Delayed Passion: Miss Lynch's Unrequited Love-Chapter 97: I Won’t Love You Anymore

Looking back now, Aunt Rong’s words actually weren’t that big of a deal.

Someone like him, a prodigy, being with someone like her back then, indeed didn’t seem right. Besides her family background, there wasn’t much she could compare with others.

She had no reason to be angry.

He took care of her because of her brother, and later "neglecting" her for any reason seemed normal. Before that, he wasn’t someone who was good at expressing himself or liked to be close to her.

But during that phase, after being "inexplicably neglected" by him while secretly in love with him, she became especially sensitive.

She feared her feelings would be discovered by him, feared he wouldn’t like her and would be troubled by it, so she tried to avoid him.

Later, she heard from Aunt Rong that Ian Preston would never like someone as deaf and mute as her, and was told that he had a matchmaking session with Nina Sinclair, who was already a host at the time, and they were even starting to develop a closer relationship.

To her, it was like a bolt from the blue, forcing her to overthink.

But later, she realized she had no reason to blame Ian Preston.

If anyone was to blame, it could only be herself.

If she hadn’t insisted on liking him, she wouldn’t have been stirred and emotionally disturbed by Aunt Rong’s intentional or unintentional provocations.

If from the beginning she had only seen him as a third brother, things wouldn’t have turned out like they have now.

In the end, it was she who created the situation back then and the situation now.

So, it was she who should sincerely apologize.

"For all that happened, I sincerely want to thank and apologize to you, Third Brother..."

"Thea Lynch, you never need to apologize to me, nor do you need to thank me for anything."

Ian Preston suddenly spoke up, interrupting her, "My intentions were never as simple as you imagined."

"...What?" Thea Lynch was suddenly stunned.

Not long ago, when she learned that Ian Preston seemed to have some affection for her, she didn’t dare to think deeply about it.

She never dared to think about when he also liked her, fearing it would just be another ridiculous dream.

But now, right here, his response pointed to a time seemingly aligned with her own, a year she dared not even imagine.

How could this be possible?

"I came back to the country not just because of my big brother’s request. I’ve mentioned this more than once, but it seems you never took it seriously."

"My return to see you, and later frequently appearing in your life, was driven by my own selfish motives. From the start, what I wanted was never your gratitude."

"Did you really not see that I liked you?"

Thea Lynch: "..."

"I was never someone who liked to expend all my energy and patience on others every day; I have my own life too."

"But at that time, my focus was entirely on you. In my heart, you were always number one. Do you still think I did it because of a request from my big brother?"

Every word from Ian Preston struck her heart, fiercely determined to break through the barrier between them along with the window separating them.

A few seconds later, as Thea Lynch’s breath caught, he chuckled lightly and said, "Or is it that I didn’t do enough, my intentions toward you weren’t clear enough, not giving you a chance to see my feelings for you even once."

"No..." Not really.

Thea Lynch frowned, unable to voice her thoughts. She saw it, more than once. But later, everything turned into an illusion, seeming like her own wishful thinking.

Her heart pounded, sending tremors through her chest, repeatedly reminding her that all she assumed might just have been her assumptions.

In reality, from beginning to end, his gaze had always been on her.

His intentions back then, his feelings back then, were laid bare in front of them for a moment, only to be carefully hidden away the next.

Afraid the other would see, yet afraid the other wouldn’t.

It turns out, he too was trapped in such conflicting emotions, struggling in that frustrating state.

Along with her.

Deeply stuck in that quagmire.

Thinking of this, Thea Lynch didn’t feel happy, nor did she feel regret; her heart was filled with a swirling bitterness.

She couldn’t describe how she felt at this moment.

After she had to give up, yet remained stuck alone for seven years, the one who started it all suddenly told her that she was never the only one trapped.

That he too, was haunted by regret and deep longing.

What does this mean?

She had already moved on, so why tell her all this now?

Thea Lynch’s throat was bitter, and after a while, she managed to squeeze out, "What’s in the past is in the past."

From the very beginning, she didn’t want to hear his explanations, and from the moment she returned to the country, she resisted bringing up the past.

Ian Preston’s fingers suddenly clenched; this wasn’t the answer he wanted.

"You don’t believe me."

"..." Thea Lynch pressed her lips together, struggling to utter two words: "It’s not."

"It’s just, what you’re saying, to me, is no longer important."

Yes, it’s no longer important.

What is missed is missed.

She admitted she always reminisced about the Ian Preston of the past, but when he stood in front of her, telling her he was still the same person as before, she couldn’t accept him.

Because between them lay seven whole years. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

"What about then?" Ian Preston urgently needed her answer. If she was her past self, would she still find it unimportant?

"Important." She smiled helplessly, then shook her head: "But, I guess I still wouldn’t be with you, Third Brother."

With a snap, the string of Ian Preston’s Agarwood Bracelet suddenly broke.

The beads rolled away in succession, but this time, no one cared.

Thea Lynch didn’t even glance at it and continued, "What you’ve said would make me feel less sad, but to say we would be together, it seems unlikely."

"Back then, Aunt Rong and Nina Sinclair indeed came to me and said, you wouldn’t like someone like me."

"Regardless of whether it’s true or not, I, a person from an incomplete family with my own deficiencies, indeed wasn’t a match for you back then, Third Brother."

"Those words did have a significant impact on me."

"Every time I saw you and Nina Sinclair after I returned to the country, every time I saw Aunt Rong, it was as if those words were still in my ear, constantly reminding me to stay away from you."

"I don’t mean to blame Third Brother for any of this. I admit, when I first came back, I had some prejudices against Third Brother. But recently, I haven’t been trapped in such emotions; when I saw you and Nina Sinclair, I was calm."

"Is that so." Ian Preston smiled, or rather it shouldn’t be called a smile. "I didn’t really feel that way."

He saw her avoiding him, as if he was something dangerous.

Sighing, Thea Lynch faced him honestly, "That’s because I don’t like you."

"!" Ian Preston’s pupils shook violently, his every aura plummeting to freezing point with that single sentence.

Thea Lynch gave him a forgiving smile, "Ian Preston, you are great. But I won’t like you anymore."