Love Began with the First Meeting

With a deep breath, Ximena tried to pull herself together. With the same level of indifference in her voice, she replied, "I'm going for a walk." She made sure that her tone didn't reveal how angry she was at Aaron, or that something was heavy on her mind. And just like her

before she was hospitalized, her simple and calm words always showed some arrogance.

Ring!

The phone in Aaron's pocket suddenly rang. For a split second, he took her eyes off of Ximena and fished out his phone from his pockets. After that, he answered the called. He did not open his mouth to speak, but listened to the voice on the other side of the line. "Aaron," Gale said with a sigh. "We will reserve a seat for you tonight, no matter you come or not."

Aaron's eyelids twitched a bit. He hung up the phone and walked out of the elevator. "Are you sure about going out... like this?" To be fair, Ximena was only wearing her nightgown, and she didn't have any coat.

While the weather in QY Island didn't go too low, it was always a bit cool in late autumn.

Without waiting for Ximena to speak, he took off his jacket and draped it over her. After that, she pulled inside the elevator and pressed a button.

Aaron's movements were calm and flowed without any force. They then descended, without any spoken word between them, and they went to the hospital gardens. Regardless of whether other people were watching or not, Aaron took Ximena's hand, held it tight, and they strolled through the gardens.

"You don't look well," Ximena stated, as she gazed at Aaron's face. Her voice was calm and caring, but her expression was flat, as if the statement was only made for formality.

"I accidentally caught a cold," Aaron's replied, his tone also very flat. "Since you currently have a weakened immunity, I decided to avoid the hospital and not come to see you."

Upon hearing these words, Ximena felt like a lightning struck her. "Your Highness," she started, her voice polite, but in the most cartoonish and mocking way. "You shouldn't say those words. Very sentimental. It almost made me think I was hearing things." Her tone, combined with her expressionless face, made the whole thing worse.

Aaron's mouth twitched. He stopped to look at Ximena, but Ximena quickly broke away from his grip and walked on.

Sensing the man's reaction, Ximena said, "You can rest assured that I shall not leave you..."

She turned around and faced Aaron. Seeing her face and hearing what she said, Aaron's heart filled with joy.

"Even if I wanted to leave, or if you wanted me to leave." The confusing statement was made worse by her expression. A smile devoid of feelings was plastered on her face. "In the end, I can never leave."

The joy in Aaron's eyes quickly vanished and it was gradually replaced by complicated feelings. Frozen in his place, he continued to look at Ximena.

"I've been thinking about this for days now... What I am to you? How could you not figure it out when I was three months pregnant?" A painful smile crept up her face. She continued, "Sometimes people deceive themselves when they bask in hope or something else. They always think that their ridiculous disguises could never be penetrated, and that others would never see it. But actually, other people are just waiting for you to fall, and they laugh at you for having your ugly disguises.

"Ximena," Aaron said, his voice deep, authoritative, and angry. He furrowed his eyebrows, and said, "I am waiting for you to speak up your mind, that is all. I never wanted to taunt you, because otherwise..." He paused, his handsome contorted with sadness. His eyes were already brimming with tears. "I wouldn't want this baby."

When she heard this, Ximena let out a huge sigh. She turned slowly to look at Aaron and said, in a gentle voice, "But unfortunately, the baby is gone... Perhaps, people should not have been greedy."

Aaron did not answer. He understood that the Ximena at the moment was different from the one he had seen before, and there was a huge gap between her and him. Her self-preservation instincts made her think that only by not expecting anything could she live a stronger life.

The gorgeousness of QY island made its inhabitants addicted to the physical things, the prosperity money brings. This made monsters out of people - they would be immersed in their corrupted, self-centered lived and they didn't have the courage to change for the better. Aaron drove to the LW Hotel. When he arrived, he got out of the car and threw his car keys at the valet parking attendant.

"Sir, they are waiting for you in the main hall." The lobby manager personally led Aaron to the room. All the way, the guy held his breath because of Aaron's aura. When he opened the hall's doors and Aaron walked in, he finally was able to calm down and breathe. In the doorway, Aaron stood with one hand in his pocket. He was breathing heavily, and his intense gaze swept the room. Around the huge round dining table, Aldrich and Helen were seated facing south. Aldrich had a vacant seat on his left. Gale, James and Ted sat opposite the vacant seat.

Since Aaron's arrival, the atmosphere became stiffer than before. Against expectations, Aaron didn't take the vacant seat. He went forward and instead, he took a seat opposite Aldrich.

Helen stared at Aaron with her beautiful eyes. She put her hands on her legs and held them tightly, afraid that she would get impulsive and do something she should never do at that moment.

James took a look at Helen, reached over and held her hands, which were in tight fists because of anger. Then he looked at Aaron with a smile. "Dad and mom are leaving tomorrow. This dinner was scheduled so as a farewell get-together for the whole family." "That's nice and all, but I'm not one of your family." Aaron spoke slowly, his voice deep, cold, and calculated.

"Well, whether you admit it or not, you're already sitting here..." Ted grumbled, always ignoring what had happened.

Aldrich patted Helen's leg underneath the table, then motioned for service, "Serve the dishes please, and open the bottle of wine that I brought with me."

"Yes, sir." The waitress was smiling, even though it was clear on her face that she wanted to run away that instance.

The dishes were served quickly. All were beautifully presented, delicious, and expensive.

"Aaron," Aldrich said suddenly, breaking the silence during the serving, "I will leave tomorrow, and probably will not come back to QY Island very often in the future..." His voice was a little wistful. "I've been fidgeting all afternoon. I was wondering if you would come tonight..." he said. Then, he leaned towards Aaron's direction. "I've always wanted to ask you," he started. His eyes were aged, and his voice a little heavier. "Are all your past grievances settled?"]