The Broken-hearted She And The Icy He

hapter 170 A Familiar Stranger

Chapter 170 A Familiar Stranger

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She thought, arriving this early, she’d have to wait a while for him. But after parking her car, she was surprised

to see he'd already arrived.

They had agreed in advance to sit by the window once they got there.

He wore a black suit, a bright red rose in his hand.

She wore a brown wool coat and held a plush capybara toy in her arms.

Because Elias always texted in such a stiff, by-the-book style-like a grumpy old man-she had imagined he'd

probably look the part, too.

Most likely balding. Probably with a beer belly.

But from a distance, Elias actually had a pretty nice build.

Even seated, his posture was impressively straight.

She couldn't see his legs too clearly under the table, but overall, he gave off the impression of being tall- and

young.

Maybe it was the sound of the café door opening, but he turned his head slightly in her direction, the back of his

head facing her now.

She had to admit-even the back of his head was kind of good-looking.

But what caught her attention most was his hand.

His right hand held the rose with effortless grace, wrist slightly bent, the joints elegant and pale, like sculpted

jade-quietly striking.

As if sensing her stare, he slowly turned his face toward her.

He looked up so suddenly that Lily felt like a student caught goofing off by the class monitor. Startled, she

ducked behind the wall next to her.

That's when she saw his face clearly.

It was a face of cold elegance, carved to perfection...

James’ face.

Lily froze, completely stunned.

She never could've imagined that the Elias she'd cto trust and confide in-was actually James.

She really liked talking to Elias.

She even felt a little attached to him.

But because she’d never met him in person, chatting with him made her feel warm-just not the kind of

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16:52 Tue, 22 Jul.

Chapter 170 A Familiar Stranger

fluttery, heart-racing warmth.

To her, Elias was more of a reliable, trustworthy friend.

But James... James was someone she might have a crush on.

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If Elias and James were two completely separate people, there was no way she’d have intense feelings for either

of them.

But now that she knew Elias was James, it was like a chemical reaction set off inside her.

All those feelings she had forced down-sprang up like wild weeds.

That quiet attachment buried deep in her heart suddenly took root and grew into a towering tree.

Into something she couldn’t ignore anymore. Something she couldn’t suppress.

She liked... James.

But she was Leila. And she was also Lily.

Distance creates beauty.

Because they hadn't met face-to-face, James had developed sfeelings for Leila.

Maybe it was even love.

But what he loved more was the version of Leila he'd imagined in his mind-not her, not Lily.

He'd known Lily in real life.

And he didn’t like her.

He couldn't stand being touched by her.

He couldn’t even bear to look at her without wincing.

Just that morning, he had warned her in a cold, hard voice to stay away from him unless absolutely

necessary.

If he found out that Leila was actually Lily, all of that affection would vanish in an instant.

They wouldn't even be friends.

Elias was her best friend.

Her only friend.

She couldn't bear to see the look of disgust on his face.

She couldn't bear to lose him/

Call it cowardice or just plain fear-she simply didn’t have the courage to face James.

[e]

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16:52 Tue, 22 Jul

Chapter 170 A Familiar Stranger

She definitely couldn’t bring herself to confess that she was Leila.

That she liked him.

That she wanted to be with him.

All she could do-was run away.

Lily fled in such a rush, so panicked, she even forgot to head to the parking lot for her car.

Capital City was always bustling.

Cars everywhere. Lights in every window.

But in this whole city, not a single light was lit for her.

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She stood on the sidewalk, surrounded by go.

a

sea of strangers, and for a moment, she had no idea where to

“Leila, where are you right now?”

Lily, eyes rimmed red, stared dazedly at the flickering neon signs when her phone chimed several times in

a row.

James had messaged her.

“If you're having trouble getting to the

café, just tellwhere ou.ags

cfigg you. ate you please

tdetithe back? I'm really worried

about you.” The content is on

novelenglish.net! Read the latest

chapter there!

1

She glanced at the ton her phone. It was already 7:45.

He'd been waiting at the café for far too long.

She'd been so overwhelmed and panicked earlier, she hadn't even thought to message him to say she wasn’t

coming...

She wasn’t going to make it tonight. She couldn't let him sit there waiting any longer.

Fingers trembling, she slowly stroked

his message on the Screen agi

reluctant tp,et edo¥after nearly

thirty seconds, she finally began

typing. The content is on

novelenglish.net! Read the latest

chapter there!

“Elias, I'm sorry. Something cup

tonight and | can't m kat tothe!

cel, meosdrty broking you

ait.” The content is on

novelenglish.net! Read the latest

chapter there!

Almost immediately, his reply popped up.

“It’s okay. If you're not free tonight, then let’s meet tomorrow instead.”

He responded so quickly-he must've been staring at his phone the whole time, waiting for her reply.

[e]

r

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