“Alana, Stephan isn’t just anyone. He’s the heir to the Hudson family, a man of noble standing, surrounded by a bevy of women and countless temptations. How could he possibly be faithful to you?”
Alana frowned. “Cole, just because you can’t do something doesn’t mean no other man can. I trust Stephan.”
For a moment, Cole wanted to pry open her skull to see what her brain was made of, how could she be this foolish?
“Alana, he might not be worth your trust.”
Alana pressed her lips together. “I know very well whether he’s worth my trust or not.”
Stephan furrowed his brow. “What exactly do you know? If you really knew, you wouldn’t still be with him. Stephan is far too far above your station; you two aren’t a match at all.”
Alana found it somewhat amusing. Darla had said she and Stephan weren’t a good match, and now Cole was saying it again.
Why did they both have to keep reminding her, over and over again, that she and Stephan weren’t a good match?
But was whether she and Stephan were a good match something they could decide with a few words?
“You say I’m not a good match for him, but who am I a good match for then? You? By your own logic and actions, how are you any different from what you think Stephan would do to me?”
“I...” Cole was at a loss for words and couldn’t come up with a rebuttal.
That was true.
From the start, he’d known the gap between him and Alana was too wide, and he’d assumed his parents wouldn’t approve, so he’d planned to be with her just for fun.
And that was exactly what he did. Always leaving her by the side to be with other women.
It was until she left him that he realized just how important she was to him. At the very least, during the time she was gone from his life, he wasn’t happy.
Every day, he wondered: Was it that easy for her to cut him off?
Didn’t she love him anymore?
What did he really mean to her?
After all, she had seemed so fond of him before, wanting to be with him every single moment.
But then she cut him off completely; he didn’t even have a chance to contact her.
Alana paused for a moment before continuing, “Cole, I don’t want to say any more than that. I’m leaving now. You do as you please.”
Seeing Alana about to leave, Cole couldn’t help but reach out and grab her wrist.
“Lana, don’t go...”
She frowned at him. “Cole.”
His Adam’s apple bobbed as he looked at her with intense, heartfelt sincerity. “Lana, I really don’t want to let you go. It wasn’t until I lost you that I realized how important you are to me. I’m not as magnanimous as I thought I was. Every time I see you with another man, I get jealous, I care deeply, and I even go crazy.”
“Just thinking about you laughing in another man’s arms makes my heart ache so much I can barely breathe!”
“I suffer every single day. Do you understand that?”
Alana shook her head. “Cole, I don’t understand, and I don’t want to. I’m begging you, spare me, and spare yourself, okay? Find a woman who’s right for you, someone of your social standing, someone who’s your equal, and someone who loves you. Okay? Don’t keep wasting your time on me.”
Cole’s breath caught. “But I want that woman to be you. No one but you.”
Alana still shook her head. “Cole, why are you still doing this? Don’t think that hearing these words from you will move me. In fact, I’m not moved at all. All I feel is a heavy burden. Your feelings only make me feel trapped and suffocated.”
“I don’t like you acting this way. I’d rather you were the way you used to be...the person who didn’t give me any attention.”
Cole’s eyes darkened with pain as he asked, unwilling to accept it, “Lana, if I went back to the way I used to be, would you still fall for me?”
Could it be that she had fallen for the Cole who didn’t care about her?
Alana felt helpless. “Cole, why don’t you understand? Things between us can’t go back to the way they were. Don’t hold on to that. If I don’t like you, I don’t like you. No matter how you change now, my feelings for you won’t change at all.”
Cole asked bitterly, “Is there really no possibility at all?”
She nodded earnestly. “Really. Let me go, and let yourself go too.”
“Holding on to this only inconveniences both of us.”
Cole instinctively tightened his grip on her wrist.
Alana looked at him, her expression unchanging, as if not a single ripple of emotion stirred within her.
Cole’s grip tightened and loosened, loosened and tightened.
He wrestled with himself internally, unable to find an answer.
Alana remained still. She sincerely hoped Cole would truly come to terms with the fact that their relationship was impossible, and then let go of her hand on his own. Just as the two stood locked in a standoff.
There was a click.
The door to Room 2009 next door swung open.
A tall, slender figure slowly emerged, appearing as if out of thin air, gradually revealing its form.
Alana and Cole instinctively looked over.
Her eyelid twitched violently.
Cole, however, couldn’t help but furrow his brow. “Stephan?”
Stephan wore a black deep-V nightgown, walking at a leisurely pace, his handsome face devoid of any expression.
His gaze swept over Cole’s hand clasping Alana’s, and the corners of his mouth twitched slightly, his eyes icy cold.
“Cole, the homewrecker, holding my girlfriend’s hand right in front of me...that’s not right, is it?”
Alana was startled by the dangerous glare Stephan directed at her and instinctively pulled her hand away from Cole’s grasp.
But Cole’s grip was too tight; she couldn’t break free at once.
Seeing this, Stephan gave a cold smile, clenched his fist, and strode forward, launching a fierce punch straight at Cole’s face.
Seeing this, Cole immediately let go of Alana’s hand, took a few steps back, and dodged Stephan’s punch.
Stephan seized the opportunity to grab Alana’s hand, pulling her into his embrace.
His large hand clasped her waist, shielding her firmly.
He raised his gaze to Cole, a mocking smirk playing at the corners of his mouth.
“Cole, you dare to steal my woman? Let’s see if you’re even worthy.”
Cole saw the defiance in Stephan’s eyes, and his anger flared instantly.
How dare he?
How dare Stephan, of all men, so effortlessly steal Alana’s heart?
Where, exactly, had he gone wrong?
Perhaps it was a deep sense of resentment.
He swung his fist and charged at Stephan without hesitation.
Stephan’s ’s eyes darkened; in an instant, he raised his hand and caught Cole’s fist barehanded.
Cole’s eyes turned crimson as he strained with all his might.
“Aaaah!”
“Stephan, Alana is mine...I haven’t lost to you!”
But to his surprise, his all-out strike failed to budge Stephan even an inch; instead, Stephan clamped down on his fist with an iron grip.
Immediately after, Stephan swept his leg upward, delivering a vicious kick to Cole’s knee.
The movement was clean and precise, yet brutal and ruthless.
Cole let out a pained groan as his knees buckled, and he instantly collapsed to the ground.
Without hesitation, Stephan shook off Cole’s grip and delivered another kick to his lower abdomen.
The powerful impact sent Cole flying through the air; he tumbled several times before crashing to the ground.
Stephan had been far too brutal.
Cole felt darkness wash over his vision; his stomach cramped in agony. He opened his mouth and let out a wail as he spat out a mouthful of blood.
Stephan expression remained cold as he moved to strike Cole’s again.
When Alana saw Cole coughing up blood, her heart skipped a beat. She quickly grabbed Stephan’s hand, shaking her head to stop him.
“Enough! Stop hitting him. Let’s go.”
If this continued, someone might end up dead.
Stephan’s knuckles twitched, and his icy gaze fixed on Cole. “Cole, for my girlfriend’s sake, I’ll let you off this time. But this is a one-time exception. If you ever bother my woman again, next time, I’ll send you straight to meet the King of Hell.”
Speaking in a cold tone, he grabbed Alana’s shoulders and pulled her into his room.
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