?Chapter 3045:


    “No reason.” Elissa’s gaze slipped past his shoulder before she turned away. “I just don’t want to see you again.”


    She just didn’t want to see him again?


    Ernest stayed silent. His arm around her waist tightened slightly.


    “Hm…” Elissa frowned and let out a small groan, ring at him in protest.


    “You’re ring at me now?” Ernest let out a quietugh. Was she the one getting upset first? Shouldn’t he be the one angry?


    Still, he needed to stay calm. He couldn’t let this end without understanding.


    “Elissa,” he said, his tone steady. “Look at us. Do you often end up in moments like this—with anyone else?”


    They were still close, tightly pressed against each other.


    Ernest pressed further. “I was raised to believe,” he continued, his voice deepening, “that this kind of closeness belongs to something real. Somethingmitted. Maybe even marriage. Do you understand me?”


    Marriage?


    The word startled her. Did he mean he wanted to marry her?


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    “But…” Savannah’s words echoed in Elissa’s mind. She pressed her lips together, her chest heavy with a feeling she couldn’t name.


    “But what?” Ernest’s brow furrowed. “Did your mother say something to you?”


    Elissa hesitated, but then shook her head. “No.”


    So she did.


    Ernest could see it in her eyes—he already had his answer.


    “What did she say?” His tone turned sharp. “That I’m not a good man?”


    “She didn’t say that!” Elissa blurted, shaking her head.


    She hadn’t said he wasn’t good. What her mother said was she wasn’t good enough. That someone like him would never truly want her.


    Without realizing it, she had confirmed what he suspected all along—that her mother had been putting things into her head.


    Frustration red through Ernest. “Don’t listen to her. She doesn’t like me, so of course she’d say something cruel. It’s nonsense.”


    Elissa’s voice rose. “Stop it!”


    She hated hearing anyone speak about her mother like that.


    Even if it was him.


    Ernest fell quiet. He nodded quickly. “I’m sorry.”


    He meant it. He shouldn’t have said that.


    “But can you…”


    “It’s me.” Elissa drew a breath, hershes trembling. “I don’t want to see you because I don’t like you.”


    Ernest froze, disbelief flickering in his eyes. “That’s impossible.”


    Elissa said nothing. The lie sat heavy in her chest.


    How could she tell him the truth—that the reason wasn’t herck of affection for him, but fear of her own condition?


    Even if her mind wasn’t the quickest, she still had her pride. She refused to humiliate herself before him—especially when there was someone like Emma beside him. That radiant, confident Emma. How could she everpare? She wasn’t just falling short; she was far behind.


    Elissa puffed out her cheeks, her eyes blurring as tears threatened to fall.


    “I don’t like you! I don’t want to see you again! I don’t like you!”


    Her voice cracked as she pushed against Ernest with all the strength she had.


    He was caught off guard—startled by her words, thrown off by her sudden burst of force. His bnce gave way, and he stumbled back into the pool with a heavy ssh.


    Elissa took the chance to escape. She scrambled out of the water.


    “Elissa!”


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