?Chapter 179:


    In fact, if she were thest woman on earth, she still wouldn’t consider dating a man. She’d rather fight wild animals than get into a romantic rtionship.


    “Just because you’re dating someone doesn’t mean you have to marry them,” Ste said earnestly. “If it’s not working, you’re free to walk away.”


    She meant it sincerely—it wasn’t a joke.


    Sharon had her reasons for avoiding love—deep ones she didn’t talk about.


    The pain she carried hadn’t faded with time; instead, it had hardened into invisible chains, and breaking those chains meant facing a lot of pain.


    However, pretending they weren’t there didn’t help either. Ignored wounds don’t heal—they just keep tearing open, over and over again.


    For a second, something unreadable shed through Sharon’s eyes. But then she gave a loud, carefreeugh and waved it off like a joke. “Stel, take a good look at me. I’m more of a man than most guys out there. They can’t evenpare. Falling in love? That’s never gonna happen for me!”


    Ste pursed her lips but didn’t push the topic. Sharon clearly wasn’t ready to open up.


    Suddenly, Sharon’s face lit up with a mischievous grin. “Oh! I almost forgot.” She grabbed her phone, opened up a viral news thread, and shoved it toward Ste.


    “Look at your ex-husband. This is too good! He spent the night on the side of the road, and someone even stole his belt! I swear, he’s been spiraling ever since you left him. He really thinks all his sess came from his own brilliance, but it was you doing all the work behind the scenes. The man’s blind if he thought you depended on him—he was the one mooching off you!”


    Ste remained unfazed and passed Sharon a fork and knife as the food arrived. “Don’t talk about garbage while we’re eating. Just eat while it’s still hot.”


    After all, Marc’s name alone was enough to ruin her appetite.


    With that, they dug into their meals, both pleasantly surprised that the food here hadn’t changed one bit. It was just as rich, vorful, andforting as they remembered.


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    Ten minutes into their meal, the restaurant had be noticeably busier. It was lunchtime, and nearly every table around them had filled up.


    Then someone took the only free seat at the table next to Ste. Out of habit, Ste turned her head and froze. That familiar silhouette… it was William.


    For a second, she forgot all about the meat still poised on her fork. Her eyes widened slightly in disbelief.


    Choria was a sprawling city, and this quiet, tucked-away eatery wasn’t exactly a popr hotspot. What were the odds they’d cross paths here of all ces?


    It felt too strange to be mere coincidence.


    Before she could say a word, the owner appeared from the back, grinning at William like an old friend. “Back again? Your usual today?” she asked warmly.


    Ste’s brows knitted together. The usual?


    That meant he came here often. With how many people passed through here daily, the owner wouldn’t remember his order unless he was a regr.


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