Chapter 355:
“I am starting over. I’m doing well here,” Bella replied, smiling.
“I mean your love life.”
I looked at Bella seriously. Bella touched her arm, her gaze falling.
“I don’t want to accept another man right now,” she replied softly.
I frowned, feeling a surge of urgency.
“My cousin is with Caroline now. They’ll get married and start a family. You don’t have to keep torturing yourself.”
Before I could stop myself, my emotions took over. I grabbed her arms and gently lifted her from the single sofa.
“What… what are you doing?” Bella looked at me in surprise, her eyes wide.
I spoke urgently, “Bella, my cousin can’t offer you what you need, but I can. Now that I’ve broken up with Vivian, let me take care of you.”
Bella’s POV:
I didn’t expect Klein to confess to me so directly. I had always thought that he was just someone who wanted to flirt with me, considering his past romantic relationships with Vivian. Whether it was a fling or something serious, I wasn’t interested in either at the moment. I couldn’t respond emotionally to him.
I reached out and gently pulled his hand from my arm.
“Klein, I can take care of myself. I don’t need anyone to take care of me.”
Klein’s face became rather awkward. After all, he was a proud man, and I could understand why he might feel that way.
Klein was silent for a moment before continuing, “Perhaps you still need some time to heal. It’s fine. I can wait for you.”
I sighed and said, “You don’t have to wait for me. I can’t fall in love with you, and I don’t see a future with you.”
“Why? Because I’m Herbert’s younger cousin? This isn’t fair to me,” Klein said, his voice rising.
“Why don’t you understand? I don’t want to fall in love right now, and I don’t have any feelings for you,” I said firmly.
“Klein, if you don’t have anything else to say, I’m a bit tired. I want to rest. Please leave.”
My stance was unwavering. I knew it was harsh, but I also knew that if I didn’t like him, I needed to be clear and reject him. It was the best decision for both of us.
Klein let go of my hand and strode toward the door. I crossed my arms over my chest, avoiding his gaze. I just wanted him to leave as soon as possible. I didn’t want to be involved with any other man.
Just as Klein reached the door, he turned around and asked, “Can we be friends?”
I looked up at the ceiling. Of course, I knew that was a man’s trick.
“Being friends” meant he’d still have a chance to get closer to me. I wasn’t an 18-year-old girl anymore. I understood what he was doing.
I turned my back to him and asked, “Did you break up with Vivian because of me?”
Klein hesitated for a moment, then replied, “Vivian and I had many problems. We broke up several times over the years. To be honest, I was tired of it. I kept struggling but didn’t want to let go. If you hadn’t come into the picture, I wouldn’t have made up my mind to leave Vivian.”
His words made me frown. It turned out that Vivian was right. Although I never had any romantic involvement with Klein, their breakup seemed to be because of me. I despised the idea of being a third party. My mother’s marriage and my first love were both destroyed by third parties. The reason Herbert and I parted ways was also because of Caroline.
