Find me in your labyrinth (Stella and Jonathan) novel Chapter 2743

He and his grandfather had taken her away from the orphanage, away from her dim childhood.

*

Estelle continued walking. As she passed through the corridor and neared the entrance to Sunset Villa, she saw a man sitting under the eaves.

Manley was leaning his head back against a pillar. He'd been smiling ever since he saw her. The faint smell of alcohol hung in the air, and his handsome, charming eyes were tinged with a light drunkenness.

“I ran into a few friends at the banquet and just barely managed to get away. I was wondering if you’d already be asleep.” Manley squinted, his smile as bright as a summer flower. “It seems fate is on my side. I was afraid I’d have to wait here all night.”

Estelle stood before him. “Can you even walk? Should I have someone haul you back to your room?”

“I waited for an hour. Just give me ten minutes, please?” Manley stood up and grabbed her wrist. “Sit down. Just ten minutes.”

Estelle sat across from him, also leaning against a pillar, and looked up at the moon hanging high in the sky.

Manley plucked a blade of grass and stuck it in his mouth, his posture carefree and untamed. His beautiful eyes were fixed on Estelle as he said with a slow smile, “It would’ve been so much better if you were ugly! If you weren’t so beautiful, back when Lucille Hammer told me to seduce you, no amount of money would have made me sell myself out.”

Estelle looked at him, her delicate face serene. “So, your feelings for me are no different from how you felt about all your ex-girlfriends. Stop trying to paint yourself as some devoted lover. Go find another woman, fall in love, and you’ll discover your forest is still as vibrant and lush as ever.”

“Lush and green?” Manley raised an eyebrow, a roguish beauty to his face. “Are you making a dig at me?”

Estelle’s eyes curved into a smile. “Slip of the tongue.”

Manley shot her a sidelong glance, ignoring her comment. He looked up at the ornate red lanterns and began talking to himself. “When did I fall for you? I’m not really sure myself. It just sort of happened. Seeing you with Jonathan… even though I said those things to provoke him, I was truly jealous.”

“I even tried dating someone else after that. What was her name again?” Manley frowned, trying to remember.

He snapped his fingers in realization, his eyes hazy. “Nanette Waldo!”

Manley was.

Estelle watched as his reddened eyes filled with tears. With a single blink, they streamed down his face. In moments, his fair, bewitching face was covered in tears, reflecting the moonlight and the lanterns. It was a heart-wrenching beauty, like a snow lotus on a mountain peak being torn apart by the wind.

She had never seen anyone cry like that. There was no sadness in his expression; he was even trying to curve his lips into a smile to make her laugh, but huge teardrops just kept falling.

He didn't seem to feel them himself. His watery, hazy eyes held only her reflection.

Estelle sat quietly, letting him wipe at her dry cheeks.

When he finally realized his vision was still blurry, no matter how much he wiped, he let his hand fall in defeat and called out in a raw voice,

“Estelle!”