Arabella Vanderbilt was taken aback once more, blinking gently before she finally burst into laughter.
"Sorry, this is indeed my fault."
Joel Russo watched her radiant smile, a mixture of emotions swirling in the depths of his eyes.
"What are you laughing at?"
"It seems I really don't understand you, I truly didn't expect someone with such an elegant and low-key demeanor to say something like that. It really doesn't match your appearance."
"As long as the words are correct and you understand them, there's nothing wrong with them."
"However, Miss Vanderbilt, everything has intrinsic and superficial properties. The intrinsic ones usually remain unchanged while the superficial ones can vary with conditions. Therefore, if one only focuses on the superficial attributes of something, they will fail to see its true nature."
"When it comes to people, as the saying goes, 'You can know a person's face but not their heart!' Are you sure you judge people only by their appearance?"
Arabella's laughter slowly faded away, becoming increasingly cold.
Of course, she couldn't be certain!
Just one Juliana Vanderbilt was enough for her to learn all the social and human lessons she'd need for a lifetime!
She took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.
"So, Mr. Russo, we're really not suitable for each other... I truly don't understand you, and if I can't even see through your superficial attributes, how can I be clear about your intrinsic ones?"
"Moreover, it's only been a few minutes since I broke up with my boyfriend, I haven't even regained my composure, and you're asking me to dive into another relationship right away, I'm afraid I'll be overwhelmed and it would also be disrespectful to you..."
"I wasn't expecting you to agree with me right now. You asked about my purpose for coming, I was answering your question. It's my decision to pursue you, and I've never liked others influencing my decisions."
Joel Russo paused for a moment, as though waiting for Arabella to adjust, then resumed speaking indifferently:
"Of course, whether to reject or not is your affair. However, I refuse your rejection!"
"..."
"I always welcome Miss Vanderbilt to examine my intrinsic attributes at any time!"
Arabella was completely stunned, watching Joel walk away without a word.
It was only after the room was entirely empty, after a long while, that she seemed to gradually come back to her senses.
Her usually expressionless face twitched imperceptibly at the corner of her mouth.
So, rejecting or not is her decision, and refusing her rejection is his decision?
Where does her right to choose lie?
So, after everything he just said, could it all be translated into one sentence—
He has set his sights on her?
This man is really...
Arabella shook her head with a slight chuckle, then slid under the covers and into bed.
She sighed deeply, feeling hungry, but in her room, there wasn't even a bedside companion.
She got up, poured a cup of water from the automatic thermostat, drank it, and then lay down again.
Everything was so natural to her that she didn't even notice, at this very moment, she was in dire need of someone to care for her.
However, habits die hard. Since she returned from France three years ago, she had been living on her own in an apartment she purchased.
She took care of herself when sick, visited the doctor alone, and administered her own injections and IV drips.
Although she had Oliver Timmerman, it was only occasional care.
Three years previously, Timmerman Corporation got entangled in a lawsuit over cosmetic quality issues, and following a huge compensation, accumulated debts.
At that time, she had not been back from abroad for long and had not even formally taken over her mother's PR firm before she joined Oliver's company.
Initially, she was accompanying him to various social events until later they started attending separately.
She couldn't count how many times investors had taken advantage of her, touching her inappropriately!
Nor could she remember the countless times she got drunk to the point of vomiting and passing out!
Not to mention the variety of stomach medicines stored in her apartment and office drawers!
While managing her mother's PR firm, she also took charge of the PR department at Timmerman Corporation and served as the Chief Perfumer for their product development department.