Chapter 228
+25 BONUS
If Brian and Ariana had actually gotten married, would they end up like this couple decades from now?
The shop owner handed him the neatly packed buns and smiled. “I hope your girlfriend has a speedy recovery!”
Brian returned a faint smile before scanning a QR code to pay. When the owners checked the amount, they froze. He had paid ten thousand dollars! By the time they rushed outside, Brian was already getting into a taxi.
In the hospital room, Ariana had finished the chicken noodle soup. When Brian walked in and turned on the light, he noticed the empty bowl on the table. Without a word, he placed the bag of buns on the bedside tray.
Seeing the amount of buns, Ariana raised her brows. “Why so many?“.
“I didn’t know which flavor you liked, so I got two of each,” he said nonchalantly, as he began tidying up the remnants of her meal.
“You took so long. I’m already full.” Ariana said.
“Oh,” Brian replied flatly.
Ariana frowned. “You’re not angry?”
“I know you were messing with me. Considering you’re injured, I’ll let it slide this time.”
Brian finished cleaning up and moved to the nearby sofa to relax. “Eat them if you want. If not, throw them away.”
His calmness caught her off guard. Annoyed that her little prank hadn’t gotten to him, Ariana opened the bag, grabbed a random bun, and took a bite.
.As he watched her from across the room, Brian asked, “When was the last time you ate at that bun shop?”
Ariana paused mid–bite. Her tone cooled noticeably as she replied, “I don’t remember.”
“Was it when your father was in the hospital?”
The moment those words left his mouth, her expression turned icy. “What does that have to do with you, Mr. Lodge? We’re no longer engaged, so my personal affairs are none of your business.”
Ariana set the bun down, her appetite entirely gone.
The memories of her father’s hospitalization came rushing back. She had been the one running herself ragged to care for him, while Gwen only showed up to feign concern and waited to inherit the family fortune.
The so–called friends and business partners of the Torrey family had circled like vultures, eyeing her father’s assets even before his passing.
Ariana felt like a defenseless rabbit, vulnerable and lost as she faced the overwhelming burden of her father’s Illness.
At that time, Belinda had already chosen her as the future daughter–in–law of the Lodge family. But Brian, in his defiance of his grandmother, had treated her with cold disdain.
She still remembered her father, gravely ill, had asked to see his future son–in–law. Desperate to fulfill her father’s wish, she had gone to Lodge Co–herself, pleading for Brian to visit her father–even if only as a formality.
But he had refused, coldly and unfeelingly, leaving her father to pass away with lingering regret, worried about her future. The most laughable part? Back then, she had naively believed she could win over Brian’s heart with time and effort.
+25 BONUS
Chapter 228
But all her sacrifices had led to nothing but heartbreak.
Brian noticed a change in her demeanor, and an inexplicable wave of guilt washed over him. Perhaps if he had been there for her back then, even just a little more kind to her, maybe things wouldn’t have turned out this way between them.
