Chapter 112.2

Chapter 112.2

Miran trembled and tried to pull her hands away, but Andre wouldn’t let go. She could feel everything. His cold sweat, chilled skin, and the burning heat of his breath pressed against her palms.

“The marriage… hhh… it’s canceled.”

“Okay, okay, I understand, so stop talking! Please, try to breathe, Andre. You’re scaring me. What should I do…”

Her voice quivered as she cried, and Andre buried his face in her hands, breathing in and out desperately, over and over.

She didn’t know how much time had passed. When his breathing finally began to steady, he lifted his head. Sweat poured down his face like rain, and his bloodshot eyes shimmered with tears that trembled like waves.

His voice came out rough and broken.

“I was wrong, Miran.”

Miran covered her mouth, choking on quiet sobs.

“I was selfish, arrogant, and foolish.”

He blinked slowly, and a tear slipped from the corner of his eye, trailing down to his earlobe.

“Without you… I can’t breathe.”

Miran buried her face in both hands and wept aloud. The tears that escaped between her fingers rolled down her wrists.

Andre spoke again, his voice trembling with desperation.

“I love you. I should’ve said it sooner. I’m sorry.”

Miran froze. Even her tears stopped in shock. Slowly, she lowered her hands from her face.

His deep green eyes met hers. Andre swallowed hard, his gaze dropping for an instant before rising to meet her eyes again.

“I won’t ask you to love me again. I’ll love you enough for both of us. Just… stay with me, Miran.”

His voice wavered, as if drawn up from the depths of his soul, yet his eyes held hers steadily without a trace of hesitation.

Miran’s legs gave out, and she groped behind her for the door, leaning against it for support.

‘Andre is acting strange.’

Andre, kneeling like someone guilty of a crime, apologizing to her.

Andre, saying he couldn’t even breathe without her.

Andre, confessing his love as if his heart were tearing open.

The flood of unfamiliar behavior left her dizzy.

“J… just stand up first.”

Only then did Andre slowly rise. Leaning against the door for support, he took hold of Miran’s shoulders, which had gone weak and slid down, and gently pulled her upright.

“Are you alright?”

“…I want to sit down.”

Andre steadied her and guided her into a chair. He didn’t sit across from her. He sat right beside her.

Miran swallowed hard.

“…I’m not even sure I heard you right. Did you really cancel the wedding?”

Andre nodded. She sucked in a breath.

“What about the company? You said you needed Lorraine’s parents for that important meeting.”

“It’s handled. You don’t need to worry.”

“Why? Because you think I’m too stupid to understand?”

Miran let out a bitter laugh. Andre’s eyes widened and he shook his head hard.

“What are you talking about. I didn’t want you getting dragged down and hurt because of me.”

“I… I wanted to know. What was happening at the company, why you made that decision. Pretending nothing was wrong, saying nothing to me at all… that was harder.”

Andre hesitated, thinking hard, then drew in a deep breath and began explaining in a calm, concise way. Miran listened without blinking, afraid to miss even a single word, until her eyes widened in shock.

“You… you handed over the department store?”

Andre lifted a shoulder.

“Once I broke the engagement, I was already losing the proxy fight. I wanted everything resolved as fast as possible. At the time, that was the best option.”

“But still, how could you give away the department store…”

Miran murmured blankly and leaned back against the sofa. It can’t be because of me… right? She glanced up at Andre. He met her eyes and abruptly asked,

“…Do you want the department store?”

She let out a disbelieving snort, but his expression stayed painfully serious.

“I’m still the number one shareholder. I’ll be appointing my own person as the next CEO. All I did was loosen the link between ownership and management. Lafayette Group needs to go in that direction sooner or later. There’s a lot I need to do for that.”

Miran pressed her lips together, listening carefully, then chose her words with caution.

“Thank you for telling me now. And for saying you love me, even if it was a little late. But as for me…”