Just as she was about to open the door, Jonathan suddenly stepped forward and embraced her from behind. His large hands tightly wrapped around her slender waist, and he rested his chin on her shoulder, his voice filled with helplessness. "Clarisse, I think I love you. Please, come back to me."
For Jonathan, this was the softest thing he had ever said in his life. Even when he tried to win back Catherine after their initial separation, his words were never this tender.
She admitted that his declaration of love made her heart skip a beat. But after a brief moment of silence, she removed his hands from her waist without looking back. Keeping her eyes down, she said, "Jonathan, I don't need your love to survive. If your love is just out of pity or guilt, then I don't need it."
Such pity-driven love was something she truly didn't want. She felt that not just she, but everyone would reject such love. Love should be nurtured with genuine care; words alone are shallow.
