Unwilling Bride: The 1V5 Love Drama novel Chapter 366

Chapter 366 Love Is Restraint

A workplace just sucked the romance out of something like that.

+5 Free C51

Ava looked up at him. On the surface, he didn’t look like a good man-at times, he even came off as a little frivolous-but deep down, he was kind. He didn’t want to put her in an awkward position, nor did he want to go against her will. He would rather restrain himself.

She remembered hearing something once. Someone had asked, what is love? And the answer had been love is restraint.

“Mason,” Ava called softly.

“Hm?” Mason lowered his head to look at her. “What is it?”

She crooked a finger at him.

Mason bent down, meeting her gaze at eye level. Ava traced the shape of his brows and eyes with her fingertips, and under his puzzled look, she leaned forward and kissed his cheek. “That’s your reward. Thanks for respecting me.”

Mason stared at her, clearly taken aback. He hadn’t expected her to take the initiative—even if it was just a kiss on the cheek. But that small gesture at least told him she didn’t reject being close to him.

“Aya…” He pulled her back into his arms, his voice low. “There’s something I don’t want to hide from you. I… have a condition.”

“A condition?” Ava immediately tilted her head up to look at him. “What kind of condition? Is it serious?” Her brows knitted together. His medical report had clearly shown he was in perfect health-there hadn’t been any sign of illness.

“And he didn’t look sick either. Could someone with an illness really have this much energy to be such a workaholic?

“I have severe touch deprivation,” Mason said. “It’s not something I’ve ever felt comfortable talking about. so I’ve never told anyone. I’m telling you now because if I ever get a little… out of line when I’m close to you, I hope you can be patient with me.”

“Touch deprivation?” She repeated the term under her breath, surprised. She hadn’t expected Mason to have something like that. “Have you seen a psychologist about it?”

“I have. The doctor said it might be related to my childhood-my emotional and physical closeness with my parents wasn’t fulfilled back then. That sense of insecurity stayed with me as I grew up and became rooted in my subconscious.”

“But you seem no different from anyone else,” Ava said.

“On the surface, sure. But I know what’s going on with me.”

She hesitated before asking, “When you’re around other people, do you… feel the urge for physical contact too?” She wasn’t entirely sure how something like this was treated, but she assumed it involved building

1/3

4

<

Chapter 366 Love Is Restraint

close relationships and physical closeness.

+5 Free Colis

Mason chuckled and flicked her lightly on the nose. “What are you thinking? It’s not like I feel that way about just anyone. So far, I’ve only ever felt that kind of urge toward you. That’s why I’m telling you-so you won’t think I’m some kind of creep.”

I might as well lay it all out now, so you’re prepared, he added silently.

After chatting for a while, the two of them went out for dinner together. There was no physical training scheduled that night. After they ate, Ava asked Mason to drive her back to school. It was rare for her to come back and stay overnight, and she hummed softly to herself all the way upstairs.

It was just past nine when Ava reached the second floor.

The moment she turned the corner, she saw Queenie collapsed face down in front of her door, a dark pool of blood spreading beneath her.

Ava called out to her several times, but there was no response. Pushing aside Queenie’s hair, she finally saw her face-bruised and battered. The area around her eyes was dark purple, her face swollen, and there was even a cut along her brow.

A surge of anger and pain tightened Ava’s chest. She quickly reached out and checked for a pulse at Queenie’s nose, only managing to detect a faint, shallow breath.

Ava immediately called for an ambulance. Only then did she realize how little she actually knew about Queenie-she didn’t even know who her emergency contact was.

With that, she rummaged through her bag for a moment before suddenly finding a business card. Pulling it out, she saw that it was the one Sebastian had given her last time.

Ava quickly dialed his number.

“Hello, Sebastian speaking.”

“Professor Montclair, it’s Ava Morren! I’m at the school right now, at Orchid Court, Heron’s Rest. A senior of mine has been seriously injured. I don’t know how to reach her emergency contact. I’ve already called an ambulance, but I-”

Hearing the tremor in her voice, Sebastian immediately cut in, “I’m on my way. Stay with her.”

As it happened, Sebastian had come back to campus that night to pick something up and hadn’t left yet, so he appeared in no time.

“Professor Montclair.”

Sebastian glanced at the girl lying on the ground. “When did you find her?”

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify