Chapter 183 Cut bit /bbout /b

    “Marvin, I appreciate you saving me, but…” Sarah pausedb, /bsearching for the right words. “You know, it’s usually just family or romantic partners who live together. And, you can’t just go around kissing me as you please. Surely, you’re aware of this, right?”

    “Would you rather have me as your spouse or partner?” Marvin asked. The memory of Marcelo’s taunt fromst night echoed in

    his mind.

    Firmly holding Sarah’s hand, he dered, “I’m going to marry you, Sarah.”

    Sarah stood there, speechless.

    The sight of a charming, confident man proposing was something many dream of.

    Since she was young, Sarah had imagined a man sincerely asking her, “Sarah, will you marry me?”

    But the man she pictured wasn’t Marvin.

    Acting on impulse, she questioned, “Marvin, do you like me?”

    “Yes, I like you,” Marvin responded without a second thought.

    Sarah’s heart fluttered.

    She had heard the word “like” numerous times.

    But it always ended up meaning nothing.

    “I’m sorry,” she said, gently removing Marvin’s hand. “Marvinb, /bsince you’ve recovered, you’ve be overly reliant on me. This ‘liking‘ you’re feeling, it’s just your mind ying tricks. I can’t ept that.”

    Marvin frowned, clearly unhappy..

    She doubted his words.

    “Do you have feelings for someone else?” he spected.

    It seemed clear to him who this other person might be.

    “No,” she replied firmly. Speaking of Quincyb, /bSarah remainedposed. “Quincy’s with Alma now. He and I are nothing more than acquaintances.”

    As Sarah looked at Marvin, she felt a sense of liberation from her past ties with Quincy.

    For two years, she had seemed indifferent, yet she carried deep–seated emotions about their history.

    Her love for Quincy was real, but it ended in her family’s downfall and her father’s death.

    Hearing Marvin talk about marriage now struck her as somewhat ironic.

    Sarah understood that the promises made in youth don’t always hold true.

    Love and marriage could not be as valuable as they appear, just like Marvin confidently proposing and professing his love.

    Sarah gave ba /bsmall smile. “Marvin, be careful with your words. Don’t tell women you like them so easily, and certainly don’t rush into promises of marriage. bIt /bcan cause confusionb./b”

    Marvin’s hand tensed behind himb, /bout of Sarah’s sight.

    “By bthe /bbway/bb, /bwas there a Pagani herest night?” She asked with ba /bhint bof /bintent.

    Marvinb, /bbvisibly /birritatedb, /bhesitated bat /bfirst.

    Thenb, /bbhe /breluctantly admitted, “Marcelo was bhere/bb./bb” /b

    100 Cutout

    Sarah was taken aback. It was really Marcelo!

    Who would’ve guessed that the “two handsome guys” students were talking about were Marvin and Marcelo!

    Marcelo had left a little while ago, heading for the airport.

    He’d parked in the airport parking lot for about ten minutes when a man opened the passenger door.

    This man was stylishly dressed, with gold–rimmed sses, exuding a blend of elegance and subtlety.

    He beamed, “Mr. King, it’s a privilege to be picked up by you after my trip abroad!”

    “Enough with thepliments,” Marcelo replied impatiently.

    Levy Sanders gave a smallugh and handed Marcelo a brown paper bag. “Here’s the information you requested.” “About Renee’s background? Already?” Marcelo was surprised. He quickly opened the file, his anticipation evident. He’d been eagerly waiting for this!

    “No,” Levy responded to Marcelo. “Well, I haven’t found information on your wife, but I did discover something about Naomi.” Marcelo squinted, delving into the file’s contents with a furrowed brow.

    away to a

    ., usually

    Levy exined, “Someone has been secretly reaching out to Naomib, /bproviding her with money, for the past fifteen years. Marcelo, take a look at page three. At seven, Renee, battered by Grace, fell seriously ill. Naomi, her savior, whisked private hospital in the dead of night. Oddly, no medical expenses surfaced in Naomi’s records. Renee’s primary do reserved for intricate cases, made an exception. Furthermore, the scar removal medicine used was nowhere to be found in the country at that time, making it a seemingly impossible acquisition for Naomi.” Pausing for a moment, Levy dered, “And this is just the tip of the suspicious iceberg.”

    Marcelo swiftly perused the information, aligning with Levy’s conclusions.

    “Naomi’s got a benefactor.” Marcelo queried, “Any luck tracing the mysterious contact?”

    “Not there yet, but the search is ongoing,” Levy assured.

    Marcelopleted reading the file, yet his gaze lingered on specific words printed on the paper, lost in contemtion.

    At seven, battered by Grace, Renee endured a feverish hospitalization.

    At nine, she was made to kneel on cobblestones for the entire night as punishment for not taking good care of her brother. Following that, she struggled to walk for three days.

    Back thenb, /bshe clinched over a hundred grand in variouspetitions, only to find Ro’s pocket as the final destination for her winnings.

    At tenb, /bcaught in a torrential downpour just outside her door, she sumbed to a high fever.

    At eleven, she was unable to attend the exam due

    ??

    illness and experienced mistreatment from Grace.

    At fourteen, she won the international golden prize in a teen violinpetition, only to bepelled to abandon the violin the bsame /bbyear/b.

    Marcelo had always bbeen /baware that Renee’s childhood was challengingb, /bbut it was only after reading these words that he trulyprehended the full extent of her hardship.

    Aching with a longing to see her, his heart stirred.

    The bdesire /bto embrace her and bestow on her the love and care shed missed out on consumed him.

    2/48

    Chapter 183 Cut it out

    Renee found herself leading a ss on “Image Design and Aestheticsb” /bfor junior students in her field as an elective.

    Every seat in the ssroom was imed.

    Surprisingly, even the typically vacant front row was brimming with eager students.

    “Did I walk into the wrong ssroom?” Renee wonderedb, /bstepping out to verify the room number. “No, it’s correct. I recall the course having a limit of 30 students.”

    “Renee! We didn’t secure a spot in the course, so we’re auditing!” eximed a student in the first row.

    Another chimed in, “Hey, Renee, why does this room, with 60 seats, only offer 30 spots?”

    Renee casually shrugged. “Maybe they figure it’s easier to grade 30 assignments instead of 60?” Laughter erupted.

    “Hahaha! No need to be that realistic.”

    Her frankness sparkedughter among the students, creating a light–hearted atmosphere and fostering a connection.

    Making her way to the podium, Renee’s eyes caught a stunning arrangement of sunflowersb, /btulips, white roses, and eucalyptus

    leaves.

    “Renee, that bouquet is a gift from Howard of the Student Union!” a male student called out.

    Renee hesitated, her hand suspended in mid–air, reluctant to touch the bouquet, caught in a moment of indecision.

    “Cut it out! How dare you tease her?!” scolded a female student, yfully pping that male student. “Renee, attention to his nonsense. Howard has prepared that bouquet as a gesture from all of us students for you!”

    pay

    It was only then that Renee’s smile bloomed, expressing gratitude to her juniors with a heartfelt turn.

    Her gaze casually swept over the gathered studentsb, /bing to an abrupt stop.

    In the corner of the front row, a girl with tidy bangs sat, radiating charm with her delicate features.

    Unlike her peers, who were equipped with notebooks and pens, her desk remained bare. Her round, doe–like eyes sparkled with mischief.

    In stark contrast to her studious peers, she stood out amidst their serious endeavors.