Chapter 136 You’re the Only One I Like
Willow’s face turned deathly pale as she suddenly rushed forward, clutching at Brian’s sleeve. “Brian, you can’t treat me this way. I sacrificed an eye for you. How could you cut ties with me just like that?”
Brian looked at her coldly. “You never sacrificed your eye for my sake. You were simply too late to escape that day. If you’d been able to run, you surely would have. Besides, isn’t everything I’ve given you over the years enough compensation?”
Willow’s entire body trembled. She wanted to argue, but how could she when so many people were
present?
Could she say that he hadn’t compensated enough? Could she demand that he spend the rest of his life making it up to her?
“But for you, I-” Willow’s lips quivered as she tried to speak.
Before she could finish, Brian cut her off coldly. “Willow, I never had even the slightest bit of affection for you. What I gave you was just compensation for injuring your eye. And now, that debt has been paid.”
With that, he pulled his arm free of her grasp and left with Chloe.
Willow staggered and nearly collapsed to the ground.
Everyone was staring at her, especially the Qualls, who’d once looked at her with envy. Now, their gazes were filled with a mix of sympathy, mockery, and disdain.
It had been a long time since Willow had felt the sting of such looks.
Ever since Brian had injured her eye, her status in the Quall family had soared. Overnight, everyone had
started to fawn over her, and their treatment of her had changed completely.
And now, was she being dragged from heaven back to hell?
“Willow, why are you just standing there? Go after him! If you beg him properly, he’ll surely take back what he said!” Leonard urged Willow.
Geoffrey slammed his cane hard against the floor. “Haven’t you humiliated yourselves enough?”
Then, he turned to look at Carla. “I’ve already heard about Sonya’s matter. The Quall family has already
done what we can for her. What you need to do now isn’t force Chloe to take responsibility for Sonya, but
to seek forgiveness from the family of the victim who burned alive.”
Carla’s expression turned ugly, while Leonard didn’t dare to utter a single word.
As for Willow, she stood there blankly. Her face was ashen, and she barely even heard a single word Geoffrey said.
Her fists clenched so tightly that her nails dug into her palms. She refused to accept it. In fact, she
couldn’t.
She’d lost an eye and paid such a heavy price. How could she allow things to go back to the way they
used to be?
Chloe and Brian walked out of Quall Group. Once they were in the car, Chloe couldn’t help but glance at
Brian.
“What is it? Why are you looking at me like that?” Brian asked.
“Were you serious about what you said in front of everyone? Do you regret it?” she asked.
Brian shot back, “What do you mean? You mean I said I’d be happy to be used by you?”
Chloe shook her head quickly. “Not that. I know you only said that to stand up for me in front of everyone.
Brian’s lips lifted faintly. “I didn’t do that to stand up for you. I meant it. Chloe, if you want to use me, you
can do it any time. I’d be happy because it would mean that I’m useful to you.”
He said those words as if he were uttering the sweetest love confession, but Chloe only felt a sting in her
nose.
How could anyone truly be happy about being used?
The more she came to understand him, the more she realized how twisted his sense of love and self-
worth was. And that twisted nature was the result of the shadows of his childhood.
Chloe said softly, “You shouldn’t be happy about that! Brian, no matter what, real feelings should never be
about usefulness. I like you regardless of what you can do for me. Liking someone should never be
measured by their usefulness.”
Brian’s grip on the steering wheel tightened. “But ever since I was young, everyone’s told me that I have to
be useful.”
It was because he was useless that he’d failed to make Emily stay and she’d taken her own life. After that,
Liam had hated him all the more.
Later, it had only been because of his usefulness that Martin had taken him in, grooming him to inherit the
Steele family’s vast fortune.
In Brian’s world, things were always divided into “useful” and “useless“. Yet now, Chloe was telling him
that she would love him even if he was useless.
Chloe said gently, “Yes, it’s good to be useful, but you should never measure love that way. If being used is the only reason you’re loved, then what happens if you stop being useful one day? Won’t that love be thrown away like garbage? How long could a love like that last?”
Brian’s face was drained of color as his hands trembled almost imperceptibly on the wheel.
So, if he was no longer of any value to her, would she abandon him too?
Chapter 136 You’re the Only One Like
No, never.
He could never let her abandon him.
With a sharp twist of the wheel, Brian pulled over at the curb and slammed the brakes.
Chloe said, “Why did you stop so suddenly-”
Before she could finish, Brian undid his seatbelt and leaned toward her.
“What’s wrong?” Chloe watched as his face got closer to hers.
His eyes brimmed with raw unease. “Would you abandon me if I became useless?”
Chloe froze, then quickly understood why he was acting like that. “No. Even if you really were useless, I’d
never abandon you.”
“Really?” Brian asked, still restless.
Chloe pursed her lips. She knew that some scars wouldn’t be undone with just a few words. But they had time, and she could change him, little by little.
She cupped his face in both hands and kissed his lips. “Brian, whether you’re useful or useless, I’ll still like you. I like you, Brian.”
Her warm lips melted the chill on Brian’s, and the unease in his heart gradually faded with her words. His lashes trembled, and after a moment, he closed his eyes and kissed her back.
When the kiss finally ended, he felt a pang of loss at the absence of her warmth.
Chloe said softly, “Alright, let’s get back. We can’t stay parked here for long.”
Never would she have imagined that she would be kissing Brian in a car. After all, there were so many people passing by just now. But she’d wanted to soothe him and tell him how she felt.
Brian gave her a long look before starting the engine.
They drove on and arrived at the villa gates 20 minutes later. There, standing at the entrance, was a man. Chloe blinked in surprise when she saw him through the windshield.
It was Ethan.
