He narrowed his eyes with a sly smirk. "You really think I'd believe what you told me last night?"
Yes—at that moment, when the three-day deadline was about to end, Rachel told him face to face that she refused to begin a relationship because she did not love him. His expression had been strange then, though he hadn't exploded in anger; he'd merely turned and left her room. Believing he had accepted this reality, she had decided to separate from him for a while to avoid further awkwardness.
Avoiding his piercing gaze, she cast her face aside and bit her lip. "You're a madman!"
"My dear, I must indeed be mad—to have thought of you all these years, haunted by thoughts of you alone," Kingsly retorted, seizing Rachel's shoulders and shaking her uncontrollably. "What are you thinking? Don't you see I truly want to be with you?"
When Rachel looked up at him, her eyes brimming with tears, she stubbornly wiped them away and, with firm resolve, broke free of his grip.
