Save Myself From Desperation by Cara Agnes novel Chapter 197

The fireplace in the igloo was burning, snow was falling outside the window, and elk were walking in the pine forest not far away.

It was a forest wonderland-like place.

And Ashley heard Valentin say he liked her at such a place.

Her pupils shrank violently, and her mind went blank. Her hands and feet were frozen, not knowing what reaction to give.

Until a moment later, Valentin's magnetic voice slowly brought her consciousness back.

Valentin's voice was soft and affectionate, like the whisper between lovers, but with a hint of astringency.

"I know that you always reject suitors decisively. What's more, you hated me so much when you were a child.

"You heard that I have someone I've liked for many years. In order to cover this up and prevent you from rejecting me, I can just name someone to get over it.

"But I don't want you to misunderstand."

Speaking of this, he paused momentarily and looked at her deeply as if all the beautiful scenes in the world were not as good as hers.

He continued, "Ashley, it's just you. The only person I've liked for so many years is you."

Ashley's eyelashes blinked unconsciously.

"Valentin, you..."

Ashley stuttered for a moment, and her mind seemed to be filled with a bunch of tangled white clouds. She couldn't figure it out.

She thought, 'I'm the one Valentin has liked for over ten years. Valentin liked me a long time ago.

'He and I were close at first when we were kids. But when we grew up, we often fell out and sometimes quarreled. How could he possibly like me?

'Especially when we fell out, Valentin blocked me in my room when he heard me say I liked Kevin, my classmate. His eyes were so cold and shocking, and he asked me if I was out of my mind to like Kevin. Wait a moment!'

Ashley then reacted, thinking, 'Was he jealous?'

Shocked, Ashley recalled it carefully.

In the beginning, she and Valentin were very close. They had been engaged since they were kids by both of their grandfathers. Then, when they got a little older and realized what the betrothal meant, the more she looked at Valentin, the more awkward she became.

After that, Ashley didn't want to get too close to Valentin, preferring to find other friends of her age to play with. That was when the two started to fall out and even quarrel.

Valentin's attitude towards her was especially gloomy and unpredictable when he saw her playing with the neighbor's children.

Ashley thought Valentin was deliberately targeting her at that time.

It turned out that...

"Have you been jealous?"

It completely upended what Ashley had always known, blinking her moist eyes blankly at him.

Valentin did not deny it. "Yes."

He didn't know at that time what he'd done wrong to be alienated from Ashley suddenly.

Ashley even said she hated him, yet she smiled brightly at someone else.

Valentin's heart seemed to be ripped apart with anger and jealousy when he heard Ashley say she liked Kevin.

Yet, he couldn't change the fact that Ashley hated him.

Ashley kept shaking her head and hurriedly explained, "No! I never liked Kevin. I thought the engagement was weird and I wanted to end it with you, so I purposely made up an excuse..."

Ashley was saying when she was suddenly taken into Valentin's arms with force.

He was so hard that he seemed to be hugging his world.

Ashley then realized that Valentin had carried her to sit on his lap at some point, and she was nestled in his arms.

Blinking, Ashley moved uncomfortably twice to find a comfortable position in his lap.

She poked his chest with her finger. "Are you blind? How could you like me?"

Valentin said helplessly, "Don't talk about yourself like that."

Ashley said, "For the confession you just made, I..."

"Stop saying if you want to reject me." Valentin put his arm around her waist and stroked the delicate skin of her cheek with his other hand.

Quite shocked, Ashley thought, 'I can't even say that?'

Ashley gritted her teeth and said, "You're being unreasonable! You'll get beaten up like this. Forget it. I won't bully you for now. I'll tell you seriously. I'll consider your confession."

Valentin suddenly let out a chuckle.

Ashley didn't know why. "Why are you laughing?"

Valentin moved closer, touching his forehead to hers. The position was so intimate that they could feel each other's breath. "I'm glad you didn't reject me outright."

It was a much better outcome than he had expected.

Joseph was so moved that he wanted to shed tears. But when he looked up, he realized that Ashley wasn't even listening to him. Instead, she tiptoed up to Valentin's ear. Not knowing what she whispered to Valentin, Valentin smiled with his eyes lowered, and Ashley even poked Valentin's waist affectionately.

It looked like a scene of a young couple.

Joseph fell silent, thinking, 'Is anyone listening to me?

'And there are no words that I can't hear. I'm not a child. I can listen to what a child can't.'

Ashley finished whispering to Valentin and ignored Joseph before heading upstairs to rest.

Joseph asked, "Valentin, what did Ashley say to you?"

"Nothing."

Joseph thought, 'Great. Valentin really favors Ashley.'

Joseph narrowed his eyes and rubbed his chin, approaching Valentin smartly. "Valentin, something is wrong with you and Ashley."

Glancing at him slowly, Valentin walked over to sit on the couch and said honestly, "I confessed to her."

Joseph's eyes immediately widened at that. "And? Did Ashley say yes?"

Valentin did not answer immediately.

"Tell me, Valentin." Joseph was extremely anxious.

"She said think about it."

"Think about it..." Lost in thought, Joseph took two steps back and forth in the living room and suddenly walked over to Valentin, saying with a serious look, "Valentin, I'm very experienced with things like relationships, seriously."

Valentin nodded slightly, signaling him to continue.

Joseph analyzed seriously. "In my experience, if a girl likes you and you confess to her, she will definitely say yes on the spot. The fact that she says she'll think about it means she doesn't like you that much. And there's a big chance that she'll reject you after thinking about it..."

Before Joseph could finish speaking, he felt Valentin's freezing gaze and immediately changed his words.

"Of course, I just saw that Ashley has gotten a lot more intimate with you, so the chances of her agreeing to your confession are high!"

Though he heard what he wanted to hear, Valentin looked nervous, pondering what Joseph had just said.

Joseph had just said, "It means she doesn't like you that much. And there's a big chance that she'll reject you after thinking about it..."

Valentin thought, 'And the divorce agreement between me and Ashley is about to expire.'