Free Web NovelChapter 159: Another One-Sided Crush
In Louis’ office.
Louis was leaning against his table with his arms crossed. His eyes remained shut.
But his daughter, Lily, was glaring intensely at him.
She was about to open her mouth, however, before she could even utter a sound, her father immediately slid to her feet with his forehead on the ground.
"I’m so sorry, Lily! I was in the wrong! Please don’t hate me!" he cried.
"Ugh..." Lily slightly groaned in disgust.
Louis displayed a side he would never show anyone else in public. It was the appearance of a doting father, which only Lena and Lily knew of until now.
"I... I just wanted the best for you! I promise!" he said, grabbing tightly on one of her feet.
"My best? What are you talking about? And let go already!" she shouted, trying to free her leg.
"You wanted to find that angel person, right? If you were to take the hand of Ren, then he and Zhen would help you out with your search!"
"..."
Lily froze up for a moment.
"Why’s everyone treating me so lightly...? Do you all think I’m a pushover...?" she muttered.
"Lily...?"
"Let go." she said coldly.
Instinctively, Louis let go of her.
She headed to the door.
"I have never asked you to do this." she said.
One last time, she turned her head to her father.
"If I can’t find him myself, then it would be meaningless!" she yelled angrily.
Following that, she went outside, where she noticed Ren and Mika.
"What are you guys doing here?" she wondered baffled.
"Don’t tell me that you overh-"
"Ren wanted to talk with you." Mika cut her off.
"Hm?"
She looked at Ren, who was as clueless as her.
"I suppose you want to talk somewhere else." Mika added.
"S-sure..." Lily agreed confused.
Ren just followed Lily like a loyal dog.
"..."
Now with them gone, Mika headed inside the office.
"What the..."
His eyebrows twitched upon the sight of Louis, who was still on the floor.
"M-Mika?!"
Louis quickly stood up and straightened his back.
"Ahem. What business do you have with me?" he said with his usual calm demeanor.
Mika sighed at his efforts to play his sorry display off.
"Why did you announce it in front of everyone? I thought that you wanted Lily to not know about that deal." Mika asked.
"..."
Louis’ eyes narrowed.
He looked outside the window.
"After our confrontation last night, I thought about a lot of things." he said melancholic.
"And I came to the conclusion that what I did was wrong. I decided to reveal this mistake of mine to everyone because I didn’t want to hide the mistakes I made."
Mika was surprised by Louis’ mindset.
"Furthermore, Lily had the right to know about it and to judge me therefore."
If Mika had chose to not interfere, then they would have most likely forced that marriage upon her without revealing the real reason.
"Mika."
"Hm?"
Louis bowed his head to him.
"Please take care of my daughter. I will leave her in your hands." he stated.
"..."
Mika hesitated if he should tell him that he was just her friend or not.
"Y-yes, of course..." Mika replied awkwardly, deciding to carry on his act as her boyfriend.
He did not want to imagine what would have happened if he had come out with the truth.
"And before you go, there’s something I have to tell you concerning the upcoming trip to the Great Jungle." Louis said sternly.
"?"
"You see, Zhen wants to..."
While Louis revealed Zhen’s intentions, Ren and Lily were watching Sylvia train with Zhen.
Lily was hugging her knees and leaned against a tree, whereas Ren sat beside her with his legs stretched.
"Aren’t you mad about our fathers for planning our marriage behind our backs?" Lily asked, still mad about her own father.
She initially thought that Ren tried to win her over because he was bound by the deal.
"..."
Ren just glanced at her side profile.
He snickered slightly.
"Not really." he replied.
"Really? Isn’t marriage about two people loving each other? I’m sure you want to choose your own partner!"
Ren and Lily met each other rarely when they were children.
Lily remembered him from back then and how they used to play together whenever their fathers had something to discuss, however, unknown to her, Ren fell in love with her just from those few moments they spent together.
"I agree with you." he said, still smiling gently.
"Then-"
"And that’s why I’m not mad about all of this."
"Huh?"
She was baffled for a moment and proceeded to look him in the eyes.
"I love you, Lily." he confessed.
"..."
Her mouth was agape and her eyes wide-open as she did not expect that at all.
Only the sound of the gentle wind breeze was heard.
"I know that it’s shameful of me to confess my feelings for you even though you have a boyfriend. I just wanted you to know." he added as he stood up.
"That’s why I challenged Mika this morning."
And with those words, he left the stunned Lily behind.
He knew what her answer would be in that moment considering that she was his one-sided crush. In her eyes, he was most likely just a friend or the son of her father’s friend. Even if she was not in a relationship, her answer would be clear.
Thus, he strove to beat Mika in the upcoming challenge to show her his worth and love.
"You sure are attracting one boy after another, huh?" Sylvia, who took a small break, teased Lily, snapping her back to reality.
"S-Sylvia!"
She was red in the face.
"So? What will you do? Reject him?"
"O-of course!"
"Hm~? Will you stay single for eternity?"
Sylvia did not stop her teasing.
"T-that’s not it...! It’s just..."
Lily started to become fidgety.
"With such a mindset, even Mika will get into a relationship sooner than you."
"!"
Lily flinched at those words.
"Oh~ What’s with that reaction I wonder?"
She suddenly got up and walked in the direction of Zhen. freeweɓnovel.cøm
"Let’s get some training done before we depart." she said all flustered.
"Ignoring my question, huh? Just what could the reason be~?"
Lily increased her pace.
"I already have someone in mind, okay?!" she raised her voice slightly.
"Hm? Really? You do? Who is it?"
Sylvia turned curious.
"..."
Lily thought about the person, who rescued her when she was a child.
"I look forward to your teachings." she said politely, standing in front of Zhen.
"This time, we will spar without any restrictions."
Sylvia heaved a small sigh of defeat, realizing that asking her anymore would be useless.
Thus, the three began their training.
In the meantime, Mika walked aimlessly around in the mansion.
"..."
He was in deep thought after his conversation with Louis.
[So what will be your strategy?]
"I have no other choice than to face him directly. Maybe I should go to the garden and observe the training. That way I can study the patterns and habits." Mika answered sternly while looking at the floor.
[Hm, I see. I actually thought that you would decline that and join the group of Lily and Sylvia in the jungle.]
"That was indeed my plan at first. But knowing that Ren and Louis are there, I don’t really need to be there additionally."
Then, Mika noticed a presence in front of him.
"Who were you talking to, Mika?"
It was Lena, who was confused.
"Ms. Hayth...? Oh, sorry. I was just talking to myself, haha..." he tried to laugh it off.
"..."
She still stared at him.
"I see then."
Mika thought that that was it but Lena was now walking alongside him.
"..."
Naturally, Mika turned nervous as neither he nor she said anything.
But luckily for him, she finally opened her mouth after a few minutes of walking.
"Can I ask you the reason why you haven’t revealed yourself to Lily yet?" Lena asked with a smile that did not reach her eyes.
Mika glanced shortly at her before shifting it to the front again.
Back then, he used to say that it was a secret in order to let her reach her potential as she was striving to become stronger for the sake of finding him.
However, deep down he realized that it was just an excuse.
"I want her to look at me as the real me." Mika answered with a slight smile.
If he were to tell her about him then she would project on him the ideal image of the person, who saved her. It would not be Mika anymore but her savior, whom she was blindly in love with.
In other words, their current relationship would change dramatically.
And that was Mika’s biggest fear. freēwēbnovel.com
"I see." Lena replied.
This time, she smiled genuinely as if she was satisfied with the answer.
Everyone was about to finish their preparations before night fell.
And fully rested, they would head to the Great Jungle with determination.
