Chapter 171


    I looked at Aaron in surprise; I didn’t expect him topromise. I felt like a terrible partner. How could I


    bear to refuse him?


    I pursed my lips and stretched out my ring finger. Aaron’s eyes instantly overflowed with joy, and I


    watched as he slipped the ring on my finger with his trembling hands and kissed my hand reverently.


    I still couldn’t smile. When he looked up and noticed my expression, the excitement in his eyes


    disappeared in the blink of an eye. His expression seemed totally lost.


    The bright red rose petals on the ground did not fit the current atmosphere. I could only imagine the joy


    and excitement in Aaron’ s mind as he decorated this ce. I had let him down, and my heart was filled


    with guilt.


    I was certain that Aaron loved me, I just didn’t know how to respond.


    Aaron frowned bitterly, stood up, and shoved the bouquet of roses back into my arms. He lowered his


    head to give me a gentle kiss on the cheek. “Babe, don’t worry too much about it. I don’t want you to be


    stressed; I just want you to be happy.”


    On the way back, I kept fiddling with the engagement ring. It had a stunning heart-shaped pink


    diamond kept in ce by a shiny rose gold setting.


    I recalled the Christmas event where that rich kid Jason told me he saw Aaron bid on a rough diamond


    worth $8 million at Sotheby’s.


    That diamond couldn’t be the one sitting on my finger right now… could it?


    My mood started to sour again at the possibility,


    Aaron was driving, and his right hand reached out to hold my stiff left hand. His fingers caressed the


    pink diamond ring, and the corners of his lips raised in a sad smile. “Olive, please don’t me yourself.


    This is all my fault. I should’ve thought about it more.”


    I raised his hand and gave it a kiss. “No, this was all my fault.”


    The corners of his lips twitched and he nced at me through the reverse mirror. “Olive, you look


    absolutely beautiful today.”


    I shifted in my seat ufortably. “Thanks.”


    This flowy white dress will probably just bring back bad memories. I shouldn’t wear this kind of dress


    again.


    The car drove on in dead silence, and the beating of my heart slowly returned to its normal pace.


    The scene of the proposal came back to my mind. At the start, he was brimming with excitement and


    happiness. I yed the memory over in my mind like a slow-motion movie.


    I looked down at the beautiful ring on my finger.


    Aaron stayed silent as well. I noticed that his brow was constantly furrowed and his lips were pursed


    into a stiff line. He didn’t seem to be in a good mood either.


    I licked my lips and leaned in close to whisper to Aaron. “You know Aaron, you look stunning today as


    well, like a fairytale prince.”


    He was wearing a in white suit and a tie, with his hair perfectlybed back with some hair gel.


    When I first saw him in that valley, I was blown away. He looked


    like a magical prince living in the forest. He was so handsome I wondered if he was just a hallucination.


    Aaron let out a chuckle. “Thanks.”


    I could tell that Aaron was racking his brain to find something to talk about. He didn’t want that awkward


    silence to return.


    The longer he let the silence linger, the more anxious I got. I knew. he didn’t want me to be unhappy,


    but the thought of letting him down just made me feel guilty.


    When I got back to Waterfall Vi in the evening, Cinder could instantly tell something was wrong. She


    poked Eliott’s arm. “Let’s eat first.”


    Eliott had dinner delivered from a restaurant, and the food was kept warm in the oven.


    He nodded in response and headed into the kitchen.


    “I can help set it up.” Aaron casually brushed a strand of hair out of his face and followed Eliott.


    The two quickly brought out the meal, and Cinder gave me a concerned nce before raising her voice


    to ask, “Would everyone like some wine?”


    I really needed some alcohol to calm my nerves, so I replied, “Please pour me a ss, dear.”


    Aaron poured himself a ss as well.


    Even though our actions were perfectly normal, the atmosphere was very strange.


    The table was dead silent as Cinder’s gaze scanned over Aaron


    and me. She cut into her steak and her lips parted as if she wanted to ask something.


    Eliott cut her off with a nudge to her arm. He grinned, slicing into a piece of cheese sausage. “This new


    French restaurant is pretty good.”


    “I agree.” Cinder took another bite of her steak before turning to ask me, “Olive, what do you think?”


    I shot up in surprise at the mention of my name. “Um, yeah, it’s pretty good.”


    With that, I took a sip of the wine. The rich, fruity aroma was followed by a slightly sweet aftertaste


    running down my throat, but I wasn’t really in the mood for the elegance of red wine.


    Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that Aaron also took a sip of his wine. His adam’s apple bobbed


    as he gulped down a sip. “The wine is good as well.”


    “Yeah.” I agreed and went back to cutting my steak.


    Aaron seemed like he wanted to say something else, but when he turned to look at me, he said nothing


    and turned his eyes back to his food after just a moment. Aaron ate his food in silence for the rest of


    the dinner.


    I also ate my food like I was chewing wax.


    It was only after Aaron left that my tense posture finally rxed.


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    Cinder shooed Eliott into the living room before taking a seat beside me. With her voice full of concern,


    she asked, “Olive, what’s wrong with you two? You’ve been acting strange since you came back. What


    happened with Aaron today?”