Too Late, Mr. Cooper: Your Bride Ran with Your Baby novel Chapter 371

Linton was speechless.

Gabriel's words struck him like a physical blow, a sudden, sharp ache spreading through his chest. He winced, his handsome features clouding over. He opened his mouth to argue, but realized there was nothing to say. Wasn't Gabriel right? He deserved it.

Linton slowly lowered his gaze, a self-deprecating smirk touching his lips. Sometimes, he truly hated the man he used to be. Liliana had been right to call him an asshole.

Seeing his lifeless, defeated look, Gabriel's eyes darkened. "So?" he asked coldly. "Have you figured it out yet?"

"...Why I treated Liliana that way back then."

Linton said nothing. The tips of his ears turned red, a flicker of shame on his face. He cleared his throat, his expression growing awkward. He had never been good at sharing his true feelings, not even with Liliana. It always felt unnatural.

In truth, both he and Liliana were impossibly stubborn. They were constantly pushing against each other, locked in a contest of wills, until one day, with a sudden, final snap, the rope that bound them together broke. Even the strongest rope has its limits. So does love.

Linton's gaze remained fixed on the floor, a bitter smile playing on his lips. He tilted his head back, his prominent Adam's apple bobbing as he squeezed his eyes shut.

For so many years, he had schemed and plotted to make her his and his alone. He wanted her to love only him, for her beautiful, bright eyes to see only him. And in a way, he had succeeded. Liliana had been completely infatuated with him. While he secretly reveled in it, he started lying to himself, trying to soothe the fear that never left him.

They say insecurity often masks itself with arrogance, and Linton was a prime example. He was insecure in her love, yet he was also a man with an insatiable need for control. He tried to dominate their relationship, believing that only then could he feel secure, that only then would everything be firmly in his grasp. This contradictory arrogance had blinded him.