 177
At dinner, Faye came back.
She sat down beside me, looking dejected, staring blankly at the food on the table. I wanted to ask her several times, but didn't know how to bring it up.
I guessed it was probably about Joseph.
"You've been out all the time lately. Studying?"
"Are you making fun of me on purpose?"
Faye pouted in low spirits.
Levi said again, "It's boring here. Why don't you go stay with your aunt?"
"Are you kicking me out already?"
Faye straightened up. "Even you think I'm annoying?"
Before Levi could react, tears started falling. Now he was completely confused.
He looked at me. I had no idea what was going on either.
"Faye, didn't have fun out there?"
"Blair, do you also think all I do is mess around and have fun?"
I bit my lip. "No, having fun is a talent too."
"So you're still saying all I do is play around."
"That's not what I meant. Having fun every day is great. Look at your brother and me—we're always working. How boring."
"You're all working, working... I'm the only idle one. He must think I have too much free time, hmph..."
"Who?"
"Joseph, of course."
Just like that, Faye brought up Joseph. I was really afraid Levi would blame me for this.
"Who's Joseph?"
Levi asked again. I silently prayed Faye would stop talking. I'd thought that given enough time, she'd give up, and this whole thing would blow over.
"A really handsome guy."
Faye's face instantly turned dreamy.
Levi rolled his eyes at her, seeming to think she was messing with him.
"Blair, he said we're impossible. If I keep looking for him, he'll leave this city and go somewhere I'll never find him."
Faye looked at me and started crying again.
I gently rubbed her back. "Liking someone is hard to begin with. Not every crush works out. If it can't be mutual, then just let it go."
"But feelings can be developed, right? My brother didn't like you before either."
"Who said that..."
"We're different."
Levi and I spoke at the same time. I cut him off.
Faye wiped her tears. "But I just don't want to give up. I don't get it—how am I worse than you? Why doesn't he like me?"
I didn't dare respond. If this continued, she'd expose everything between Joseph and me.
"You two are comparing yourselves?"
Faye smiled bitterly. "You already rejected him, but he still can't let go. That day, he said if things don't work out between you and my brother in the future, he'll still have Uncle Finn go to Grandpa, asking for permission to propose."
I silently thought, 'This is bad, this is really bad...'
Levi put down his utensils and stared at me. "So you're involved in this, too?"
"Don't blame Blair. He's the one who likes Blair, not the other way around."
"He went to Grandpa to propose?"
Levi pressed on.
Faye shrugged. "Yeah, but Blair wasn't willing, so it didn't matter."
"I'm not dead yet!"
Levi's eyes turned red. He was actually angry.
"See, I told you feelings can be developed, right? All that stuff between my brother and Jessa is over now, isn't it? And now he even gets jealous."
With Faye saying this, Levi's anger subsided quite a bit. Bringing up Jessa made him feel guilty.
"Blair, we're just different. But he just happens to like you."
Faye pulled the topic back. Levi was teetering on the edge of anger.
What was supposed to be a nice dinner for two had instantly turned into a truth-telling session.
I looked at the two of them, not knowing what to do.
"Faye, you're still young. You have plenty of time to find your true love. He just looks like your idol. You don't really know him. Once you get to know him, he might not be your type."
"He IS my true love!"
Faye grabbed my arm. "Blair, why don't you talk to him and tell him to give up on you?"
"How can I..."
I looked at Levi's dark expression. For a moment, I actually felt a bit pleased—maybe he was starting to care about me?
"You're ten years apart."
As soon as I finished speaking, Levi raised his hand. Faye hid behind me.
"Levi, are you going to hit someone?"
Levi put his hand down in frustration. "I'd like to know what kind of guy he is."
"You can't objectify him."
Faye was still defending Joseph.
Levi's information network was so good, yet he'd somehow missed Joseph. It seemed he didn't know about Nola's father trying to set us up.
"Don't contact him anymore."
"I'd like to contact him, but today he told me that it's never possible between us..."
"Good."
Faye stood up. "Why are you talking like this? Can't you stand to see me happy?"
Levi was annoyed by her unreasonable behavior. He felt his sister shouldn't be so cheap.
"He made his position clear. You still want to continue?"
"I already had my heart broken before the break. I've had it rough enough."
Faye covered her face and sat back down.
"He never dated you. What heartbreak are you talking about?"
"Levi!"
Faye completely broke down, saying through tears, "Don't just laugh at others now that you're happy!"
Levi was at a loss for words. These were completely different situations.
But Faye was too upset. She had no mind for anything else. Her head was full of images of Joseph coldly saying they had no chance.
"Faye, this is actually a good thing. By doing this, he's showing he has a conscience. He doesn't want to hold you back."
I comforted her. I could understand how she felt.
"Blair, he still hasn't given up on you. Why don't you make things clear with him, too?"
"I already have."
Levi was clearly looking at me differently now, but Joseph and I were completely innocent.
"Faye, the point isn't me. You need to know that Grandpa knows about Joseph and me, too. I clearly rejected him in front of Grandpa."
Faye pinched her face. "Blair, I'm sorry. I was talking nonsense. I just don't know what to do anymore."
"Pathetic!"
Levi added fuel to the fire again. This one comment made Faye burst into tears.
"Levi, you have no heart. Now that you and Blair are happy, you don't care if anyone else lives or dies."
"You're blaming me? You're actually blaming me? You're so great, aren't you? Only Blair can put up with you. Anyone else would've had enough of you long ago."
"And you're still being smug about it. You think you've got Blair wrapped around your finger, right? You take advantage of her feelings for you so you can mess around with other women."
"You didn't see yourself just now, did you? When you heard about Blair and Joseph, you were ready to blame Blair, weren't you?"
Faye blurted out everything in her heart—true or not, it all exploded in that moment.
Levi hadn't expected to be called out like this. The words were rough, but every one hit home.
All these years, it was only because of my devoted love for him that I'd been able to hold on until today. There's no such thing as feelings that can be developed—a marriage without love will fall apart on its own.