Chapter 929: Chapter 929 Learning to Refuse (19)_1

Howard Coleman found himself choking on the words he wanted to say, staring at Madeleine for a long time before he slowly repeated the second half of her sentence, word by word, “Don’t take it to heart?”

When those words came out of her mouth, her heart was also pricked by countless needles, but it wasn’t until she heard them from his lips that she realized the pain in her heart was even more intense.

Madeleine struggled to maintain a smile, looking at Howard and pretending with all her might that she truly didn’t mind, and clearly said, “Besides, what happened last night wasn’t entirely your fault, I was also to blame.”

Last night, he might have been genuinely drunk, but she was sober, yet she didn’t push him away; it was ultimately her own fault for being too greedy for his affection.

Madeleine’s smile grew brighter. “Since it was a mistake, let’s both forget about it, as if it never happened.”

She paused for a moment before continuing in a feigned casual tone, “Moreover, we’ve had relations in the past, so one more time last night really isn’t a big deal. And now we are no longer involved with each other…”

As Madeleine thought of Anita Madris, a hint of bitterness crossed her lips. She maintained a steady voice and continued, “We each have our own happiness and are doing quite well. There’s no need to let one night cause unnecessary trouble for us both.”

Madeleine spoke lightly and with apparent indifference, but Howard felt as if his heart had been ripped open, a biting cold wind relentlessly piercing through. He tried hard to steady his emotions, going over her words again and again in his mind, lingering on the notion of “our own happiness…”

Was she telling him she had found new happiness?

And was that happiness with Andrew Henris?

Howard’s fingers clenched around his glass, stiffened slightly, “Do you mean you have a new boyfriend?”

Madeleine genuinely didn’t know how Howard had suddenly come up with such a question. She was slightly taken aback and remained silent.

Seeing Madeleine’s expression, Howard took it as confirmation. He pursed his lips, knowing that asking further would only bring him pain, yet he couldn’t help but continue, “Is it Andrew Henris, the one from Oceania who worked with you at SF for three and a half years?”

Madeleine was a bit surprised that Howard knew about Andrew, but then she thought he might have seen Andrew delivering food to her at her apartment that afternoon. She knew Howard had misunderstood. Subconsciously, she wanted to explain to Howard, but then she remembered they no longer had anything to do with each other. Whether she was involved with Andrew or not shouldn’t matter to him. Perhaps deep down he hoped she would find someone new to love, so that he could feel more at ease being happy with Anita.

With this thought, Madeleine felt a warmth at the corner of her eyes. She took a deep breath to suppress the overwhelming sadness, and after a long while, she gently nodded and hummed softly with a nasal sound.

Howard didn’t know how to describe his feelings at that moment; perhaps he was devoid of any feelings, his mind and heart feeling utterly empty.