Chapter 162
After Stuart had finished his spaghetti, Morwenne decided it was time to address the elephant in the room. “Stuart, do you ever feel like you’re a bit too unpredictable? We could just tolk things out, you know. This push–and–pull routine is wearing me down.”
Indeed, Stuart had always been an enigma to her.
She was drawn to him. Though he could accept or reject her, his alternating warmth and cold distance were unsettling.
Not many had the guts to question Stuart’s actions, but Morwenna felt something was wrong and she said it.
Stuart looked up, his deep and piercing eyes lazily meeting hers.
Lowering her voice, Morwenna continued, “If you’re upset about that night I drunkenly kissed you, I promise it won’t happen again.”
Suddenly, Stuart stood, leaning over the table towards her, a slight smirk playing at his lips, “I didn’t mind.”
“What?”
“Morwenna, how about I stop keeping my distance?”
“What, what do you | mean?”
“Will you keep liking me?”
“Uh… yes..
Morwenna was flustered.
Stuart was not usually this straightforward.
She had prepared a litany of arguments, none of which she needed.
Then, Stuart turned ominously soft, “Since you said you’ll continue, no backing out, okay? Breaking promises can be punished.”
His tone was almost devilishly seductive, sending a shiver down Morwenna’s spine
As she instinctively stepped back, Stuart extended his hand, opening it to reveal a collection of colorful candy–like capsules. “I picked these up. I’ve looked at every single one,” he said with a gentle smile.
Morwenna, momentarily reassured, glanced at the capsules she thought had been trashed.
Seeing Stuart had kept them sparked joy in her eyes.
Morwenna was easy to console. Despite all the times Stuart had upset her, she seemed always ready to forgive
When Stuart was kind, when he helped or saved her, she even fell laughably in love with him, which others saw as weak
But no one considered that Morwenna, who grew up alone from the age of five, experienced the harshness of life and the pangs of hunger without anyone to love her.
Her heart was barren and lonely until she met Melvin as a child who became her lifebuoy.
After Melvin passed away, she found herself back in solitude.
She strived to become the person Melvin hoped she would be, strong, cheerful, studious, and kind.
When Norbert came into her life, she found another pillar to lean on.
Her efforts to be kind to Norbert were partly out of gratitude but mostly out of need.
At her core, Morwenna was just a lonely soul starved for affection.
She had learned from childhood to overlook others‘ mistreatment, a survival tactic bom from enduring too many hardships too young
Conversely, she cherished every bit of kindness shown to her.
As long as Stuart didn’t cross her limits, she could easily forgive.
Stuart, astute as he was, understood Morwenna’s nature and could easily manipulate her.
However, what Stuart didn’t realize was Morwenna’s boundaries.
Morwenna herself had never really known the real Stuart.