Chapter 259

"No... this isn't right..."

Victoria's face went pale in an instant. She could no longer remain seated, she rose so suddenly her chair scraped harshly against the floor, her gaze unfocused, her thoughts scattering beyond control.

She couldn't stay here with Edward any longer. She couldn't do anything that would hurt Anne, Even if she loved him… she could not become the reason Anne suffered

"I'm full. I still have a lot of drafts to finish at the studio. I have things to do, I'm leaving!"

The words spilled out too quickly, uneven and breathless. She snatched up her purse and turned sharply toward the exit, like she was fleeing from something terrible.

"Victoria!"

Edward was on his feet instantly, his chair pushed back with force as he moved after her without hesitation.

She had just reached for the door when Edward grabbed her wrist from behind, stopping her before she could disappear into the Varellia night.

"Let go of me!"

She struggled violently, twisting against him with all her strength, as though his touch itself scorched her. Her voice shook, fractured with guilt, pain, and rising panic. "Let go! Edward, you shouldn't have come looking for me! Let go!"

Edward gripped tighter. No matter how she kicked and struggled, he wouldn't loosen his hold. The obsession and pain he'd been suppressing completely surfaced at this moment. He yanked her closer, his voice hoarse with urgency.

"Why won't you even let me finish?! Why?!"

His gaze locked onto her reddened eyes, desperation in his questioning.

"Why is it always me you push away?” “Why are you always so impatient with me? But when you're with Jasper, with other people, you can be so gentle?!"

Victoria's struggling suddenly stopped in that instant.

Her thin shoulders trembled slightly, her eyes quickly welling up. She stopped avoiding and slowly turned around. Her tear-filled eyes, still burning with defiance, collided with his without retreat.

For a fleeting second, Edward felt himself caught, trapped, in that gaze, unable to move, unable to breathe.

The next second, Victoria's emotions suddenly spiraled out of control. She whipped around, flinging her arms. "Let go of me! Do you even understand what you're doing?"

Her eyes were red, her voice breaking despite her effort to hold it steady. “Have you lost your mind, Edward? Making a scene with me here, do you think this is appropriate?!"

Her chest heaved violently as she took a step back.

"You're Anne's boyfriend."

"What you're doing now, what you're saying to me, have you thought about her? This will shatter her. Completely.” “I refuse to be that person. I refuse to be the one who destroys her happiness!"

"I can't do this to her!"

Edward looked at her reddening eyes, her rigid posture, the way she held herself like she was bracing against collapse, and something inside him twisted violently.

He stepped forward again, gripping her shoulders again. The motion was forceful, yet his tone carried a barely concealed plea, urgent to the point of losing control.

"Listen to me, Victoria! Anne and I are completely over! Because we're over, I dared to come to Varellia to find you. I dared to speak my mind without holding back."

“I’m not playing with you.” “I’m not confused.” “I love you.”

His expression was sincere and serious, And yet, Victoria couldn’t accept it.

"Stop talking..." She shook her head in pain, tears finally falling, sliding down her bloodless cheeks.

She looked at him stubbornly and desperately. "If you Anne broke up… the reason is still me, isn’t it?” “Because of these feelings you have for me!"

"If Anne is hurting because of this, that's also my fault. Do you understand?"

Her voice was full of self-blame and disgust, trembling as she laid bare her darkest parts without avoiding them.

"Yes, I admit it. I was jealous to the point of losing control. You treated her so well. The two of you looked perfect together.” “I was so jealous… I cried alone at night."

"I was also hurt countless times by my mother's favoritism... I kept wondering why she couldn't love me a little more."

"But Edward, God is my witness, I never wanted to destroy Anne's happiness! She's been so good to me since we were kids, yet I've been coveting her man in my heart... I think I'm so despicable, so selfish. I've wronged her!"

"No, you're not. Victoria, look at me, "

"Then answer me!" She suddenly looked up, her tear-filled eyes boring into him. It was the gaze of someone standing at the edge, one step away from breaking completely, yet refusing to retreat.

She threw out the deepest and most painful question from her heart. "Why do you think you like me?"

Edward's breathing hitched. His lips parted slightly, but no sound came out immediately.

"Think about it carefully, Edward."

A hollow, self-mocking smile tugged at her lips, even as tears fell faster.

"From the first time we met, you thought I was troublesome, willful, Nothing but a burden.” You hated that I drank, hated that I wore short skirts, you resisted me getting close to you. Even accidental contact made you pull away like I was something filthy."

That sentence was like a thorn, stabbing straight into Edward's mind.

He imagined her current retreat while uncontrollably being dragged back by memories to the villa in Asteria City.

He had coldly knocked away the coffee she brought him, letting the liquid splash on the back of her hand. Back then, she was just like now, biting her bloodless lower lip, swallowing her hurt, and silently crouching down to clean up the broken pieces.

He had also scolded her as a bitch in front of everyone to defend Ophelia. That day she stood in the pouring rain, trembling all over from the humiliation of being misunderstood, with nowhere to escape.

And in the illusion he'd created, the person he loved most was being tortured by the same guilt to the point of breaking.

"You targeted me at every turn, stabbing me with the coldest words."

Victoria's voice pulled him back from the tearing memories to the present. She spoke word by word, forcing the question in front of him.

"And now you’re telling me you love me? Edward, do you even understand your own feelings? Is it love? Or just a fleeting emotion, because you grew tired of perfect Anne? Something mixed with nothing more than possessiveness?!"

Edward froze in place at the question.

He opened his mouth, but his throat felt blocked. He couldn't say a word.

How could he explain?

He couldn't explain from which moment he started being unable to look away from this girl who always gave him headaches.

He also couldn't explain that those harsh rebukes and avoidance back then were actually his clumsy way of covering up his loss of control, his attempt to suppress desires that shouldn't have appeared.

He couldn't even explain what kind of deep yet twisted feelings were hidden in those repeated emotions, that cold violence of pushing her away then pulling her back.

Just like Evan said, loving someone needs no reason.

And his silence only made Victoria more certain of her judgment.

His not speaking was an admission.

After all… no one ever chose her.