Chapter 1769


    "Well, it''s not up to me," Leah was open to the idea, "This is normal in the industry. Since I''ve


    decided to end the book on a note that''s not satisfactory to both my editor and the readers, the


    editor has the right to find someone else to rece me. It''s written in the contract I signed."


    When Maria heard that, she took a deep breath before refuting fiercely, "You can''t just ept it like


    that! How can you let someone else write your story?!"


    "If you let someone else write this story, they''ll likely change everything! You wouldn''t be able to


    express all the thoughts and emotions that you initially wanted to express with your book. It might


    even end up redirecting the book into a different direction than the original."


    "Leah, I know you put in a lot of effort to write this book. You can''t leave it just like that!" Maria


    continued.


    "I''ve already made my decision. I''m not going to write anymore," Leah had already made up her


    mind. She was utterly weary.


    This was because she suddenly came to the realization that she had to y the role of a


    hardworking student. .


    Leah decided that it was better for her to spend her spare time studying hard instead of wasting it


    on writing books. She could always start writing after graduation. By then, she would have


    completed her studies and fulfilled her duty as a student.


    However, if she were to put her studies behind her for the sake of writing, she might fail her sses


    and end up dropping out of school. If she couldn''t get her degree, she would not be able to be


    awyer in the future.


    With that in mind, she decided to stop writing.


    "I know that you must have thought deeply about this matter, and I''m certain that you''re too


    exhausted to write anything now. But have you thought about taking a short break from writing


    instead?" Maria asked.


    "Maybe you''ll be inspired to write again in a few months!"


    "You can take as much time as you want. Your readers love reading your work, so they''ll be waiting


    patiently for a revision of the book''s ending."


    "You can focus on your studies in the meantime. Take a break and rx whenever you can."


    "After you''re physically and mentally rested, you''ll definitely get some ideas on how to properly end


    the book. You can''t end it so tragically!"


    Leah smiled and kept quiet.


    When Maria did not hear Leah''s response, she started to get upset. It seemed that Leah was really


    negatively affected by her breakup with Ernest to even abandon her writing career.


    After a short pause, Maria asked carefully, "Do you need me to help you with anything? If you want


    to talk to Ernest about..."


    Before she could finish her sentence, Leah interrupted her.


    "Maria, I don''t need any of your help. Please don''t mention anything about Ernest in front of me


    anymore. I don''t want to know anything about him," Leah''s tone was soft but firm, "I''m busy with


    something right now, so let''s catch up next time, alright?"


    "Alright, I''ll call you another time," Although Maria still had a bunch of things to say to Leah, she


    knew that her friend was not in the mood to listen to her.


    More than a month had passed, but Maria could feel how deeply hurt Leah had been from the


    breakup. She was certain that Leah was not over Ernest yet.


    After she hung up the phone, Maria got up from the sofa. When she moved to head upstairs, she


    saw a tall figure standing on the staircase.


    Ernest had an impassive expression on his face. He shot a loaded nce at Maria before walking


    down the stairs in a hurry.


    From the look of his behaviour, it was obvious that Ernest had heard the conversation between


    Maria and Leah.


    Maria was certain of that. As such, just as Ernest walked past her, she grumbled, "You heard us,


    right? It seems that Leah has really given up on you. She''s not even willing to mention your name."


    "Ernest, although I don''t know what happened between you two, I honestly think that the two of you


    don''t really want to break up with each other. I''m sure that Leah didn''t want to do so, but it seems


    that you two ended up separating either way."


    Ernest turned to look at Maria. There was clear pain in his eyes as he pursed his lips and sighed, "It


    was Leah''s choice. I didn''t get any say in it."


    "You think Leah wanted this? I think it''s more likely that you forced her to do so! Have you never


    thought about why Leah would make such a decision? Don''t you think that you''re partially to me


    for it?" Maria sneered.


    Ernest pursed his lips and said nothing. He started to build mental walls around himself in defence.


    "You don''t have to act like the victim here. I honestly don''t understand you. Leah came all the way to


    London just to see you! The two of you were perfect together, but it seems that you just couldn''t get


    over your feelings for Celeste, could you?"


    "It had nothing to do with Celeste. Stop putting the me on her! You don''t have to vent your


    frustrations with Celeste out on me just because Liam used to like her," Ernest refuted coldly.


    "That was not my intention. Celeste is my friend, after all. I just can''t stand the way you''re dealing


    with all this," Maria felt indignant on Leah''s behalf. She knew very well that this matter had nothing


    to do with Celeste.


    Maria was not an unreasonable person. She knew that Celeste was not directly involved in this


    matter. Liam and Ernest were the ones to me as they started to fancy Celeste of their own


    volition. Even so, she thought it was understandable as men were more likely to adore weaker girls


    like Celeste after all.


    Maria and Leah were strong-willed women. They were built with more grit in their personalities than


    the average woman. As such, she thought that it was a given that the men would not be attracted


    by their personalities right off the bat.


    When Maria noticed how much pain Leah was in from the breakup, she could not help herself from


    acting out irrationally.


    She admitted that she had identally gotten angry at Ernest for some issues that were between


    her and Liam, but she did not think that she was being overly unreasonable. She thought it was a


    pity that Ernest and Leah''s rtionship hade to an end just like that.


    At the same time, Maria really didn''t want to quarrel with him. After taking a deep breath, she


    exined, "Ernest, I don''t want to fight with you. I just hope that you can think rationally for once.


    What kind of role did Leah y in your life? How did you feel after you guys broke up a month ago?


    Would you rather die than spend the rest of your life away from her?"


    "If you haven''t had that thought before, I suppose your feelings for each other really weren''t that


    deep to begin with. I would be able to understand why you agreed to the breakup. After all, if you


    guys weren''t truly in love, there''s no point forcing you two to be together."


    Ernest''s face darkened at that. He didn''t look at Maria but replied coldly, "You will never


    understand."


    "Look at you. You’re always acting as if the world owes you something. No one understands you at


    all. Not me, and certainly not Leah."


    "Liam'' s probably the only one who truly understands you, isn''t he?"


    "You guys bonded over your mutual crush on Celeste in the gym the other day, didn''t you?"


    "Since the both of you are in the same boat, I suppose you guys had a lot to talk about in the gym


    that day. You guys werementing over Celeste! How do you think that made us feel when we


    overheard what you had to say?"


    "I really don''t understand you. I think you''re to me for the breakup. It''s impossible for you to get


    back together with Leah now. I think she''s too good for you. You don''t deserve her."


    After saying that, Maria stormed upstairs.


    Her chest heaved up and down from anger. She had identally worked herself into a fit of rage.


    Nevertheless, Maria didn''t want to waste her breath on Ernest anymore. She knew that the man


    was stubborn, so there was no point wasting her time on him.


    Behind her, Ernest''s figure was taut and stiff.


    Maria had left without paying him any mind.


    With his back to her, he remained motionless for a long while.


    Once Maria reached her room upstairs, she mmed the door behind her.


    A momentter, Ernest took a seat on the sofa. Then, he took out his phone and started to read


    Leah''s book.


    A frown gradually made its way onto his face as he continued reading. The more he read on, the


    more furrowed his eyebrows became. His eyes filled with worry as time passed by.


    He finally understood why Maria had been so angry. The story''s ending was not satisfying at all


    since the female character lead had died.


    For some reason, he felt utterly devastated by the female lead''s death.


    His eyes prickled slightly. It was as if the girl who died in the story was Leah, and this greatly upset


    Ernest.


    He ced his phone on the sofa and rubbed the space between his eyebrows wearily. He remained


    silent for a long while.


    Soon after that, he received a text.


    He opened the text and found that it contained a series of Leah''s photos.


    He stared at one of Leah''s pictures and found that she had lost her smile. She looked heartbroken.


    It was an upsetting sight.


    Leah didn''t look well. Ever since she left London, she hadn''t been doing well.


    Ernest took a deep breath. His eyes were filled with pain. He reached out and gently caressed


    Leah''s face through the phone screen.


    Unfortunately, he was only caressing her photo.


    No matter how much he caressed the photo, it didn''t feel the same as actually touching Leah in


    person.


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    It was only then did Ernest realize just how much he missed her.