novelraw Chapter 387: Delphine, Let’s Get Married
Chapter 387: Delphine, Let’s Get Married
Ignatius Leclair’s expression was cold and stern, his steps hurried and swift. Delphine struggled to keep up, reaching out to tug at his hand softly, whispering, "Slow down."
The man turned to glance at her, his deep phoenix-shaped eyes carrying a trace of irritation. He led her into the VIP lounge, shutting the troubles of the outside world away with the door, then fixed his gaze on her intently.
The lounge was so silent that they could hear each other’s breaths.
Delphine noticed his penetrating gaze and the coldness in his face. Without saying anything further, she lowered her eyes and said lightly, "Thank you for earlier."
"How will you thank me?" His voice was deep, tinged with a slight hoarseness.
Under the intensity of his stare, Delphine felt herself stiffen slightly. His eyes were as profound as the depths of the ocean, seemingly capable of unraveling all of her thoughts.
Ignatius Leclair caressed her cold face, his slender fingers smoothing out the furrowed crease between her brows. Lowering his face, his breath enveloped her, his voice dropping so low it was almost a whisper: "Marry me, Delphine."
Emotionlessly composed, her face pale, devoid of any trace of warmth, her expressions often lifeless and joyless—from Delphine Carter, Ignatius had seen nothing vibrant, let alone happiness. Just moments ago, she’d been surrounded and attacked by others, yet she remained detached like an outsider, indifferent to everything. If she wasn’t born cold-hearted, then perhaps she’d lost the ability to feel altogether.
Such a Delphine Carter made his chest ache with a dense, sharp pain. This wild thought surfaced in his mind for just an instant and spilled out naturally, as if it had been lingering for years, laced with an undertone of agony and realization.
After speaking, the man stood tense and unmoving, his breath slowing, quietly awaiting her response.
Delphine’s body suddenly stiffened, and tears cascaded down as she lowered her gaze. On the night of her eighteenth birthday, he’d leaned close to her ear, his deep and tender voice threading softly around her heart as he said, "Let’s get married, my little Delphine."
Back then, she’d been so jubilant, as if she’d possessed the entire world. But in the blink of an eye, he’d turned distant—cold, aloof, bringing others to humiliate her and casting her out of the Leclair Family.
She let out a quiet laugh. He really was the most heartless person in this world. Five years ago, he had promised marriage, only to take away everything from her. And now, what did he intend to rob her of this time?
"Ignatius Leclair, five years ago, did you truly not care for me, not even a bit?" She lowered her gaze, her voice hoarse, her thick, curling lashes wet with tears, resembling the desperate flutters of a dying butterfly stripped of its wings.
The man stood frozen, his body rigid as stone. That fleeting moment of impulsiveness and madness dissipated in an instant, and the warmth in his chest cooled completely. He couldn’t even recall how he’d felt about Delphine Carter five years ago. Mostly, it had been revenge, he supposed. As for anything else, he couldn’t remember at all.
He remained silent and said nothing.
Delphine closed her eyes, her tears gradually drying. So this was what the feelings that had burned through her youth amounted to—silence in the face of Ignatius Leclair.
She spoke, her voice rough and faint: "Ignatius Leclair, you are a cold-hearted person. Perhaps one day you will find someone who can thaw your heart, but that person will not be me."
She had spent three years trying to melt the ice within him, only to be met with his rejection and five years of a wandering, unstable life. Human emotions are finite, and now she had none left to offer in warming such a cold heart.
All these years, no matter how unwilling she was to accept it, she had to concede—she had loved him, but he had not loved her.
He wanted to marry her. Perhaps it was out of compensation, habit, or pity. But it wasn’t love.