He leaned back against the pillows, took a few sips of water to wet his throat, and then spoke. "Me being sick has nothing to do with you, either. Don''t overthink it, and definitely don''t feel guilty."
"You should know my style by now. When I break up with someone, it''s clean. No loose ends. We''re done, which means I''m not torn up about it."
"And there''s absolutely no chance of getting back together. I don''t go back for seconds. It''s over between us."
Shifra cried, "Breaking up with you was an impulsive decision, I..."
She truly never imagined that Keaton wouldn''te crawling back to her. He hadn''t sent her a single text in all this time.
Keaton chuckled. "Shifra, I might have a soft spot for a pretty face, but I only care about my girlfriend''s tears. We''ve broken up. Crying in front of me now is useless. I don''t feel sorry for you, and I certainly won''t go soft on you."
"And another thing. It''s not a crime for a girl to be a little clever, but you''ve yed games and used me time and time again. Do you think I''m an idiot, or did you think I''d be sentimental about our past?"
Shifra froze, immediately denying it. "I... I didn''t use you."
Keaton''s eyes narrowed, his tone deceptively mild. "You didn''t use me? Then how did you get close to Winona? And where did you get the resources to make her go viral with all that hate?"
"And for that matter, you caused a public uproar, so why has your life been proceeding as normal?"
"How did you find out what was going on with me? How did you know I was sick, hospitalized, where I was, and what room number?"
"If you weren''t using me, you''d never have had the chance to get near Winona, you wouldn''t have been able to dig up info on me, and you certainly wouldn''t be standing in front of me right now."
"And your life? It would be aplete mess."
Shifra''s brows knitted together as she looked at him, guilt written all over her face. "Keaton, I..."
Keatonid it all out. "You''re actually quite smart. In the face of a crisis, you still had the presence of mind to secure your own future by initiating the breakup."
"By breaking up with me, you could keep me on the hook and maintain your own buzz. After all, everyone was curious if we''d get back together, right?"
"Plus, the public doesn''t know the details of our situation, so no one would dare mess with you behind the scenes."
"You could even continue to use my name to connect with more resources and pave your own way."
"You came to see me today to use me again, didn''t you? Whether I take you back or not, you can continue to use me for hype, to generate buzz for yourself."
"If I''m not mistaken, there are probably paparazzi following you, right? From the moment you entered the hospital to the second you appeared at my door."
"Once you leave this room, the news about us will be all over the inte again, won''t it?"
Shifra''s breath caught in her throat, her face turning pale. "!"
Winona had already looked up, her eyes narrowed as she watched Keaton He''s as sharp as he is charming. He can read women like a book He''s seen right through
Shifra.*
Keaton continued, "After what happened with Winona, I told you. I liked you because you reminded me of my first love. If you had just been honest, confessed everything you did, and cleared the air publicly, I wouldn''t have broken up with you, and I wouldn''t have abandoned you. I would have helped you build your future. But you just couldn''t be honest. After your ''rification,'' you staged ying
games again, hiring
bots to im you were forced into it. Then you kept using my name to
make moves behind my back for
your own gain. Even then, I didn''t
hold it against you. After all, you look
like my first love. But I didn''t expect
you to get addicted to using me and show up here today."
"Shifra, you not only overestimated the ce my first love holds in my heart, you
also overestimated your own intelligence."
Winona looked at Keaton in surprise. She never thought he would so openly admit to his feelings about his first love.