ENCHANTED LOVE, VOLUME 3 - Season 13 Episode 98

After finishing his proposal, Black looked up at Holley with bright eyes, believing he would hear the answer he wanted.

At that point, Holley was barely keeping her smile intact. She didn’t dare look at Black directly because she knew she would break her act if she did.

“This is so sudden… It all happened in a flash. I’m completely unprepared,” she smiled awkwardly. Truly, she was caught in a dilemma.
On the one hand, it was Charles who she loved, not Black, so it was clear that she couldn’t accept the proposal. On the other hand, she urgently needed to secure Black’s trust to gain his shares so she couldn’t directly refuse him.

Put in such a spotlight, Holley was so nervous that her forehead was sweating, the droplets rolling down her temple, to her cheek, and to her jaw.

“I didn’t just suddenly propose to you. I’ve been thinking about this for a long time. I’m sure that I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I hope you can give me this opportunity to take care of you for as long as I live.”

As he firmly said it, he nudged the ring forward an inch.

“But I still think it’s far too sudden. Give me a few days to think about it, okay? I’m sorry.” Without any other excuse to refuse him, she kept her answers vague.

Though he was disappointed, Black also knew that what he did was rather abrupt. All he could think to do was find another opportunity to propose to Holley. Encouraging himself, he thought, ‘I must succeed next time. Holley will feel my sincerity and accept me.’

“Well, Holley, I respect your choice. I will wait for you as long as you need. Here, take the ring. You can put it on when you’re certain about accepting me,” Black said affectionately.

Taking the ring, she simply said, “Thank you, Black.”

On the way home, neither of the two spoke. The marriage proposal seemed like too much of an impact. Originally, Black was certain that they were mutually attached, so Holley’s rejection was completely unexpected. Now, he knew that Holley didn’t love him as much as he loved her.
All the while, Holley’s mind was also a mess. Of course, she was well aware that no matter how many days he gave her to think about it, she would never be willing to marry him. Charles was still the only person who she wanted to be with.

The silence in the car made her too uneasy as she wasn’t sure whether or not Black was angry at her. If he really was angry and directly handed his shares over to his father, Rex, what would Holley have left to do?

The atmosphere in the vehicle grew increasingly solemn until Holley opened her mouth, unable to bear it any longer.

“Would you like to stay for the night?”

As she said it, she merely stared at Black’s hands on the steering wheel. If they weren’t the only two people in the car, Black wouldn’t have been sure that Holley was talking to him.

“I won’t stay today. There’s an early meeting at the company tomorrow morning. My house is closer to the office.”

In truth, Black didn’t have to go home that night. But without knowing what Holley really thought of him, he couldn’t spend the night with her.

What made Black feel even stranger was that he wasn’t touched at all when he heard Holley’s words. Black’s heart was numb unlike before, when his heartbeat would be racing, too difficult to calm down after hearing Holley say such words.

Even Black had to admit that the proposal triggered a crack in their relationship.

Before stepping out of the car, Holley gave Black a deep goodnight kiss, which, at the very least, managed to give him some confidence.

“Holley, I want to take you back home to meet my father this weekend. He’s been expecting me to introduce my girlfriend to him for a long time now. I want to take you home so he won’t worry about my marriage anymore.”

Although she also felt uncomfortable to refuse a second unexpected request, Holley wouldn’t dare go with him to meet Rex.

In the past, Holley had already heard quite a lot about Rex. The Sanderson Group’s development into the current scale was entirely dependent on Rex’s strategy of operation.

Undoubtedly, he was a scheming man. It was said that others were all too afraid to play any kind of trick in front of him because they couldn’t escape Rex’s calculating eyes.

What was more, Rex had a Mafia background and nobody dared provoke him. Not wanting his son to get involved in that scene, he tried to gradually wash the Sanderson Group in the recent years, operating the company legally. Still, his history still scared people off.

Holley’s past was not completely legal. She was afraid that Rex would figure out all her immoral actions in the past. If Rex had her unmasked, Black would most definitely leave her and she would no longer own Tarsan Corporation. Hesitantly, Holley started, “I think… It’s not yet time. When the time is ripe, I’ll go home with you to visit your father, okay?”

This time, Holley didn’t dare look directly at Back’s face. Because she was refusing him once again, she knew that he might get truly angry.

“What? Why not? Just come with me to see my father! Why can’t you do that? I think the time has been right for a while now!” It was unbelievable. Black couldn’t understand why Holley wouldn’t even grant him a small, insignificant request.

But how could Holley explain it to him? It was impossible to tell him that she never dared meet his father because she was too afraid of being exposed.

Faced with another rejection, Black was left utterly frustrated. He couldn’t understand what was going through her mind. Was she dealing with personal issues?

The two were so close to each other inside the narrow space of the car, so much that even their breathing sounds were utterly clear and audible. In spite of their proximity, Black couldn’t help but feel like she was drifting far away from him at that moment as if he couldn’t touch even her shadow as he stretched out to reach her.

‘Does she really love me?’ Looking at Holley, Black could only ask himself this question. Afraid that Holley wouldn’t give him the answer he wanted, he was afraid to say it out loud.

Naturally, Holley didn’t really love him back. In spite of everything, it was still Charles who was on her mind and in her dreams. How could she leave room in her heart for Black?

“Black, I’m a bit tired. You should go home early to rest. You still have an early meeting tomorrow, don’t you?” Unfastening her seatbelt, she bid him goodbye.

Black finally realized that no matter how much he questioned her, she wouldn’t give him an explanation. All he could do was watch her get out of the car and walk inside her house before she shut the door closed. Before Holley entered the house, she cast Black a pointed look and said, “Don’t think too much. See you tomorrow.” No one knew if her words were meant to comfort or advise him. Black nodded slightly, but his face remained stoic. The sound of the car engine being started was heard, and then he quickly sped away. After Holley went to bed, she tossed and turned all night and couldn’t fall asleep. She clearly felt Black’s stubborn love for her. If she kept close to him every day, seeing Rex would be inevitable.

Thus, she had to stop seeing him frequently and let them calm down first.