Chapter 163: A Costly Blow

That was obviously impossible.

And Elias had no intention of giving Serena that chance.

What a joke.

If he stayed here tonight, he would have to pretend to be sleepless until morning. Tossing and turning was secondary. The real problem was that he would not get any proper sleep.

How could that be allowed?

Sleepless nights could be Serena Blackwood’s problem. He was going to pick himself up, leave, and sleep beautifully somewhere else.

Elias ignored Serena’s words completely. He turned over, moved to the edge of the bed, and slipped into his slippers.

The moment he tried to stand, Serena caught his arm.

Her grip was hard enough that Elias did not need to look down to know there would be a red mark around his wrist.

He did not cry out in pain to make her loosen her hold.

He only sighed, tired and powerless.

"Do you like me that much?" he asked. "Enough to threaten me, lie to me, keep me beside you, torture me, hurt me, and treat it like entertainment?"

Like.

That word was a hot brand pressed straight against Serena.

She released him abruptly.

She would never admit that Elias’s sentence had struck the most hidden corner of her heart.

The reason she threatened him, lied to him, and hurt him really was because she liked him.

There was nothing shameful about admitting she liked someone.

Even for Serena, that should have been true.

When she had liked Lucien Hart, she had expressed that feeling clearly and openly.

But the beginning between Serena and Elias had never been the start of a romance. It had been a contract.

An agreement.

From the very first moment, the nature of it had already been decided.

It was not a mutual relationship.

It was a transaction.

And not even a transaction both sides had willingly entered.

So in a transaction like that, if she, the owner, had really fallen for the so-called possession she bought...

How could Serena’s pride ever accept that?

Serena had already fallen from power once.

Her parents had died in a car accident, and from that point on, she had learned what cold stares and ridicule tasted like. Everything she had now had been rebuilt by her own hands. Aside from Liora, no one else had anything to do with it.

She and Liora had supported each other all the way to this point, returning to the throne they had been pushed away from.

So Serena’s dignity and pride were things no one could stain.

They were her reverse scale.

Not even Lucien had been an exception.

As those thoughts settled, the turbulence in Serena’s chest slowly calmed.

She breathed out, and at last, she regained control.

Then her red lips curved into a faint, arrogant smile.

"Break up?"

"Are you misunderstanding something?"

"When were we ever together?"

Elias turned his head sharply and stared at her in disbelief. His pupils trembled again.

It was as if he had only just realized that Serena had never once said, with her own mouth, that she liked him.

So-called Eli had only been a nickname used to deceive him.

Serena kept smiling.

"Wishful thinking? At least you understand yourself well enough to know that."

"Self-awareness is valuable. In that respect, you’re better than most people."

"And as it happens, I’m bored of you too. Since you insist on leaving, then..."

"Get out."

After saying all of that, Serena looked at Elias, who had begun trembling again.

Tears spilled endlessly from his reddened eyes, but Serena felt no pleasure at all.

She only watched him turn back into the version of himself from the beginning, stubbornly biting his lip tight, refusing to let out even the smallest sob.

Only his tears kept falling, one drop after another, soaking the clothes he was about to put on.

Elias dressed himself neatly.

The only thing still in his hand was his glasses. He had not put them back on.

When he reached the door and was about to leave, he turned his head as if looking at Serena one last time.

"Goodbye."

Serena’s breath caught slightly.

Then she understood what those two words meant.

Goodbye.

Not see you later.

Never see you again.

This was not a temporary farewell.

It was a final one.

Never see you again?

Serena almost laughed.

The planet was only so big. What was he going to do, escape into space?

They would see each other again.

Of course they would.

But even with that thought, Serena could not feel even a little happy.

Her chest rose and fell sharply, and beneath it came a tearing pain so deep it almost felt physical.

This was not how it should have gone.

In Serena’s plan, once tonight passed and Elias cleared her test, she would put aside every old doubt and suspicion.

And the result had indeed been what she expected.

The best outcome.

Liora had shown nothing strange. Nothing improper. Elias’s feelings for Serena were obvious.

He had passed the test.

But Serena had not expected that while Elias passed her test, she would fail his.

It was not that Serena had never considered that this kind of thing might humiliate him.

But only this method could reveal what Liora truly felt for Elias. Liora had seen too many women, played too many games, and hidden herself too well. If anything could make her slip, it would be this.

If Liora exposed a flaw, then it would mean something existed between her and Elias. In that case, what would Elias’s humiliation matter?

And if Liora did not...

If.

If.

Only now did Serena realize that she had imagined countless possibilities, but not the one that mattered most.

She had never truly imagined Elias’s reaction after being humiliated.

But why?

On what grounds?

How did he dare say the words break up?

While Serena sat there questioning her life, Elias had already packed his things and slipped away with his suitcase at top speed.

Heartless did not even begin to cover it.

After all, Serena’s favorability had already reached the level Elias wanted.

Eighty percent.

A number that could count as love.

But Elias had seen straight through Serena’s mind. Even now, she was still being stubborn, damaging him and herself in the same breath.

Elias complained to System Theta, "With normal people, eighty percent favorability would already be enough to grow old together."

[System Theta: ...]

"But with these trash women, it barely reaches the passing line."

"And there are five of them."

[System Theta: Only you could win them over...]

If anyone other than the Bureau’s ace employee had been sent here, handling even one of them would have been difficult enough.

Elias waved casually. "Routine work. Hold the applause."

He raised a hand to wipe his eyes and was about to put his glasses back on.

Then he remembered something and slipped them back into his pocket instead.

He had almost forgotten there was still one spectator’s favorability to farm.

No.

Maybe calling Liora a spectator was not accurate anymore.

With that hidden preference of hers, perhaps a better term would be...

Elias smiled brightly.

He had not expected Liora to have that kind of secret attribute.

That was excellent.

He might not be able to give her much else, but if she wanted to watch someone else put a hat on her head, he could provide wholesale supply.

As many as she wanted.

With that happy thought, Elias dragged his suitcase down to the first floor.

The space was empty.

Not a single figure waited there.

[System Theta: Pfft...]

Elias went still.

Where the hell was Liora?

Why had she not come to see him off?

Now he had lost face in front of his little cutie.