"Miss Rivers..." Caelan Dwayne's face turns cold as he speaks teasingly, "It seems you don't quite understand something. Although I am poor and just a skewer vendor, that doesn't mean I would marry a woman with whom I have no emotional foundation, not even a fake marriage. You can call me hypocritical, stupid, or presumptuous, but I am quite stubborn. I have my principles, and 'fake marriage' isn't in my dictionary."

 

　　"You..." Serena Rivers certainly doesn't expect that a man she regarded so lowly would reject her offer, even just for a fake marriage. Doesn't he realize how many of Silverport's most eligible bachelors want to be close to her but are all excluded?

 

　　Yet Caelan Dwayne doesn't stop, he continues, "If you are truly a conservative woman, who can't accept losing her chastity to a man she doesn't love, I understand you, and I feel sorry and guilty. If you want, I will seriously pursue you until you can truly like me. Then, we can get married, and I am completely fine with that. As for whether I will genuinely love you, you don't need to doubt, I think any normal man would not doubt your charm. However, if you want me just to act as a shield for your career and pretend to be your husband for three years, I, Caelan Dwayne, will not accept it."

 

　　"Hmph, pursue me... With what? Your skewers?" Serena Rivers is truly angry, baffled by his arrogance. All her life, no man has ever refused her unreasonable demands, but now, an insignificant man is refusing to marry her!

 

　　Caelan Dwayne slips back into his rogue mode, chuckling, "Look, I'm so handsome, so manly, I grill delicious skewers, I live a humble life, have the virtues of a traditional good man, and importantly, I treat women well. If it's to my wife, then even better..."

 

　　"Enough!" Serena Rivers, fearing she might explode if she listens any longer, exclaims, "$30 million! To buy you for three years!"

 

　　"It's not about the money..."

 

　　"$30m for two years!" Serena Rivers lowers her demand, fuming.

 

　　Caelan Dwayne still shakes his head, "Not even $30 billion would work. It's a matter of principle!"

 

　　"Do you believe I can get you out of the police station and also make you spend a lifetime in prison?" Serena Rivers's eyes turn red with a mix of grievance and resentment as she spits out hatefully.

 

　　Caelan Dwayne bursts into laughter, "On what grounds? Are you going to tell the police that I raped you last night? I recall quite clearly, Miss Rivers, that you were the one who took the initiative many times..."

 

　　"You... Me... Me... you..." Serena Rivers, biting her pink lips, tears suddenly flooding from her eyes, exclaims, "Caelan Dwayne, you are shameless!"

 

　　If this had happened more than half a year ago, and a woman cried in front of Caelan Dwayne, he would have dismissed her as merely putting on an act to lower his guard and feigning helplessness to seduce him. But now, the beauty before him, with whom he had an intimate encounter, is genuinely upset and crying because of what he said.

 

　　Involuntarily, Caelan Dwayne feels a twinge of guilt, even though he believes he spoke nothing but the truth. After all, for a modern woman who has preserved her chastity for over twenty years, his words were indeed harsh.

 

　　"Alright, stop crying... Do I apologize to you enough?" With a touch of annoyance, Caelan Dwayne reaches into his jacket pocket but finds it empty. At the moment, he recalls he hadn't bought cigarettes recently due to his intention of quitting smoking.

 

　　Serena Rivers, with a face wet from tears, looks irresistibly pitiable, yet she is stubborn. After shedding a few tears, she wipes them away with a tissue, but continues to glare at Caelan Dwayne with red eyes, "I'm asking you one more time, will you marry me?"

 

　　"I told you, Miss Rivers, what's with the beauty dragging a man into marriage these days? I've made it clear, I'm not going to play a three-year boring game with you." Caelan Dwayne sighs and stands up, intending to leave.

 

　　Serena Rivers doesn't say much this time, but her eyes show a trace of despair as she numbly stands up and heads to the café's second-floor balcony.

 

　　The café's balcony is spacious, with several small tables shaded by umbrellas and various potted plants creating a fresh and pleasant atmosphere.

 

　　Seeing this, Caelan Dwayne's pupils shrink, and he gasps, "Miss Rivers, you're not going to jump off the balcony because I refuse to marry you, are you?"

 

　　Serena Rivers, as if unheard, continues towards the balcony. She slowly approaches the edge, pulls up a chair, and climbs up to the railing.

 

　　Caelan Dwayne hesitates. Could this woman be so stubborn and resolute? Jumping off this balcony and landing on the solid stone pavement below is bound to cause death, or at least severe disability...

 

　　But Serena Rivers's actions soon show Caelan Dwayne just how determined she is...

 

　　Indifferently, Serena Rivers turns to look at Caelan Dwayne, her eyes filled with resolution, disgust, pain, and sadness as if her soul is tortured inside her beautiful body, seeking release...

 

　　Their eyes meet, and Caelan Dwayne feels a tug at his heart, too familiar with that look. It's too similar to an indelible image in his mind, the one that, more than half a year ago, made him break free from over a decade of bloodshed abroad to return to his homeland...

 

　　Now, from Serena Rivers's eyes, Caelan Dwayne recalls too many things he tried to forget but couldn't. At that moment, he is lost.

 

　　Seeing Caelan Dwayne standing there, dazed, as if he has no intention of responding, Serena Rivers feels a wave of misery... Even if she jumps off, that man wouldn't care. Thinking about the pain of losing her virginity to him, the pressures and entanglements in her life, work, and family, Serena Rivers feels she's about to break down... What's the point of living? Better to end it all...

 

　　Just then, as the young waiter who has finished preparing the coffee and carries the tray upstairs walks to the staircase, the first thing he sees is Serena Rivers preparing to jump down the balcony.

 

　　"Miss Rivers! What are you doing? It's dangerous!"

 

　　Before the waiter's words even finish, a figure suddenly dashes past him, leaving a blur, as fast as a special effect in a movie.

 

　　Serena Rivers, tears brimming in her eyes, is about to leap off the balcony. Suddenly, a pair of strong hands encircles her slender waist, halting her jump in mid-motion.

 

　　Everything happens in a flash. The waiter at the staircase can't even see clearly what's happening before he sees on the balcony, the roughly dressed man, cradling the beauty's waist in his arms, both standing there, silent and motionless...

 

　　Sunlight spills over the greenery on the balcony, casting a soft green glow on the young man and woman, creating a peaceful and ambiguously romantic atmosphere.

 

　　The waiter, relieved, can't help but envy the man for being intimately involved with such a stunning beauty like Miss Rivers. Quietly placing the coffee down, he retreats downstairs.

 

　　Serena Rivers feels as if she has been transported from hell back to heaven. She doesn't know how Caelan Dwayne managed to move behind her in that instant, nor does she have the mind to ponder over it. All she feels are a pair of fiery arms tightly embracing her waist, holding her so tightly that it stings a little. The man's heavy breaths are gently cascading down her sensitive back.

 

　　"Let me go. Even if you stop me now, I'll still end my life later," Serena Rivers says stubbornly, her cheeks flushed.

 

　　Caelan Dwayne gazes at Serena Rivers in his arms and inadvertently catches a whiff of the alluring fragrance emanating from her, carrying a subtle scent of jasmine. Even though Caelan Dwayne has experienced many top-grade perfumes, he has to admit that this natural body fragrance surpasses them all.

 

　　After a moment of silence, a complicated look flashes across Caelan Dwayne's eyes. He takes a deep breath and sighs softly.

 

　　"Serena Rivers, I give up. I will marry you."