Chapter 672: Hate her

Silence filled the car as neither Nina nor Finn spoke for several minutes. She simply entered the car and didn’t say a word. The same went for Finn; he only glanced at her earlier and was now looking through some documents in silence.

"What do you want?" After what felt like an eternity, Nina’s meek voice broke the silence. "Were you following me?"

Finn paused but didn’t look at her. "If going to your office and asking where you were is following you, then I probably am."

"Hah." A shallow, dry laugh escaped her. "Then why were you looking for me?"

"I wanted to talk."

"We already talked." Nina put on a brave front, watching him slowly face her. "We already talked, Finn. It’s done. We’re done. It’s over... that’s what we discussed and decided mutually."

"Mutually?"

"Yes." She nodded. "Mutually."

"..." Finn kept quiet, studying the fierce look on her face. It wasn’t the same determined look she wore the night she broke off the engagement. That night, she had looked as though she would change her mind if he only begged her or tried to persuade her otherwise.

Now, she looked... unfaltering. She appeared even more determined, more convinced that she wouldn’t and shouldn’t be swayed.

"I see." He nodded in understanding, peeling his gaze from her. "Mutually, huh?"

Nina pressed her lips into a thin line, drawing a deep breath as she cast her eyes down. She clasped her hands on her lap, hearing her own gulps in her ears.

For a moment, another wave of silence fell between them. Finn continued reading indifferently while Nina felt a little suffocated being in such close quarters with him. Not that she felt suffocated because she hated being in the same car with him, but because of his indifference to the fact that he had broken her heart.

They might have broken up, but that didn’t mean her heart didn’t yearn for him. She loved him the night she called off the engagement, and she still loved him even at this moment. It was just that... she couldn’t let her heart dictate her.

She couldn’t be weak.

She was doing well, and even though she cried quietly at night, she would take accountability for her decision.

"To be honest..." This time, Finn spoke. His voice was quiet, laced with uncertainty. "... I don’t know why I came looking for you."

"Lies," she quickly called him out, casting him a sharp look. "That’s a lie, Finn. I know it is."

"How would you know that?"

Nina sneered, running her tongue across her inner cheek. "Because I know you," she breathed out. "You don’t go to a place without a reason. You don’t waste your time like that."

Wasn’t that the reason he usually picked her up and dropped her off?

Finn was the type to maximize his time being a busy man. Because of his schedule and Nina’s, he would do those little gestures like picking her up and dropping her off to spend time with her. Back then, she admired it because she thought he was trying to maintain a balance between his work and his relationship with her.

"Finn, if you can’t tell me why you came to see me, then just don’t explain it to me. I’d rather not hear it than listen to another lie," she continued, her voice much firmer.

She arched her brows at him while he nodded slightly. Since that was settled, Nina drew a deep breath and turned to the driver’s seat.

"Please pull over," she told the driver politely. "I’m getting off here."

The driver glanced in the rearview mirror, only to see the fierce look in her eyes. He pressed his lips together, shifting his gaze to Finn, who was just staring at Nina. With no instruction from Finn, the driver had no choice but to decide for himself.

The driver slowed down, pulling over to the side of the road. Once the car stopped, Nina peeled her back from the seat and held her things close. The moment she opened the door and had her feet out, she paused at Finn’s remarks.

"I missed you," he said, looking at her. "That’s why I went to find you."

Nina’s breath hitched, her grip on the door handle tightening. ’No, don’t,’

"Though we agreed about the breakup... mutually, I missed you," he added under his breath. "That is the truth."

Nina took a deep breath, and despite the countless warnings she told herself, she looked back at him. Her heart softened the second their eyes met, making her tightly sealed lips tremble a little.

"I’m sorry," she whispered, her voice barely able to come out. "I can’t, Finn."

After saying just those very short words, Nina forced herself to leave the car. She closed the door and rushed to the side of the road, standing several steps away from the car.

Meanwhile, Finn let out a deep breath, keeping his eyes on the side mirror where he could still see her.

"Sir?" the driver called, looking back at him. "Shall we go?"

For a while, Finn didn’t answer, keeping his eyes on the side mirror. When another deep breath slipped past his nostrils, he nodded and peeled his gaze from the mirror.

"Yes," he said quietly. "Let’s go."

The driver lowered his head and, without further ado, sped away without a second thought. As their distance grew farther from where Nina was standing, Finn found himself staring at the side mirror once again.

Nina just stood there without even looking at the car, as if there would be grave consequences if she did.

’Penny better watch over her,’ he thought, his lips drawn into a thin line. ’My plans aren’t meant to protect her, and I can’t deal with Jonathan if I have to think of her well-being as well.’

"I hate her," he whispered, but even so, he kept his eyes on the side mirror until her figure in it shrank to the size of an ant.