Chapter 370 Caroline, I Want You to Love Me
He repeated her words slowly. “I can have whatever I want?”
“Yes!”
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Caroline thought she had finally created an opening–a chance to negotiate. As long as she kept him talking, she had a chance to break free.
She didn’t want to be his. He was stained.
He had Elizabeth; he had a child–why did he still insist on having her?
Then David’s voice came, quiet but unwavering-“Caroline, I want you to love me.”
Her breath caught. “You… want me to love you?”
“Yes.” His lips brushed against her neck, his whisper sending shivers down her spine. “Love me.”
Why does she get to stand untouched by love, while I drown in it?
David’s love wasn’t something that could be taken back. Once given, it was permanent.
Caroline bit her lip, struggling for words. How can I possibly love him?
But her hesitation was answer enough.
She didn’t love him.
If she did, she wouldn’t have to think.
Even a moment’s doubt–a second of hesitation–meant she didn’t feel anything for him.
“Caroline…” David lifted his head, his hands braced on either side of her. “You think you can get away with everything just because I have feelings for you? Just because I can’t bring myself to let you go? No woman has ever dared to challenge me like this.”
Caroline forced herself to hold his gaze.
Tonight was a dangerous game.
“David… Ask for something else,” she suggested, carefully choosing her words. “Please?”
“No.” His answer was immediate and final.
Caroline chose her words carefully. “But… love isn’t something that just happens because I say it does. If I tell you I love you, does that suddenly make it real? People can lie; they can pretend. I don’t think you’d want something empty and meaningless, would you?”
David’s lips curled into a smirk. “Lie? Pretend? Fake it?”
“Yes.”
His expression darkened. “Caroline,” he said softly, “you won’t even lie to me. You won’t even pretend, just for a moment. You won’t even say the words.”
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Chapter 370 Caroline, I Want You to Love Me
That was what shattered him the most.
A slow, aching pain spread through his chest.
He never imagined he would understand what heartbreak felt like.
Her every word was a dagger, slicing through him piece by piece.
Deep. Relentless. Numbing.
“I…” Caroline faltered.
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David was too keen, too observant–he saw through her immediately. There was no point in denying it.
Yes, she didn’t love him. She couldn’t bring herself to.
“Why deceive yourself, David?” Caroline exhaled. “If I said ‘I love you‘ without hesitation, that would be the real lie. You already know the truth, yet you still want to hear something pretty. Do you really think that will change anything?”
David’s voice dropped to a whisper. “I want the lie.”
Even if it only lasted a moment. Even if it was just for tonight. Let me lose myself in it.
He had spent his life in control, always calculating, always ahead. But it was exhausting.
Tonight, in the stillness of their room, with nothing but silence between them–he wanted to let go.
The night was theirs. The setting was perfect. The moment was there.
Nothing stood in the way.
Caroline didn’t want to argue with him anymore.
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