The Coldest Man in the Room Melted Only for Me novel Chapter 342

"Maybe I would," Winona said, her eyes turning red again. "But then I definitely wouldn't have any regrets, and I wouldn't feel this empty. Because I would have tried. I would have made an effort, and I would have loved. Isn't there a saying? 'It's better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all.'"

Riley froze, realizing she had absolutely no argument against that.

Winona wiped away a tear from the corner of her eye and looked back up at the ceiling. "At least then, when I thought of him, my mind would be full of our sweet memories, instead of right now, where I have nothing but regret."

Riley felt that Winona actually made a lot of sense.

The two of them lay quietly staring at the ceiling, falling into silence.

A moment later, Winona turned her head to look at Riley again. "Riley, you should date Sebastian. Don't end up regretting it looking back, like I am."

They were just talking about her and that boy; how did the conversation suddenly pivot back to her and Sebastian?

"Our situation is completely different from yours."

"How is it different?"

"Sebastian and I are from completely different worlds. He's an untouchable titan of Statenbury's elite circle, and I'm a divorced single mother."

"So what? You're gentle, beautiful, strong, independent, and incredibly compassionate. A woman as wonderful as you is impossible to find even with a lantern in broad daylight."

Riley smiled wryly. "Am I really that wonderful in your eyes?"

"Of course you are. Honestly, I feel like Sebastian isn't even good enough for you. He never smiles, walks around with an icy expression like his face is paralyzed, and he's calculating and ruthless, sly as an old fox."

Riley teased, "If he's so terrible, why do you want me to date him?"

"That's just how he is to other people, but he treats you entirely differently." Winona sat up, grabbed her phone from the nightstand, opened her chat with Sebastian, and showed the message history to Riley. "Look. I sent him a video call, and he immediately declined it. But the second I said I was with you, he called right back."

Riley sat up as well, realizing lying down made it hard to read.

Winona scrolled up through the chat log as she spoke, "When I didn't answer his video call, he just kept sending me massive cash transfers. All of this just to get a glimpse of you."

Looking at the screen completely filled with digital transfers of thousands of dollars, Riley's eyes widened in shock.

Billionaires truly played by different rules.

But her heart was pounding violently in her chest.

Winona tilted her head, watching Riley. "Just try dating him?"

Riley shook her head. "It's impossible for us. Do you really think a family with the St. John's pedigree would ever let a divorced woman with a child marry into their ranks?"

Winona was momentarily stunned into silence. "...I don't think Lady Eleanor cares about status like that. She calls me every few days now, checking in on me and asking about my progress with Sebastian. I can tell she desperately wants him to settle down and have a family. Plus, Lady Eleanor really likes you. She would totally bless it."

Riley felt Winona was just too young and her views were too naive. Liking someone and actually marrying them were two entirely different things. "I'm Pierce's ex-wife, and Pierce and Sebastian are close friends. Do you really think there's any possibility for us?"

Riley patted the back of Winona's hand comfortingly. "Go to sleep."

Winona put down her phone and lay down to sleep.

Riley turned off the main lights, leaving only a dim nightlight. After she lay down and closed her eyes, Winona's question echoed in her ears: Is it because you don't actually like him?

Did she not like him?

Then why did her heart race uncontrollably every time she saw him?

Why didn't she dare to hold his gaze for too long?

Why did her face flush and her pulse skyrocket whenever they accidentally brushed against each other?

Why, when he was out of town on business, did she check her phone constantly hoping for a message from him?

She... she liked him.

Realizing this, Riley startled herself, her eyes snapping open as her heart pounded violently, as if trying to burst through her chest.

How could she have fallen for Sebastian?