Chapter 196
"She's my friend, just got back from abroad, so we arranged to have dinner together."
"Your ex-girlfriend, right?"
Lily's words hit the nail on the head.
Ryan's expression stiffened slightly, and after a moment he nodded gently, "Yes, we dated for a while in college."
Lily smiled, "Pretty cute girl."
"We broke up ages ago, haven't seen each other in years, haven't even been in touch by phone. We're just regular friends now."
Ryan explained while reaching out to take Lily's hand.
Lily pulled her hand away, her tone cold and sarcastic, "Friends? I don't think you can be friends with an ex after breaking up. She clearly still likes you."
"First love, you know - hard to forget, and old feelings can easily come back. You two..."
"No!"
Ryan quickly cut her off, "Don't be mad. If it bothers you, I just won't contact her anymore."
Hearing this, Lily's eyes grew more complicated, and her heart felt even worse.
As if she was the one being unreasonable.
She opened her mouth, and what finally came out was, "You should go. I want to rest."
Ryan stopped her, his tone anxious, "I've already explained everything. Are you still going to be like this? Everyone has exes these days, and you have one too! If we both get hung up on this stuff, how are we supposed to make this work?"
Lily looked up at him, the corners of her eyes red enough to make one's heart ache.
Yes, they both had exes, and she had an ex-boyfriend she'd been with for five years!
Ryan had dinner with his ex-girlfriend, and she felt terrible about it - so what about Ryan?
Didn't he feel bothered just thinking about Chris's existence?
Her heart filled with sadness, suffocating, but she couldn't find an outlet.
The two fell into a deathly silence.
After a moment, Lily said softly, "I'm being petty. I'm sorry."
Ryan frowned, "I'm not asking you to apologize."
"Right, but I'm still sorry. My fault."
Lily listlessly dropped this line and headed upstairs.
Ryan tried to follow, but she blocked him, "Whatever it is, we can talk tomorrow. I just got back today, haven't even cleaned up at home, and I'm really tired. I want to rest."
Ryan's outstretched hand froze in mid-air.
Lily hurried into the elevator, completely shutting Ryan's gaze out.
The moment she got home, Lily leaned against the door and slowly slid down to the floor, tears falling silently.
She gasped for air, but even her breathing trembled.
Lily went to the set to oversee the final shooting.
Earlier, Ryan had been holding things up, so this series still hadn't finished filming.
On set, even when they ran into each other, Lily politely called him "Mr. Scott."
Ryan tried to say something several times, but Lily didn't give him any chance to talk, turning and walking away.
Their strange behavior quickly caught other employees' attention.
"What's going on with Lily and Mr. Scott?"
"They must have had a fight. Neither of them is talking."
"Wonder how long these two can last?"
"Give it a rest. It's not that easy to marry into a wealthy family. These kinds of relationships are just flings - everyone should just watch for fun, don't take it seriously."
"But I think Mr. Scott really likes Lily."
"Not liking her wouldn't have gotten them together, but so what? What's Mr. Scott's family worth? People at their level care about matching backgrounds when they get married."
Lily stood outside, hearing every word of this.
So her relationship was just a joke for everyone to watch.
After work, they got into their separate cars.
They arrived at the restaurant they used to frequent.
Ryan smoothly ordered several dishes Lily loved.
The food came quickly, and Ryan took the initiative to serve her food.
Lily's expression remained indifferent, with a hint of sadness hidden in her eyes.
No one spoke at the table.
When they were almost done eating, Lily put down her utensils and said softly, "Let's break up."
Ryan looked up in shock, staring at her in disbelief, "Break up again? Lily, are you addicted to breaking up? What are you making a fuss about now?"
Lily lowered her eyes, hiding her sad emotions, "I'm not making a fuss. The previous times I said let's break up, deep down I didn't want to. You're really too good, so good that I couldn't bear to let go."
"But this time I'm serious."
She lifted her head, "I've thought it through carefully during this time. There are too many problems between us, problems that can't be solved. When we have conflicts later, those problems will be what breaks us."
"I don't want us to reach that point. Better to end it now while we can, so at least when we think of each other in the future, they'll be good memories."
"I know you've been deliberately holding up the final shooting. It's really not necessary. Dragging it out like this is hard on everyone."
Lily finished calmly, her heart feeling like it was bleeding.
Ryan's face darkened, "Are you done?"
Lily nodded.
Ryan clenched his fists at his sides, his voice cold, "I don't agree to break up."
Lily said, "This is between the two of us. Your disagreement doesn't matter. You can't be this controlling."
"I'm controlling?"
Ryan gritted his teeth and laughed coldly, "Who's really being controlling? You're the one suddenly wanting to break up unilaterally! Did you ask me? You're just informing me. I don't even have the right to refuse, do I?"
Lily's body trembled. She felt Ryan had a point, but what could she do?
She really couldn't hold on anymore.
Lily's voice was very soft, as if a gust of wind could blow it away, "Ryan, just let me go, okay?"
Pain flashed in Ryan's eyes, but he still stared at her intently, "But I don't understand why? Is it because of my ex-girlfriend..."
"No."
Lily quickly interrupted him, "It's us... no, mainly it's my problem."
She felt too insecure.
She was afraid Ryan would mind her five years with Chris, and equally afraid that someday in the future, Ryan would get tired of her and fall in love with someone else.
If that day really came, she felt she would die.
So caring deeply was really troublesome.
Every day she lived in anxiety, afraid of this, worried about that.
Ryan's voice grew hoarse, "So you're still thinking about Chris. You're so eager to break up with me so you can go back to being his mistress?"
Lily frowned, "It has nothing to do with him."
"How does it have nothing to do with him? You still love him! Can five years of feelings just be cut off like that? If it's not because of him, why do you want to break up with me? You're still thinking about him, aren't you? What about me? What am I to you? A tool to cure loneliness? Use and throw away?"
Ryan shouted these words.
His eyes were bloodshot, staring hard at Lily.
Lily's face went pale, her voice trembling, "It's not..."
But Ryan didn't listen to her anymore. He gave her a cold glance, turned and left the restaurant.
Lily collapsed weakly into her chair, tears pouring out in big drops.
I was leaning on the couch watching TV with Jason when I suddenly got a call from Lily.
"Lily?"
"Sue, come out and drink with me."
Lily's voice was hoarse.
I paused, immediately sensing something was wrong.