Chapter 159 - Reasons To Their Actions

Almost a week has passed since Winter started attending classes again.

She was expecting she'd be so busy she won't have time to hang out with Ace and the others anymore, but it seemed that Marcellus and August were working together to make sure that she'd still enjoy her youth despite everything that happened.

For the past few days, they'd turned into quite the worrywarts. Not to mention, Marianne and Francis have somehow become her somewhat guardians - always giving her special treatment and pampering her to their hearts' content.

While she genuinely appreciates their efforts to make her feel better, she knows that there are things she should do. She still needs to deal with Cyrus and Grace who're awaiting their trial. There are also her other relatives who're facing similar consequences. Bianca, on the other hand, is a different case. Even though she's doing well in overcoming her trauma, she still doesn't feel like confronting her any time soon.

She doesn't pity her. Neither does she feel like forgiving her.

In fact, she doesn't want to think about her even just for a moment. 

But that's until she had one certain encounter on a weekend morning. Because of said encounter, she ended up thinking about what she thought she'd never consider to do. 

She was on her way to meet up with Marcellus – with her bodyguards trailing her, of course. It's their first date in a while, and she's quite ecstatic about it. But then, as she was walking down the pavement of a bustling street, she was suddenly approached by a certain someone.     

"Ms. Middleton…" a familiar husky, masculine voice called out to Winter from behind.

"I'm glad I get to find you."

She knew who it was even without looking. Sure enough, when she turned around, she saw Jacob coming out of his car that was parked along the sidewalk. He made his way to her, and the closer he got, the more visible his smile became.

"Mr. Minerva…" she breathed as she took a step back, surprised to see him wearing casual clothes. 

"What are you doing here? What do you want from me?"

"How have you been doing…?" he questioned, completely ignoring her inquiry, but instead of answering him, she only stayed silent and stared at him warily - it didn't seem like he would come all this way just to ask that.

"Are you doing okay?"

"I'm fine." 

Winter hoped that her words came out as cold as she wished they had. She recalled that Jacob had agreed to testify against her relatives despite the risk that he'd be involving himself and his own family, but even then, she would never forget that he had worked together with Bianca for a long time. Still, unlike Cyrus and Grace, his punishment is not yet certain.

Then again, Jacob didn't know about what Bianca would do during the homecoming party. He also didn't have anything to do with the case with Neil. Therefore, Marcellus failed to get any strong evidence to connect him directly to their crimes.

Even so, Winter is aware that Jacob has played a part in Bianca's schemes – most of them.

That's why she's not going to treat him like he's someone innocent and faultless.

"Anyway, I should get going."

Winter turned around then, hoping that excuse would work - but it didn't. Before she could walk away, Jacob grabbed her wrist out of nowhere, keeping her from taking a step.

Her bodyguards reacted quickly. They seized him and yanked him away, catching him off guard. Seeing that they ended up gathering the passersby's attention because of this, she ordered them to release him, which they did. With a sigh, she then faced him again, giving him one last chance to talk. 

"What do you want?" she hissed, displeased.

"Please, listen to me. Just this once, listen to me," he begged, and he sounded so sincere that she decided to let him be.

"Make it quick."

"After the trial, I'm going abroad."

Winter briefly made a look of surprise. She could not see a reason why Jacob would tell her something like this. 

"Why're you telling me this? You should be telling this to your fiancée," she pointed out, crossing her arms.

"She's not… my fiancée anymore," he trailed off uncomfortably, looking somewhat disturbed.

"Oh, so you canceled your engagement? As expected of you. Then again, you can't possibly let her drag you down anymore. Not only did you break up with her, but you're also moving out of the country, too. What a selfish and cowardly thing to do, I must say."

Jacob was taken aback to hear all of that. He never heard Winter this blunt before.

"Is that all you wanted to say to me?" she asked, though she looked uninterested. 

"Oh, no. There's still more," he answered hastily.

"Then, shoot." 

"Well, ummm… I also wanted to apologize to you for all that I've done. Believe me or not, I truly regret it. I should've known better, and I could've prevented certain things from happening, but I-"

"Stop. I've heard enough."

Winter shuts her eyes closed and pinches the bridge of her nose. She can't believe she's hearing this now. Jacob may have his reasons to want to redeem himself, but there's something amiss about the way he's starting. He's doing it right after proving himself to be that douche of a fiancé who abandoned his years-long fiancée only when she's been taken down.

'Not that I'm saying he should stay with Bianca, but he could've left her long ago – long before she ended up the way she did. He has always known how she is, but he neither stopped her nor stayed away. Instead, he even helped her. Yet, now that she's about to rot in a mental hospital…' she thought to herself, grimacing in repulsion for this person. 

'What a hypocrite.' 

Unbeknownst to Winter, he can almost hear her thoughts. Seeing the dubious look on her face is enough. Jacob just smiles a little in response to this. He understands where she's coming from. 

"Just so you know, I'd never seen Bianca as my lover. She's more of an obligation to me rather than that…" he started again, casting down his gaze.

"It's up to you if you'll believe me or not, but in my family, I've never had a choice. As the sole heir, I had to live up to everyone's expectations. My parents would tell me what to do all the time, and before I knew it, I became the way I was. I'm not telling you this to earn your sympathy. However, I want you to know that you're the only one I ever told about this."   

That's when she noticed something in his hand - a rose. Her eyes widened in nonplus. He'd been hiding it behind his back this whole time. 

"I know I won't get it, but I still want to ask for your forgiveness."

Jacob handed the flower to her, and Winter felt obligated to accept it. 

She could feel her hands quivering as she held the rose. It's pink – the color of friendship, as far as she recalls at least. 

"You're the main reason I'm leaving, actually – not Bianca. You're the reason I need to get out of here. I need to forget about you," Jacob then confessed all of the sudden. 

"What? What are you saying?" Winter blurted out, confounded.

"Just like you changed others, you also changed me. There's something about you that I had never seen in anyone else. You're different, and you're special – from the moment I saw you when you were still an infant, I already knew you were. I'm not going to hide the fact that I wanted you. At first, I thought that I just wanted you because you were supposed to be my original fiancee. But in the end, I really ended up developing feelings for you."

She was stunned speechless. She wanted to run away, then. She hoped this wasn't real.

"You're too dense to notice, though, and like what you said, I'm a selfish coward…" he continued, shaking his head. 

"For the first time, things didn't turn out my way. I couldn't tell you, and I didn't want to. You know why? Because you're the first person I'd come to like, and because you already hated me enough. I didn't want to drive you away from me even more."

Even when Jacob already ended his speech, she couldn't utter a thing. So, Winter remained silent, unsure of what to say and do. 

Eventually, he gave up on getting a reply.

"Farewell, Winter…" Jacob said for the last time, sparing Winter one final look.

"Take care. I wish you all the best."

Then, he left. 

He got inside his car that had been patiently waiting for him at the side, leaving her shell-shocked. She stares down at the rose that he gave her, trying to sort out her thoughts. She couldn't believe what had just happened - couldn't believe that her adopted sister's ex-fiance had just confessed to her.

Knowing how prideful he is, that confession must have taken a lot of guts. He's practically stooping his head down to the person he once wanted to bring down, and he could've chosen to keep it a secret that he'd take to his grave. But he still went and did it even when he knew that he would get nothing in return. 

She never realized it. She never suspected it. 

Jacob had called her dense, and he was right - Winter never saw any of this coming.