From Ruin to Reign Leander's Unbreakable Will novel Chapter 327

From Outcast to Overlord The Unyielding Heir

Chapter 327 A Lifetime of Splendor

“Try wearing this instead.”

Leander turned to Daphne, his gaze soft and calm. Damian was the top heir of Goldenridge, and Seawell Group was the city’s most powerful trading company. When Leander handed Damian’s gift back, many of their classmates were already stunned.

Then, Leander reached into his pocket to pull something out. Everyone expected some extraordinary gift, maybe something dazzling. Instead, he revealed a pull tab from a soda can.

A few people couldn’t hold back their laughter. A soda can pull tab–an old, worn one at that, probably from eight or nine years ago. It was the kind of scrap nobody would even bother to recycle. And Leander had the audacity to compare it to Damian’s expensive diamond bracelet, asking Daphne, the princess of the Florian family, to try it on?

Everyone thought Leander had lost his mind.

Nathan, Evander, and the others buried their faces in their hands and turned away, as if they had never known him. They couldn’t possibly be associated with that scene.

At first, they had felt honored that Leander knew Daphne, but now he was presenting a rusty soda tab? If Daphne got annoyed and ignored him afterward, it would be a huge embarrassment for them.

Damian had been angry enough when his gift was returned, but now, seeing the soda tab, he burst out laughing.

“Haha!”

He pointed at Leander, clutching his stomach.

“Kid, you’ve got to be kidding me. Even if you’re broke, at least give a proper gift. A soda can pull tab? What, do you think this thing came from outer space?”

His words sent many classmates into uncontrollable laughter, and they shot Leander looks of disdain and ridicule.

Many eyes had already caught Daphne’s expression. She stared at the soda can pull tab, frozen, her pupils darting wildly. Her hands trembled lightly, as if anger itself coursed through her.

“This kid’s in trouble,” some of the boys whispered, shaking their heads. “Even the top school beauty is furious at him!”

They shot Leander gleeful, almost malicious looks, eager to watch the spectacle unfold.

Nathan snapped back to reality, hesitating over whether to step in and explain for Leander. But before he could say a word, Daphne spoke first.

Her voice was soft, trembling, and her eyes shimmered with misty emotion.

“It’s really you… It really is you.”

She lifted the soda tab like it was a priceless treasure, holding it delicately before her eyes.

On the back of the tab, letters carved with tiny stones were clearly visible: D and L.

Daphne and Leander.

In an instant, every face in the classroom froze. The sharp intake of breath was almost deafening.

They saw that the noble and ethereal Daphne suddenly opened her arms and lunged forward.

Before everyone, without hesitation or care, she threw herself into Leander’s arms, as if she were determined to hold him tight with all her strength.

“You jerk… You’re such a darn jerk!

“Why… Why did you hide it from me yesterday? Why?

“I hate you, Leander… I hate you!”

One hand clutched the back of Leander’s shirt while the other tapped his chest in a gentle, staccato rhythm, like soft raindrops. There was no strength in the blows–only the raw, agonized sound of her sobs, as if she were finally unleashing years of bottled–up pain.

The entire classroom fell utterly silent, except for Daphne’s anguished cries.

If Daphne agreed to be with him, he would gladly make an enemy of Ethan, even pit his entire family against the Ashcrofts–he would do it without hesitation.

If the scene before him weren’t so real, he would have thought he was dreaming.

Leander paid no attention to the stares around him. He lifted his hands gently, wrapping them around Daphne, letting her release all the emotions she had bottled up for years.

At first, his return to Highcliffe had been just to fulfill an old promise. He had assumed that after nine years, the nine–year–old girl he once knew had grown, seen the world, and would no longer feel the same for him. Perhaps she still had some affection for him–but not as deep as before.

But now, seeing Daphne’s emotional outpouring, he realized how wrong he had been. Shame and regret flooded his heart.

Crished

After a long while, Daphne gradually calmed, curling into Leander’s embrace and refusing to let go. Her delicate shoulders twitched slightly.

She lifted her head, tears streaking her face. The icy beauty of Highcliffe now looked like a lost little girl, broken and heartache–ridden.

“Ander… is it really you?”

She clutched his sleeve, whispering as if in a dream. That had been her childhood name for him.

Leander lifted his hand, brushing her hair gently.

“Dani… it’s me.

“I’m back.”

He carefully removed the soda tab from her finger, his voice steady and resolute.

“I promised long ago that I would come find you when I grew up with this ‘ring‘

“Now, I, Leander, vow to give you a lifetime of splendor.”