Chapter 155: Chapter 155- an answer
A week later, Lilian’s work in the U.S. finally came to a temporary pause. She was returning home, preparing to shoot S’s cover for A.T. First stop: Burg Eltz, where she wanted to visit her parents.
The moment she stepped off the plane and pushed her luggage through the exit, she froze. Right in front of her, the airport hall was ablaze with a display of flowers—vivid, vibrant, arranged meticulously into the words "I LOVE YOU."The spectacle alone was enough to stop her in her tracks.
But that wasn’t all. Alongside the flowers, a line of people stood holding balloons. At first, she thought it was some overzealous fan welcoming their idol. Then she noticed the letters on the balloons—her name spelled out in bold, unmistakable words: "Lilian, I love you."
A bold, unashamed declaration.
Lilian’s mind went blank. Even in her confusion, she immediately knew who was behind it. Morrison.
She hadn’t expected him to go so over-the-top, so publicly. Her instinct screamed at her to turn around and run. She wasn’t used to being the center of such attention, especially like this.
"Lilian!"
Her thoughts froze completely at the sound of his voice. He emerged from the crowd, perfectly dressed in a tailored suit, moving toward her with a calm confidence. His gaze was soft yet intense, lips curving into that infuriatingly perfect smile.
He stopped in front of her, dark eyes lowered, and spoke deliberately, word by word, as if every syllable were carved from his heart:
"I want to marry you. I want to have children with you. I want to spend my entire life with you. Even when we’re old, with white hair and bent backs, I still want to hold your hand..."
Every word was a reversal of the breakup he had once demanded, the one born of fear over a long, uncertain future. Every promise now was ironclad. He would not give up lightly again. What he offered her was a lifetime.
Tears welled in Lilian’s eyes. She lifted her hand to cover her mouth, stepping back instinctively.
From the crowd, voices rose, teasing and urging her:
"Come on, girl, give him an answer!"
"Look at him! So sincere, so handsome—just say yes already!"
Lilian shook her head vigorously, covering her face. Then, without a word, she turned and ran.
She couldn’t respond—not with a yes, not with a no. The mere thought of speaking made her afraid her tears would spill.
Shock, gratitude, anger—it all collided within her. If only today hadn’t come like this. If only he hadn’t been so merciless before, ending things so coldly. Was it always like this? Must people lose something completely to learn its value?
She had once summoned every ounce of courage to be with him, only to be struck down by the weight of his decision. How could her wounded heart dare to open again?
Bert, who had been walking nearby, stepped forward. He wrapped her in his arms and guided her toward the exit.
"Don’t worry. I’m here," he murmured.
Behind them, Morrison did not chase. Instead, he pushed the luggage Lilian had left behind toward another exit and quietly walked away. The grand gesture he had orchestrated wasn’t meant to demand a response. He only intended to touch her heart, bit by bit. Persistence wins in the end, doesn’t it?
Bert escorted Lilian to the car. Once inside, her breathing began to even out. He had been sent to pick her up and knew about Morrison’s grand display. But it was Morrison’s personal choice—there was nothing Bert could do to stop him. No, he couldn’t exactly walk up and ruin the whole setup.
Instead, he stood aside, observing with a cold, calculating patience, enjoying a little vicarious irritation at Morrison’s expense.
"such a public declaration—did he just cut off all his own romantic prospects?"
"Such a pity, don’t you think? Can you really bear it?"
Morrison’s voice came softly, calm yet edged with amusement.
"You don’t need to mock me. You don’t need to act so absolutely. I don’t believe Lord Washington will never have a chance to plead for something."
He added with a faint smile:
"’What goes around comes around,’ Bert. I think Lord Washington understands that, right?"
Bert sneered coldly at him.
"You’ll never get what you want."
"Not necessarily."
Morrison immediately denied it, leaning slightly forward and lowering his voice, his tone teasing yet deliberate.
"I heard that when Lord Washington returned Washington Co. to Dave, he made one condition."
Bert’s expression instantly darkened. His eyes narrowed into a sharp glare, piercing Morrison like daggers.
Straightening up, Morrison smiled faintly, completely unbothered by the tension he was provoking.
"Apparently, Lord Washington told Dave not to cooperate with the cecilia family or the S Company..."
The S Company was tied to Lucca, the C family’s second daughter’s fiancé, and S Jin was also the former fiancé of Cecilia, the C family’s eldest daughter.
Bert’s face tightened. Morrison’s smile remained casual, almost playful.
"So... what did the C family ever do to anger Lord Washington that he’d go out of his way to suppress them?" Morrison continued, his voice smooth, almost taunting.
He tilted his head slightly, eyes glinting with mischief.
"Recently, the S Company came to MOS Corp. seeking a partnership. If this deal goes through... it could potentially change their current predicament."
He turned those last words into a question, tossing it to Bert like a well-aimed challenge.
"Lord Washington... what do you think? Should I accept this cooperation?"
Morrison’s smile was downright malicious now, a look that clearly said "I enjoy watching you squirm." Bert’s expression darkened further—no longer just cold, but sharp and menacing, like a storm waiting to strike.
After a long moment of silence, Bert finally glared at Morrison with grim intensity.
"If the boss insists on cooperating with scum like that, what say can I possibly have?"
With that, he turned sharply and left, his steps heavy and controlled, leaving Morrison in the wake of his fury.
Morrison’s lips curved into a subtle, victorious smirk. Of course, he had no intention of actually working with the S Company—not for any practical reason, but simply because Bert, his future brother-in-law, was not someone he could afford to offend.
Bert drove Lilian back while she remained silent, staring blankly out the window. Her head was lowered, eyes seemingly fixed on her own ankles.
Bert followed her gaze and noticed the thin, delicate tattoo on her ankle.
Lilian wore cropped wide-leg shorts and a pair of low-top white sneakers, perfectly revealing the small mark. From a distance, it looked almost inconspicuous, but up close, one could see it was a slim, elongated letter "L"—a subtle nod to the first letter of her name, but also a personal symbol of forgetting, a quiet reminder to let go.
It had been Bert’s idea for her to get it. Maybe artists just had that streak of wildness, a desire to do things differently. Knowing Lilian’s personality, she would have never gone for a tattoo on her own.
Bert had several tattoos himself. She could see an "W" above his right index finger, the first letter of Washington, though it was usually hidden beneath the decorative rings he wore. On the inner side of his left arm, he had a freshly inked cross—symbolizing redemption, paired with her "L."
The "L" was her own choice, a quiet pact with herself to forget, to move on.
Yet at this moment, her gaze lingered on it, and in her heart, she silently asked herself: Have I really forgotten?
Bert didn’t need her to answer. Just by looking at her expression, he could sense the truth.
He had known all along that she hadn’t truly let go. Otherwise, when they had first separated, he wouldn’t have worried so much, wouldn’t have been so adamant that he couldn’t approve of them being together. He knew she hadn’t forgotten, knew that one day, Morrison would shake her again—so he had panicked, saying all those things ahead of time.
But now... as Dave had said, the path between Lilian and Morrison was hers to choose.
All they could do was protect her. Be there when she was heartbroken, be there so she wouldn’t lose everything.
And if she ever decided to be with Morrison again... he wouldn’t stand in her way.