Chapter 552

In the following days, Vance’s behavior began to turn abnormal, he no longer strolled around the town as usual, instead, he frequently hid in the shadows, observing Adam’s every move, whenever he saw Zella gently delivering meals to Adam, or the unspoken tacit understanding between the two of them, his heart felt as if it were being pierced by needles, the pain unbearable.

The jealousy and anger inside Vance were like vines nourished by darkness, flourishing day by day, ultimately driving him to take decisive action, on an overcast, gloomy evening, he gathered all his courage and sought out Adam, who was quietly reading under a tree at the edge of the village.

His footsteps sounded exceptionally heavy in the quiet air, he tried his best to make his tone sound calm and firm, but his tightly clenched fists betrayed his emotions, "Zeon, I have some things I want to say to you."

Adam looked up, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes before he resumed his gentle smile, "Oh, it’s Vance, is something the matter?"

Vance approached and stared straight at Adam, his eyes holding both anger and unwillingness, "Zeon, I know you and Zella have a very good relationship right now, but I want you to leave her."

Adam furrowed his brows slightly, a flash of confusion passing through his eyes, "Vance, I don’t understand what you mean, Zella and I are friends, there isn’t anything as complicated between us as you imagine."

"Friends?" Vance sneered, his voice full of sarcasm, "Stop deceiving yourself, this so-called friendship of yours has already made her ignore me, a companion who grew up with her, do you know how important my place in her heart used to be? All of that changed because of you."

Adam remained silent for a moment, as if seriously considering Vance’s words, then he spoke slowly, his tone brimming with sincerity, "Vance, I understand how you feel, but matters of the heart cannot be forced, nor resolved with jealousy and anger, there is indeed a special understanding between Zella and me, but that doesn’t mean I want to replace your place in her heart, everyone has the right to pursue their own happiness, including you, and including me."

Not only did the fury in Vance’s heart fail to subside, it surged even more violently, he abruptly stepped forward, nearly pressing his face against Adam’s, "I don’t care about any of that, if you don’t leave Zella, I won’t make things easy for you."

A glint of coldness flashed through Adam’s eyes, but he remained calm, "Vance, threats cannot solve problems, they will only make things worse, if you truly cherish Zella, you should respect her choices rather than venting your emotions this way."

...

Vance’s face turned livid, Adam’s words had struck the nail on the head, the fury and indignation in his heart nearly suffocated him.

He took a deep breath, but his voice still trembled, "Respect? You are nothing but an outsider, by what right did you win her heart so easily? We grew up together, how can so many years of affection lose to the few months she’s spent with you?"

Adam shook his head gently, his gaze holding both sympathy and firmness, "Vance, the value of emotions is never measured by time, everyone’s heart is unique, who it chooses... sometimes even we ourselves cannot fully control."

"What makes you think you can give her happiness?" Vance pressed on indignantly.

Adam let out a long sigh, this fellow was completely obsessed.

"Let me be very clear, although I know Zella likes me, I only see her as a younger sister, I have no other intentions," Adam was telling the truth.

But Vance did not believe him, he sneered ferociously, "Then leave her, stop hanging around her."

"I will say it again, that is Zella’s freedom, you and Zella are not in a relationship, I cannot distance myself from her just because you demand it, doing so would be incredibly unfair to her," Adam was starting to get annoyed, it was his first time encountering someone so unreasonably stubborn, completely impossible to reason with.

Vance’s expression darkened further, like black clouds before a tempest, his clenched fists trembled, every word squeezed through his teeth, "Is this freedom built upon my suffering? You know what she means to me, yet you carry on as if nothing is wrong?"

Adam stepped forward slowly, tone calm, "Vance, I understand, truly, but matters of the heart are never one-sided, true respect means respecting everyone’s choices, including Zella’s."

His voice turned gentle yet firm, "The past you share with Zella is precious and irreplaceable, but the future is a new Chapter belonging to each individual, you cannot use the beauty of the past to shackle her present happiness."

If it had been his old self, he would not have given a damn about this nonsense and would have walked away, but his current persona was that of a great fellow, so he had to intervene, he also hoped Vance could snap out of this obsessive dead end.

"No, I don’t care, just you wait, I will definitely make Zella come back to my side," Vance glared with wide eyes, at this moment, Adam was his absolute greatest enemy.

"Vance, I really don’t have feelings for Zella, you..." Before Adam could finish, Vance turned and ran off.

Adam let out a sigh, "The fiery temper of youth is just too intense," with that, he resumed the work at hand.

...

Meanwhile, in a corner unnoticed by the two men, Zella was hiding behind a wall, her arms were wrapped tightly around her knees and her head buried deep in her embrace, tears slid silently down her cheeks, dripping onto the icy ground and splashing into tiny droplets.

She had heard every single word exchanged between Adam and Vance, those words were like sharp blades, slicing into her heart stroke by stroke, she had never imagined that the emotional entanglement between herself, Adam, and Vance would be this complicated and this hurtful.

A/N:

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