novelbin Chapter 186: Between Us, It Ends Here
Chapter 186: Between Us, It Ends Here
He simply held the phone, with the QR code already displayed, right in front of Riley Perry, not moving it an inch.
’I’d love to see what kind of expression the A-list actor is making right now,’ Riley thought, ’but he’s too bundled up. All I can see are his eyes; the rest of his face is completely hidden.’
Ultimately, she scanned the code and sent a friend request.
Samuel Hughes was pleased. He looked down and accepted the request.
After Riley Perry got back in the car, she had Rocco drive her to The Elysian Gardens. "Oh, and tomorrow, go pick up a car for me. A Lincoln SUV. Make it a fully loaded, black one."
"Yes, Ria."
Riley Perry got out and went upstairs. After parking the car, Rocco got into his own vehicle and drove off.
The elevator doors opened to reveal a dejected-looking man standing at her door.
"Sweetie, you’re finally back." Eric Sinclair took a step forward, wanting to pull her into his arms.
But Riley deftly dodged him.
"Second Master Sinclair, let’s not get handsy, okay?"
Eric Sinclair’s eyes reddened in an instant.
"Sweetie, please don’t be like this. I can explain everything. Just give me a chance, please?"
Riley Perry glanced at him. ’My, my. It’s only been one night, and the poor guy is already so haggard. He looks so pitiful, it almost makes you feel sorry for him.’ "Alright," she said. "I’ll give you one chance. Come in and we’ll talk."
Eric Sinclair was instantly overjoyed. As long as Sweetie was willing to hear his explanation, there was still hope.
Riley Perry unlocked the door with her fingerprint, and Eric Sinclair quickly followed her inside.
"Have a seat. Want something to drink? I have orange juice and soda." Shane Perry loved those, so she’d bought extra and still had some left.
This was Eric Sinclair’s first time in the home of the woman he loved, but he was in no mood to admire the apartment. His eyes were glued to his Sweetie.
"Don’t trouble yourself. I’m not thirsty."
She ignored him, pouring two glasses of water and placing them on the coffee table.
"Go on. I’m listening."
Eric Sinclair had been watching Riley Perry’s expression. Seeing her say this without any emotion, he felt a sharp, needle-like pain in his heart. It was as if she didn’t care about him at all, as if she had never liked him in the first place.
"Sweetie, there’s nothing between me and Rosalie Upton. You’re the only one I love."
Riley Perry gave him a look that said, ’You really think I’m buying that?’
"It’s true, I’m not lying to you. But that aside... I’m Eric Sinclair, Cole Sinclair’s twin brother.
"Before, back when you went on that show, my brother was hunted by assassins and got injured. He couldn’t manage the company, so I came back.
"I heard from my brother’s men that he had someone he liked. I was worried... worried that the person getting close to my brother might be trouble, so I decided to observe you up close. I never expected that I would fall for you the moment I saw you.
"After that... I couldn’t control myself.
"I admit I deliberately tore up the contract he signed. Why should the woman I love be someone else’s lover?
"My Sweetie should be held in the palm of someone’s hand—pampered, loved, respected, revered, and cherished.
"I thought about telling you my real identity, but I was afraid you would leave me if you knew I wasn’t him. I couldn’t accept that outcome, so I figured I’d wait until you fell in love with me before I confessed.
"I never expected Rosalie Upton to suddenly pop up.
"Sweetie, I swear to you, there’s really nothing between us. She’s mentally ill. Her family sent her abroad for treatment five years ago, and she hasn’t been back once in all that time.
"So there’s no way anything could be going on between us.
"Sweetie, I admit it was wrong of me to deceive you, and I sincerely apologize. But I still hope you can give me a chance. Don’t just reject me so completely. I can’t accept this."
Riley Perry took a sip of water, then said calmly, "It’s true that you deceived me from the start. And it’s also true that your ex has now come knocking.
"Besides, your explanation is vague on many points, you’re glossing over the important parts. You’re still hiding something from me."
Eric Sinclair’s head throbbed. He desperately wanted to explain everything clearly, but there seemed to be something wrong with his mind. Many of his memories were fuzzy. If he couldn’t even understand it himself, how could he explain it to his Sweetie?
"Sweetie, I’m not trying to hide anything from you, but I don’t know how to explain it."
Riley Perry seemed not to see his predicament. Her tone was exceptionally flat. "Eric Sinclair, none of that really matters.
"I can’t accept that you approached me using your brother’s identity, and I especially can’t accept your reason for doing so.
"When it comes down to it, you’re used to being high and mighty, looking down on any woman who gets close to you or your brother. You assumed I was after your brother’s money, so you wanted to expose me to show off your own superiority and how despicable I was.
"But what can you do? I *am* a gold digger!
"And yet you just had to fall for a despicable person like me. Isn’t that laughable?"
With that, she took out the VIP card Eric Sinclair had once given her and handed it to him.
"You should go. And don’t come back. We’re over."
Eric Sinclair stared at her in disbelief. He had never imagined that the consequence of his confession would be no future at all.
"Sweetie, don’t say that. You’re not like this at all. You just haven’t fallen in love with me yet. I can wait!"
Riley Perry looked him in the eye and said, enunciating every syllable, "Eric Sinclair, there’s no need. There’s no need to wait any longer. I’m not going to fall in love with you.
"We’re all adults here. If you’re not happy together, you break up. It’s a simple thing. Let’s not be so clingy, okay?"
In that moment, Eric Sinclair could almost hear his own heart shattering. His eyes betrayed him as something began to well up. He threw his head back, refusing to let it fall, refusing to let her see him so vulnerable and wretched. He then shot to his feet and hurried out of Riley Perry’s apartment.
The door slammed shut with a BANG. Riley Perry clicked her tongue. ’This alter ego is actually pretty fun. I just wonder how the primary personality will react when he wakes up.’
Leo popped out again. Since no one else was home, he reverted to his true form, floating in front of Riley Perry. "Master, are you really not planning to be with that Sinclair guy? He looked so pitiful when he left just now."
"Hah. What’s so pitiful about him? He’s rich, powerful, and handsome. His net worth is in the hundreds of billions. If a guy like that is pitiful, then there’s no one in this world who isn’t."
"But it really looked like there was nothing between him and that woman. A simple explanation should have cleared it up. Why are you still harping on it?" Leo thought, ’Isn’t Master being a bit melodramatic?’
Riley snapped, "What would a Sword Spirit like you know!"
She could never forget the night she had just returned. In a moment of passion, she had called out "Hubby," only for Cole to coldly tell her to use a different form of address. From that moment on, she had made up her mind to never give her true heart to a Sinclair.
She just hadn’t expected Cole Sinclair to have a dual personality. Of course, that didn’t affect her final decision. Breaking up with "Eric Sinclair" now was just the first step.
She pulled a Spirit Fruit from her dimensional space and, without bothering to wash it, took a bite with a CRUNCH. The dense Spiritual Energy from the Hundred Spirits Fruit made Riley Perry let out a satisfied sigh. "Ah, life is just getting more and more comfortable."