Arianna did not coax Brittany nor comfort her. She let Brittany cry until her tears ended before asking,
“Are you ready to talk now?”
Brittany blew her nose with the tissue Arianna gave her. With wet eyes, she said, “You know, he is
going to get engaged, but I don‘t even know who the woman is.” “Sigh, so that‘s what this is about.”
Arianna objected, “I thought it was something bigger. He is only getting engaged, not married. Even if it
was marriage, the divorce rates nowadays are high. What‘s up with you?”
No one had ever said anything like that to Brittany from when she discovered Alexander had gotten
engaged to when she confirmed it. Her parents were careful not to bring it up, while Brandon outright
suggested that she give up. However, Arianna told her it was not a big deal. For a moment, she was
stunned.
“I–Is that so?”
“Why not?” Bending at the waist, Arianna picked up two cups of fruit tea. She handed one to Brittany
and held the other to warm her hand. “Brittany, I’m not trying to be hard on you, but look into the mirror.
You‘re a good catch. Do you know how good of a catch you are? You have so many fans, including
fans of your movies.
“There are plenty of people crazy over you. Why do you have no confidence in yourself? I’ve always
admired you.
You love hard and hate hard. You go after what you like. Yet, despite that...” She sighed and shook her
head. “I–I‘ve been pursuing him.” When Arianna said all this, Brittany got anxious. Her face flushed as
she continued, “I chased him for many years. You know this, but he‘s neutral toward me. What am I
supposed to do?”
Brittany felt she had worked very hard. Someone else would have given up by now, but not her; she
persisted. She believed her determination would touch him, and she would get a happy ending.
Ultimately, this happened. “You call that pursuing?” Arianna looked at Brittany and shook her head like
she could not believe it. “I–Is it not?” Brittany felt confused after hearing what Arianna said.
The corner of Arianna‘s lips lifted, and she had a faintly mocking smile. She raised her head and looked
at Brittany. Moving her red lips, she said something a little hurtful,“ Brittany, I‘ll speak frankly. What you
have done before is not called ‘pursuing.‘ It‘s called ‘flattering.“”
Brittany reacted. She slammed her cup onto the coffee table, giving off a crisp, ringing sound.
She stood up fiercely, but sitting cross–legged for a long time had left her legs numb. Before she could
stand, her legs turned to jelly, and she fell onto Arianna. The tea spilled, wetting both their clothes.
“Arianna! I think of you as a friend, yet you diss me like this. I‘m getting angry.”
Before she could stand up, she had lost her imposing manner. She was still vexed but no longer
sounded as angry in tone.
Arianna‘s clothes were wet. She looked down, frowned, put down her cup, and dusted off the wet area.
“Get angry if you must. After all, you don‘t like to hear the truth. It‘s fine if you don‘t want to listen. I
won‘t say anymore.”
Standing up, she turned toward the stairs and walked in that direction. She was about to leave and
ignore Brittany, so Brittany got anxious again. She came looking for Arianna because only she
understood her. She wanted comfort, but if Arianna ignored her, who would listen to her complaints and
devise a solution for her? “Arianna, Arianna, don‘t go! That‘s not what I meant. Don‘t be angry. I‘m not
angry, so why are you getting angry before me?” Brittany ran forward and grabbed Arianna‘s wrist so
she could not leave.
“Then are you still angry?” Standing still, Arianna turned around to look at her.
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