Sean had already given her a heads-up, so although Thea Lynch’s heart was racing, she appeared perfectly composed on the surface.
She always had this serene deanor, so when Ian Preston first looked at her, he didn’t give it much thought.
But upon seeing the tea she had prepared, he understood imdiately.
Sean had already called her.
Heh. Ian closed the door and walked over to the sofa to sit down. Sean, that kid, was two-faced. One mont he’s "selling information" to him, and the next, he turns around and gives her a heads-up.
A spy within a spy’s ga, that’s exactly him.
Sean just didn’t have a stance.
Ian was used to it.
Once he sat down, Thea quietly poured him tea, then handed it over.
The atmosphere was a bit delicate, not as awkward as imagined, but not particularly good either.
Ian didn’t take it, and Thea just held it without moving. After a few seconds of silent standoff, Thea slightly curled her lips, lowered her head, and placed the teacup on the table in front of him.
"Third brother called here..." She was about to withdraw her hand when the man across from her slightly moved his gaze, and just as she raised her hand, his warm palm suddenly pressed her hand back to the table.
Thea: "..."
She raised her head, frowned at him, her eyes questioning.
"Third brother, is there anything between us that we can’t talk about properly? Do we really have to get physical?"
Logically, after she said this, Ian should have let go.
But this ti, he didn’t do so, as if he didn’t understand her words.
Not only that, in a challenging way, he went from pressing down to tightly gripping, his move so firm that she had no chance to break free.
Thea’s hand was quite hot, her palm a bit damp.
Since receiving Sean’s call, she had been breaking out in a cold sweat.
Because she was nervous, her palm kept sweating.
The temperature of Ian’s hand was even hotter than hers. He seed like a fla, even his gaze at her carried an unabashed heat.
As their eyes t, Thea took a deep breath, first looked away, and said softly, "What are you trying to do? Let go."
At first, she could still chuckle insincerely and talk nicely to him.
But Ian insisted on taking an inch and wanting a mile.
Soft words didn’t work, so hard ones would have to.
"I said, let go." This ti, she totally lost her patience.
Just as she was about to forcefully shake him off, the man anticipated her action and clutched her hand first.
From grasping, it turned into holding hands.
Thea’s heart skipped a beat abruptly.
Since childhood, she never liked being held; she didn’t like the warmth exchanged through palms, always felt uncomfortable.
Every ti she went out, she liked walking alone, even when her brother held her hand, she was extrely unwilling.
So when she was little, whenever they went out, her brother usually carried her.
Later, as she grew a bit older, he stopped indulging her that much and let her walk ahead alone as he silently followed behind.
Yet Ian loved holding her hand.
He seed to enjoy the act of holding hands.
He did it when they were kids, and even later when accompanying her in Westre, he did the sa.
And now, still the sa.
Every ti, when she habitually walked ahead with both hands in her pockets, Ian would call her, then walk up to hold her.
Every ti, he found success.
Gradually, she got used to it.
——
Regaining her senses, Thea realized her palm was hotter than before, her breathing slightly rapid, "What on earth are you trying to do? It’s absurd."
Ian simply feared she would run, so he "seized" her first.
After exchanging glances again, he finally spoke, "The past is complicated, I need you to listen carefully."
"..."
Thea realized why he pinned her down.
The truth of the matter, she could now guess sowhat. Ian’s explanation, she wasn’t patient enough to listen to.
He also understood this.
Thus, this whole scenario played out.
Tsk.
Thea was sowhat annoyed. She suddenly noticed that Ian seed to understand her better than she imagined.
At tis, she wouldn’t respond at all, neither through expressions nor actions.
Yet he could accurately predict her next move and current thoughts.
She really didn’t like this feeling.
It made her feel perpetually "exposed" in front of Ian.
"I don’t want to hear this part."
"I must speak."
Hearing this, Thea chuckled.
It was fate that she and Ian didn’t end up together back then. They just weren’t suited for each other.
The couple should complent each other in temperant.
Clearly, she and Ian were both equally stubborn. In short, they were the sa type of person.
"Fine." She compromised, "Let go and I’ll listen."
He didn’t move, not believing her at all. Seeing this, Thea sneered:
"I live here. Where else could I run to? Jump off the balcony?"
These words successfully made Ian frown.
Indeed, he didn’t like her saying such things often.
Back when she first arrived in Westre, she wasn’t enthusiastic about much, uninterested in everything, living like a zombie.
She once liked to post rather pessimistic texts.
Every ti Ian saw them, he would call her imdiately.
At tis, if she unexpectedly missed the call, he would, out of worry, drive from Coronet late at night to see her.
Rembering him standing under that dim and broken street lamp outside her grandma’s building at three or four in the morning, Thea couldn’t help but feel a sting in her nose.
Every ti, he would stand there, looking up at her bedroom window on the second floor, exchanging distant glances with her.
That scene truly resembled a fairy tale.
Like a princess trapped in a castle, her world was always just the size of that window.
And whenever Ian appeared, she knew her knight had co to rescue her.
"Thea." In the deep silence of night, he was forced to lower his voice to call her na. She, with an open window, could hear him clearly.
Back then, her bedroom at her grandma’s house had a bay window.
Each ti, she would sit on it, dazedly watching Ian below.
She never turned on the light, never made a sound, but he knew she was there.
He would gently wave at her, remain still in the cold breeze until daybreak.
A girl of sixteen or seventeen had no reason not to like such an Ian.
Despite their many issues now, whenever Thea thought of the past, she’d still be heart-struck by how kind he was.
She will always, in this life, cherish the Ian who appeared by her side that year.
Just like she previously said, the Ian of that year was irreplaceable in her life.
——
"I haven’t had enough of life yet."
Taking a deep breath, Thea’s tone cald, "Let go, I’ll listen properly."
Ian squeezed her hand tightly for two seconds and finally released it.
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