---- Though he remained silent, his presence was impossible to ignore. Every day, without fail, he sent flowers and gifts. Eventually, they piled up in the gallery's storage room, but I didn't even bother to look at them. At first, I managed to tune him out and pretended he wasn't there. Yet, over time, the weight of his stare began to Wear on me. I'd had enough of this invisible pressure. So, I asked Ambrose to meet me at a quiet cafe. Ineeded him to understand that whatever had existed between us was over. It was time for him to return to his own life. "Ambrose, there's nothing left between us. Just go home. Nellie's still waiting for you," I said bluntly. There was no use sugarcoating it, after all. ---- A bitter smile pulled at his lips, while his eyes were filled with pain and defeat. "I know I messed up, Tali. I was an asshole. But now, I realize that I do love you. I don't like Nellie anymore. Are you really telling me that you don't have feelings for me?" My tone was thick with scorn as I spat, "Did you love me when you bankrupted my family's company? How about when you stood by and watched my father die? Did you love me when you plotted to have my uterus removed? "You want to know how] feel about you, right? Well, I feel disgusted!" As soon as I finished, the color drained from Ambrose's face, and his eyes dimmed. We sat in silence. Soft music hummed in the background, but it did nothing to ease the tension between us. ---- After a long while, Ambrose finally let out a long breath. "T understand. I'm sorry," he muttered. His voice was low and hoarse.