Chapter 1612
Burning Passion: Love Never Die
After giving it some thought, Wesley grabbed the bag in her arms and took out his phone.
âHow much was it? IâLL pay you back. WeChat Pay okay?â
âNo, you donât have to. I-â She wanted to tell him that she had money now; her aunt had floated her
some funds.
But Wesley interrupted her.
âItâs not easy to win a scholarship. Youâre taking the GRE test, right? Studying abroad is expensive. You
shouldnât be spending money on stupid things.â
Blair said dully, âMy uncle will help me out.â
Since she would have to ask her uncle to help her with Living expenses and schooling once she was
overseas, she didnât think the meager thousands of bucks she had spent on the lighter would make
much difference.
âIn that case, let me buy your ticket. Itâs the least I can do.â
Blair was disappointed seeing how persistent he was to pay her back.
âSeriously, guy? Why canât it just be a gift? No strings.â
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Wesley had never gotten a present from a girl before, so he had no idea how to handle this. He gave
her an infuriating answer, in his single-word style: âBecause,â he said eventually.
For a moment, Blair didnât know what to say, nor did he; the apartment fell quiet. After a while, she
smiled, âOkay. Iâll remind you to book a flight for me before I leave.â
Her smile was so sweet, but Wesley wasnât fooled. The sadness behind her expression was obvious.
âNo problem,â he said.
Blair decided she needed to get out of there, but needed a way to make a graceful exit. She didnât run
away.
She walked straight to the door and then stopped. Without turning back, she asked, âWesley, the kisses
we sharedâ¦were thoseâ¦just punishments?â
That question caused him to think of so many things-his future, her future, their futureâ¦
Blair left his place without waiting for an answer. If that were true, she didnât want to hear it. Being
rejected again and again would finally break her heart. She might be a confident, skilled woman, but
underneath she was just a girl with a fragile heart, after all.
Wesley eventually had to go back to work. Once he was back on base, the hellish days for his soldiers
began. He was merciless-the slightest mistake meant a harsh punishment. Meanwhile, Wesley wasnât
easy on himself either. He put himself through strenuous training exercises: hiking up mountain trails
with a loaded backpack, kicking a tree to toughen his feet until he could barely walk, thrusting his fists
into ice-water, and lifting weights until he dropped from exhaustion, shuddering from muscular failure.
Seeing him like this, the soldiers started wondering what was bothering him.
One day, during a break, Talbot found Wesley, who was gulping down a bottle of water. He spotted one
or two drops of water spilling from the corner of Wesleyâs mouth and streaking down his neck. He
looked extremely masculine at that point. Talbot couldnât help but marvel at this man, who seemed like
the iconic soldierâsquare-jawed, well-developed physique, rugged features. He looked for all the world
like he had been made up for a commercial.
Talbot was in a daze for a while, lost in reverie. Wesley noticed it and glared at him. Talbot came back
to his senses and asked, âYou okay,
Chief? I know youâre a ruthless taskmaster, but you should treat yourself better. Youâre pushing yourself
harder than anyone. Whatâs wrong?â Wesley shot him a stern look.
âHey, hey, donât take this wrong.
The men are worried. These exercises are kicking our collective asses, and you end each day looking
Like something the cat dragged in. Is there something going on?â
Wesley threw the empty plastic water bottle into the bin.