CHAPTER 417: YOU WON’T LOSE ME

Aiden banged his hand on the door after ringing the doorbell of Sylvia’s apartment. She was quick to open and looked at him with a confused expression.

"What are you doing?" Sylvia frowned when Aiden stepped in while she took a step back. The door locked behind them when Sylvia crossed her arms together. "If you are here to ask me what happened earlier, then I’m not interested in telling you," she said.

"Let’s date," Aiden proposed.

"What?" Sylvia momentarily stopped blinking as she stared at him in disbelief. "What did you say?"

"I want you to date me," Aiden replied, this time in a firm tone as he took another step closer to her. Earlier, when Roger asked about his relationship with Sylvia, he couldn’t define it. But when he returned and saw Sylvia with Josh, who was practically bothering her, Aiden knew what he wanted.

"What’s gotten into you?" Sylvia scratched her head as she rested it over there. "If it’s because of Josh, then you don’t need to–" she paused as Aiden cut her off in the middle.

"It’s not because of him," Aiden replied. "I am not doing it just to keep that bastard away from you. You can think about it. I do think we will look good together," he asserted. Without uttering another word, Aiden left her apartment and entered his.

Leaning against the doorframe, Aiden closed his eyes. "Why did I do that?" he whispered and shook his head. He walked into the living room and removed the blazer, followed by the tie.

He was heading to the bedroom when the doorbell rang. As he opened the door, he found Sylvia standing right before him.

"What was that?" Sylvia asked.

"What?" Aiden tried acting as if nothing happened.

"You asked me out and then ran away," Sylvia said.

"I didn’t run away. I thought you needed time," Aiden answered.

"What if I refuse?" Sylvia asked.

Aiden blinked slowly before shaking his head. "I understand," he said.

"I’m going to pretty annoying if we date each other. You’ve seen a part of me already," Sylvia said.

"Yeah. I’ve seen the side where you start harming yourself after you get into argument with the people," Aiden answered. He was not thinking anything. The answers were only coming from the bottom of his heart.

Sylvia stared at him for a moment before walking inside. Aiden gave her the way and watched her heading to the living room. He closed the door behind him and went after her.

"What are you thinking?" Aiden inquired, hoping she would be truthful.

"Whoever was related to my brother, I pledged I would not date them, except for Lucius since I had a crush on him. I never dated Roger because he always hurt me with lies. I have an attitude that easily pisses off people. If I date you, I don’t want to get too attached to get broken-hearted later." Her eyes turned slightly misty as she continued, "And you... you’re the only person I truly consider a friend. I’m afraid that if we cross this line and it doesn’t work out... I’ll lose you too."

Aiden nodded his head as he understood what she was trying to say.

"You won’t lose me," Aiden said. "You can think about it. I am a pretty patient guy," he asserted.

"Do you want to drink something?" he turned around, wanting to keep the atmosphere casual between them.

"You must be wanting to rest. You just returned from the work," Sylvia said.

"I’ll rest while drinking a beer," Aiden remarked and headed to the kitchen. Sylvia walked behind him and saw him taking out a beer can. "I’ve an apple juice can too. Wanna drink that? I think it’s not good for you to take any alcoholic drink," he asserted.

"But I do drink sometimes," Sylvia murmured and took the juice can from him. She opened it and drank the juice while Aiden enjoyed the beer, sitting on the counter chair. As he lowered the can, he moved chair close to Sylvia as she attempted to sit while drinking.

Once she settled, she lowered the can and tilted her head. "You didn’t ask me why Josh acting like that?"

"You didn’t want to talk about it," Aiden said quietly. "I don’t pressure people unless they’re ready to share things on their own terms."

Sylvia looked down at her hands for a moment, then exhaled. "Josh and I went to the same university. He had a thing for me back then. After I came back to Italy... I ended up sleeping with him."

Her voice was calm, but her eyes betrayed the heaviness of the memory.

"He took it the wrong way. Thought I’d fall for him. But I won’t. I know I won’t. Still... he keeps showing up, texting, bothering me. I thought after Roger confronted him, he’d back off, but he didn’t. And it’s my fault, because I slept—"

"It wasn’t your fault," Aiden interjected gently, cutting her off before she could finish. He met her eyes with a soft expression. "Whatever happened between you and Josh, whether it was a one-night thing or more, doesn’t give him the right to keep pestering you. If you’ve made it clear you’re not interested and he’s still not listening, he’s the problem. Not you."

Sylvia stared at him for a moment, surprised by his words. Aiden picked up his beer and took a slow sip, while she silently drained her can of apple juice. With a small crunch, she crushed the can and tossed it into the bin.

"Thanks," she murmured. "I’ll get going now."

"Hm," Aiden nodded, watching her walk toward the door.

The moment the door clicked shut behind her, he leaned forward slightly, fingers tightening around the beer can before he crushed it too.

"So Josh still won’t stop, even after Roger talked to him," he muttered under his breath. "Guess it’s time I stepped in."

Reaching for his phone, he scrolled through his contacts, pausing at a name. He then dialed that number.