However, what Sophie Sullivan hadn’t expected was that William Guillen, always so gentle and refined, would actually say such things to Fluffy Zane.
As for Fluffy Zane, it seemed she had completely lost her self-esteem.
She had chased him all this way, coming to William’s side only to abase herself, lowering herself to the level of dust.
Sophie Sullivan couldn’t understand just how much Fluffy Zane must like William Guillen to allow him to debase her time and time again, trampling her self-esteem underfoot and cruelly crushing it.
Fluffy Zane gazed at the bonfire, which was gradually dying down in the distance. "Would you be willing to come over and sit with me for a while?"
Sophie Sullivan said nothing, but silently followed Fluffy Zane.
The bonfire had dwindled to a pile of embers, still glowing. They burned red, yet were slowly turning to ash.
Fluffy Zane pulled out two small folding stools, handing one to Sophie Sullivan and sitting on the other herself. Sophie Sullivan had been woken up, and since she couldn’t get back to sleep anyway, she figured she might as well keep Fluffy Zane company.
Fluffy Zane stared at the pile of red-hot embers. "Maniac, is there anyone you like?"
Someone I like? Sophie Sullivan didn’t know. Her mind was a blank; she had not a single memory of her past. Whether she had ever liked someone, she couldn’t say. At least, not right now. Currently, there was no one.
The answer was what Fluffy Zane had expected. She gave a bitter smile. "When you eventually find someone you like, you’ll understand why I’m willing to swallow my pride."
"Even if he tramples your self-esteem underfoot, you’d still do it without a second thought?"
What kind of view on love was that? Sophie Sullivan truly didn’t understand. Was love supposed to be about debasing oneself to obtain it? What was the point of a love like that? Better to have no love at all!
"William Guillen... I’ve loved him for eight whole years. For these entire eight years, every single day and night, I’ve dreamed of becoming his bride. Our families are well-matched in terms of social class and family background, and our two families have been friends for generations. But in his eyes, none of this means anything."
Perhaps it was the beauty of the nightfall, or perhaps it was her own utterly dejected and heartbroken state. Whatever the reason, she found herself confiding in Maniac, sharing secrets she had never told anyone before.
Sophie Sullivan’s expression was a little dazed. Eight years... What did that even mean? How many days and nights was that?
It was impossible to imagine how Fluffy Zane had persevered. To love someone for eight years required immense willpower, and a heart that, despite being riddled with wounds, still refused to give up or let go.
"Even when William Guillen is never short of women around him?"
Fluffy Zane gave a bitter laugh, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. "That’s right. Even though he’s never short of women, even when he fools around with different ones... I just pathetically adore him. I know this side of me is contemptible, but I can’t help it..."
Fluffy Zane turned her head. Her tear-filled eyes, shimmering under the starry sky, seemed to hold a strange power. "Maniac, do you believe it? When you truly fall in love with someone, you become willing to unconditionally lower your standards for them. You’ll even break your own boundaries and principles, again and again..."
Sophie Sullivan chuckled softly. Let someone trample her dignity underfoot and grind it into the dust? She couldn’t do it. And she would never allow it. If, one day, her love demanded the price of her dignity, she would rather go without it.
"No. That day will never come for me."
Sophie Sullivan stood up, gazing at the myriad stars in the sky. "I will never let myself reach that point. If the person I love doesn’t love me back, I would rather not love at all."