All too late for his love

Once again, she'd slept with the very person she swore to cut out of her life. Willow felt filthy, even to herself.

Zayn, an early riser, had already left the villa. Willow stiffly picked up her clothes from the floor, hastily put them on, and headed out.

Her inner garments were torn beyond recognition. But fortunately, her thick wool coat had proven too resilient for Zayn's attempts to rip it apart.

And with the coat trailing down to her ankles, after squeezing into her inner layers, she wrapped it tightly around herself, managing to hide most of her disheveled state.

As winter crept in deeper and the icy wind bit harder, Willow was numb to the cold. All she wanted was to hustle back to her small apartment and wash away the filth. She knew that by now, Moses would have arranged for Aaron to be taken to school, but she still felt the urge to call and make sure.

As fate would have it, just as she pulled out her phone, Moses called. Thinking back to last night stirred up a whirlwind of emotions in Willow, leaving her unsure of what to say to Moses.

But before she could gather her thoughts, Moses burst in with unbridled enthusiasm, "Ms. Sanford, what's your take on my grandson? I hope I didn't oversell him. Isn't my lan just drop- dead gorgeous?"

"lan?" Willow's mind raced as she tried to place something together. It felt familiar, yet distant, like a forgotten dream.

"Yeah, lan. You remember him, right? Didn't he introduce himself?" Moses' voice crackled with amusement.

"That sly kid! Ms. Sanford, lan's full name is lah Nightingale. He's got quite the reputation. I figured since you weren't exactly thrilled about the blind date, I'd keep his identity under wraps. Can't blame a guy for trying, can you?"

"Ms. Sanford, I just called lan. He's smitten with you, Ms. Sanford. Can you believe it? I thought that guy was into men, but it turns out he's got eyes for you! So, spill it, Ms. Sanford. Are you into lan?"

Listening to Moses's warm and kind voice, Willow couldn't quite decipher her own feelings. Moses's grandson turned out to be none other than the renowned Mr. Nightingale.

But last night, Duncan showed up in the private room, lan went so far as to involve Duncan, a downright despicable character, just to avoid meeting her or, more likely, to publicly shame her.

Ironically, from their previous encounters, she had believed lan was different from those arrogant, aloof men, thinking he possessed a genuine warmth.

Yet, once again, she found herself underestimating the cruel depths of human nature.

"Why aren't you saying anything, Ms. Sanford? What do you really think of lan?"

Willow wasn't about to mix up her moral compass. She knew that no matter how awful lan had been to Chapter 334This text is property of Nô/velD/rama.Org.

her, Moses had nothing but genuine concern for her.

Not wanting to cause him any more worry, she softly responded, "He's okay."

No further interaction would be the best outcome. It was best to leave it at that.

Satisfied with her response, Moses hung up the phone contentedly.

Willow slid her phone back into her pocket, mustering a stiff smile that bordered on self-mockery. Moving forward like a specter, she pressed on.

She yearned to rise above, to grow stronger. That was why she om cherished the opportunity to endorse Arena of Glory. But now, it seemed that chance was slipping through her fingers.

Yet no matter how many tried to trample her, Willow was determined to thrive as long as she had breath In her lungs. In her lifetime, she pledged to provide the best protection for Aaron.

Walking the streets like a zombie, Willow didn't even realize how she made it back to her small apartment.

As she reached for her keys, ready to unlock the door, she looked up and spotted lan standing outside the apartment.