The Second Life of a Discarded Heiress

The girl stood in silence, her lips parted as if to speak, but in the end, she said nothing.

The man pressed on. "I... I know your last relationship hurt you so deeply you haven't been able to move on. But Ady, I'm not him. I would never hurt you the way he did. You can't just shut me out, not even give me a chance. It's been five years—you must have noticed how I feel by now. Even if you refuse to take a single step toward me, that's alright. I'll walk all hundred steps to reach you."

A flicker of emotion crossed the girl's face.

He must have noticed, because he shut his eyes for a moment before speaking again. “Ady, I love you. I want to marry you. Can you give me a chance-let's try dating, with marriage in mind?"

She hesitated. Of course she liked him; how could she not? But the scars from her past relationship left her afraid-afraid to open up, to step into something new.

The crowd below erupted into applause and cheers.

"Go for it! Give him a chance!"

"Don't let a failed relationship make you doubt yourself!"

"You deserve to be loved!"

"What's there to be afraid of? You only live once-make the most of it!"noveldrama

"Exactly! No matter what happens, just be happy!"

"I believe you two will get married."

"It's okay to be brave, you might just find happiness!"

The cheers from the onlookers sent a wave of encouragement through both of them. Suddenly, the girl's hesitation melted away.

She blinked back tears, turned to the crowd, and called, "Thank you, all of you."

Then she looked up at the man on stage. "Raymond, I like you too. Let's be together."

Life is too short to hide in your shell; so what if you make a mistake? You can always start over. But you can't spend your life running away.

Sebastian watched the couple on stage, listening to the crowd's

encouragement, and something

inside him shifted. Content Belongs to

Maybe it was time for him to be brave, too.

Just then, a sleepy voice snapped him back to reality.

"Time to go home." Citrine mumbled as she tried to stand up.

with ~~

Sebastian immediately got up with her.

, sit back down," he said gently pressing her should saide

guide her into her seat.

"I don't want to sit. I want to go home." Citrine was drunk, stubborn, and utterly uncooperative.

"Alright, alright, we'll go home." Sebastian gave in, soothing her as best he could. With her mind foggy, Citrine leaned on Sebastian as they made their way out. After a while, she suddenly stopped.

"What's wrong?" Sebastian asked when she didn't move.

"I don't feel good," Citrine muttered, crouching down on the spot.

"Is it dizziness? Nausea?" Sebastian's face was tense with worry.

Citrine, barely coherent, managed a small nod.

He glanced around and spotted a bench nearby, then gently helped Citrine over and sat her down.

"Just rest here for a bit. I'll go get you some hot water."

She nodded obediently, reassuring him enough to leave her side for a moment.

Just then, Hastings happened to see

re

Citrine slumped on the bench.

Wut a second thought, he

over.

"Citrine, why are you out here alone? Where's that jerk Sebastian? He just left you here by yourself?"