Addicted to you Nove Chapter 57: Lianna Neri

Chapter 57 - Lianna Neri

Lianna noticed the shawl wrapped around Yeri's neck.

Her eyes lingered a mont longer than necessary.

Yeri caught the gaze and inwardly cursed Shin Keir to the depths of her heart.

She had slathered thick foundation over the hickeys, but she couldn't be sure they were completely covered. Just to be safe, she'd draped a shawl around her neck before leaving the dorm.

"I actually have a weak constitution and sotis feel cold despite the changing weather," Yeri said quickly, offering a sheepish smile. "Today's one of those days—but no big deal, really."

"Ah... please let

know if you feel unwell," Lianna replied softly, concern flickering across her delicate features.

At that mont, their food arrived, and with it ca the restaurant's manager, Wayne.

"Miss Zhi, it's been a while!" Manager Wayne bead as he bowed slightly. "Thank you once again for patronizing our restaurant. We're honored to serve you."

Yeri smiled and nodded politely. "Thank you, Manager Wayne. Everything looks delicious as always."

After the manager left, Lianna looked mildly curious. "The service here is really excellent... and the manager seed familiar with you?"

Yeri smiled lightly. Since Lianna already knew about her relationship with Shin, there was no need to hide it. "I ca here before with Young Master Keir."

Lianna's eyes glead, then she nodded with understanding. "Ah, I see."

She didn't press further. After all, it was a personal matter, and she wasn't one to pry when it ca to soone else's relationship.

As they began to eat, Lianna hesitated for a mont before speaking again. "You might be wondering why I suddenly asked to et you today... Actually, it's nothing urgent or important. It's just that..." she paused, gathering her thoughts, then looked at Yeri with sincere eyes. "I feel... unburdened around you. Happier, sohow. I think I told you before—please don't take it the wrong way. It's not like I'm using you as a tool. You just make

feel... better."

Yeri blinked at her in surprise.

Seeing how flustered Lianna was to explain herself, she smiled reassuringly. "Not at all. I'm not sure why you see colors only in , but... honestly? I find it intriguing. I don't mind it."

Relief blood on Lianna's face as she offered a grateful smile and quietly returned to her al.

Ever since their first eting at the park, Yeri had sensed sothing beneath Lianna's lifeless deanor—sothing unspoken, always sitting on the tip of her tongue but never quite making it out.

There was a weight behind her eyes, a hesitation in her words, as if she were holding back.

So this ti, Yeri decided to gently encourage her.

"If there's anything you've been wanting to share," she said quietly, "you can tell . I'm not the type to go around spreading other people's secrets, so... you can trust ."

Lianna paused mid-chew, clearly startled. She bit her lip, lowering her eyes to her plate.

Yeri didn't say anything else. She simply focused on her food, waiting patiently.

After a long silence, Lianna finally spoke, her voice low and thoughtful. "Do you think it's true... that people feel better when they tell their story to soone?"

Yeri nodded. "Yeah, I believe so. It helps to share problems or worries with soone you trust. Even if they can't solve it, just knowing you're not alone makes a difference. You feel heard or seen."

Lianna gave a small, self-deprecating smile.

For so many years, she had lived like a ghost—cut off from the world. She couldn't even rember the last ti she truly felt connected to another person.

When did she lose her sense of family? Her friends?

Was it her fault? Had she built the walls herself, brick by brick, to keep everyone out?

She took a deep breath, like soone standing at the edge of a deep pool, ready to dive in.

"My family and the Neris used to be neighbors," she began, her voice barely above a whisper. "Zahn and I... we were childhood friends. He's two years older than , and honestly, he was never the warm type. Quiet. Aloof. He didn't talk much. But he never minded when I followed him around."

She smiled faintly, her eyes distant.

"Maybe it started when I was twelve. I scraped my knee badly while playing, and he helped

clean the wound without saying a word. Or maybe it was the ti I got my period for the first ti and didn't realize it. He just silently handed

his coat to tie around my waist. Or when I was ho alone with a fever, and he ca by with dicine without anyone asking him to."

She paused, eyes glistening.

"There were many small monts like that. I can't even count them all. He never said much, but he always helped —quietly, in the background. I guess... I just knew. He was always there when I needed soone. A good older brother. Maybe that's why... it beca impossible not to like him."

Yeri remained silent, letting her speak. She could feel the emotion in Lianna's voice—not dramatic, but deeply personal.

"I've liked him for as long as I can rember," Lianna admitted, her voice soft, as if each word peeled open an old wound. "Even when I knew he might never feel the sa way, I was content that we got along. I thought... maybe that was enough. I told myself I'd just keep liking him silently."

She stirred her soup absentmindedly, eyes downcast. "I thought we would always be like that, even as we grew up. But then in college, we took different courses and naturally grew distant. And... even if Zahn had a personality that was hard to approach, that didn't stop many won from liking him."

A ghost of a smile tugged at her lips before it quickly faded. "I'll admit—I was jealous. And scared. When you have feelings for soone... it's hard not to get affected."

Yeri said nothing, listening closely as Lianna slowly unraveled the thread of her story.

"I kept telling myself... just a little more ti. Just let

stay by his side a little longer. Because once he gets engaged... I'll have no right to be greedy anymore."

A look of longing crept into Lianna's eyes, a fragile flicker of the girl she used to be. "Then one day I got drunk. It's really true what they say—alcohol makes you feel invincible and shaless. So I confessed."

"I thought the next day he'd tease , or act like it never happened... but instead, Zahn straightforwardly repeated my confession back to . I was terrified, but he didn't mock . He... accepted it. He agreed to date ."

Lianna let out a shaky laugh. "It was the happiest ti of my life. We decided to keep it a secret at first, which was fine. I didn't care. All that mattered was that he felt the sa—that the person I loved had finally chosen . I thought no matter what happened in the future, we'd face it together."

Her gaze drifted to the window, as if she were watching an old version of herself through the glass. Her next words were tinged with bitter amusent.

"It was a na??ve thought."

"Back then, I trusted too easily. Especially the people around ... including my family," Lianna said with a trace of bitterness. "In my second year of college, everything started to fall apart. My father's company began collapsing—financial troubles, his gambling, the affairs, it all went public and his rivals pounced to that opportunity."

She took a deep breath, her throat bobbing with the effort to steady herself.

"It was then he ca to , begging. He wanted

to ask Zahn for help. Even better if we got publicly engaged, it would restore investor confidence. Of course I refused. I didn't want to drag Zahn into our ss."

Lianna's voice wavered, and for a mont she fell silent, lips parted as if caught between words and mory.

Yeri could already tell what was coming was sothing Lianna had buried deep—a mory she hadn't dared revisit. So she stayed quiet, offering the one thing Lianna needed most: soone to listen without judgnt.

"When soone hits a dead end... they beco desperate," Lianna said at last, her voice breaking slightly. "There was this banquet. I was invited with my father and Zahn was there too... the next morning, I woke up in bed beside him and both our families saw us like that in that state."

She swallowed hard.

"It didn't take long for

to realize we'd been drugged. Both of us. I... I honestly don't know what happened that night. Even now, I have no mories of it. I just know it was my father's doing. He got what he wanted and I married Zahn."

The silence that followed felt thick, charged with unshed grief and regret.

"The marriage wasn't just to stop the scandal from getting out. It was because... I found out I was pregnant a month later."

Lianna gave a small, sad smile, her gaze still distant. "Since then... everything between Zahn and

had changed drastically. I knew it would be hard. I knew his family would hate . To them, I was a despicable and scheming woman who used underhanded ans to trap him, even Zahn was convinced."

Her hand trembled slightly as she set down her spoon.

"I don't bla him entirely," she whispered. "He must have felt betrayed, disgusted. Unfortunately, I had no proof to clear myself. No way to show him I didn't know anything about my father's sche. That I would never, ever do sothing like that to him."

She took a breath, her voice barely holding together.

"But I told myself... I'm his wife now and as my father's daughter, I also have to bear responsibility for what he had done. So I decided to dropped out of college and focused on my married life. I tried, really tried to make it work."

She looked up at Yeri, her eyes glossy but dry. "But love... isn't enough when the other person doesn't trust you anymore."