Out of Control: Into Your Everything-Chapter 134: Forlorn

Irene Hawthorne paused briefly, then suddenly realized, "Ah, it’s the type that your parents wouldn’t approve of."

Julian Ford withdrew his gaze from ahead and glanced at her indifferently.

That was an implicit admission.

Irene blinked, "I guess you haven’t planned for the long term either, but you like her and can’t quite let go, right?"

Julian remained impassive, "Well said. Looks like you’ve experienced this yourself."

Irene: "..."

This distinguished young master, when he does speak, it’s striking.

As soon as he opens his mouth, he hits the heart directly.

"I have indeed gone through it."

Irene didn’t deny it, speaking candidly.

"I once dated a poor boy; he was handsome and had a demeanor that totally appealed to me. At the time, I sought novelty and just wanted to have fun, but unexpectedly, I truly fell for him."

Melancholy surfaced in Irene’s eyes.

Julian noticed but remained unmoved, saying, "Yet now you’re here, meeting me for an arranged date."

Irene smiled bitterly, "Yes, because my family intervened, I gave him up. And when I abandoned him, it was during the toughest phase of his career. But fortunately, he got through it, no longer loved me, and married someone else. As for me, my punishment followed."

"Since he married someone else, it means he didn’t necessarily need you, so you weren’t wrong in letting go."

Julian meant to comfort with those words.

But to Irene, it was piercing to the heart.

"He managed to move forward because when I chose to leave, he sincerely tried to make me stay, using every possible means. But I still left. After giving wholehearted effort, the one emotion a person lacks the most is regret."

"Back then, I always thought since he was the one who loved more, he was the one who couldn’t let go. I assumed loving less meant I wouldn’t get hurt, but never imagined hearing the news of his marriage."

"And here I am, stuck in place, trying to find traces of him in every new person I meet."

However, all the people she met later were no longer him.

Once believed that time could erase everything, but relinquishing love involves not only the pain of loss but also the regret and remorse of betraying one’s true feelings.

Irene’s past indeed evokes regret and sighs, but Julian remained cold-hearted, only saying bluntly, "There’s no need for you to tell me so much with our acquaintance. It’s your own business, and it’s got nothing to do with me."

"..."

Irene never expected Julian Ford would react and respond this way.

Because, at least out of politeness, wouldn’t a normal person show empathy?

Moreover, his current situation has quite the similarity to hers back then.

Certainly, if Scarlett Shaw were sitting beside Julian Ford now, she would undoubtedly notice the barely perceptible irritation between the man’s brows and the coldness beneath the calm, and she’d employ different tactics to soften his heart and have him yield to her.

But Irene wasn’t Scarlett Shaw.

She instinctively inquired, "Do you speak to your girlfriend this way too?"

The word girlfriend finally stirred ripples in Julian Ford’s normally calm eyes.

He turned his head and, as the stage curtain opened, glanced at Irene.

For the first time tonight, Irene saw tenderness in Julian Ford’s distant, detached eyes.

Indeed, without Julian Ford answering, Irene promptly asserted, "Actually, you like your girlfriend very much, probably more than you realize."

Julian Ford gazed at her with brows slightly furrowed.

His eyes contained a hint of danger and warning.

"You talk too much."

He said mercilessly.

Humans, as a species, only react angrily when their thoughts are exposed.

Irene chuckled, "I heard from Lynn Walsh, you never considered marriage seriously. When you canceled your engagement, even though she was forced and schemed against, she was quite pleased; otherwise, marrying you would be like living as a widow."

Julian Ford responded blandly, "She really thinks ahead."

Irene: "..."

With Julian Ford’s remarks, she’s growing more curious about what kind of extraordinary woman could possibly tame him.

This man is distinguished and proud, superior in every way, not someone who could be captivated simply by physical pleasure.

The theater lights dimmed, and the play commenced.

Julian Ford no longer chatted with Irene.

Although his demeanor stayed chilly and indifferent, ignoring her, Irene’s voice lingered by his ears; naturally, he couldn’t claim not to hear a word.

Julian Ford had once thought about parting ways with Scarlett Shaw but had never considered what he and she would be like after separation.

Of course, he believed himself sound and rational enough, much like Irene, thinking he wouldn’t love to the point of losing control, and assuming he could walk away unscathed, without a smudge of dust.

Yet, when Irene mentioned the other marrying someone else—

Julian Ford inevitably envisioned Scarlett Shaw being with someone else, holding another man’s hand, her past expressions and words, her earnest liking of him, entrusted wholly to another in the future.

And what of him?

Perhaps he’d be dead.

Or maybe healed, like an ejected observer, with no choice, watching her marry someone else.

No matter the scenario, merely imagining this possibility, Julian Ford felt a cruel tugging pain deep in his heart.

This pain was real, even ached so deeply that he had to reassess his relationship with Scarlett Shaw.

-"I devotedly love someone, only to be ruthlessly abandoned by him."

On stage, the actors recited their lines with perfect enunciation.

This Shakespearean play, "Midsummer Night’s Dream," Scarlett had eagerly anticipated for a long time.

Before dating Julian Ford, she had originally planned to enjoy it alone; after starting the relationship, her first thought was to share what she loved with him. Though disappointed by his rejection, she still went to the theater alone.

However, she never thought that her "dream" would come true.

Julian Ford watched the same performance as her.

But the person by his side wasn’t her.

Scarlett Shaw never considered watching a play alone to be a lonely act.

For so many years, she’s grown used to and relished the days of completing many things solo.

But at this moment, seeing him walk into the theater with another unfamiliar woman, sitting in the most privileged seats at the front row, he’d slightly tilt his head to listen to the woman speak with mirthful ease, their status equivalent, engaging in lofty conversations openly.

Those typical solitary days she once bravely faced suddenly became unbearably hard to endure.

For a brief moment, Scarlett Shaw inflicted her gaze fiercely upon Julian Ford.

Forcing herself to relentlessly recall the two words he used to reject her yesterday.

She felt herself unable to utter even a syllable.

Upon careful consideration, one can logically conclude that Julian Ford appeared here with another unfamiliar woman simply due to familial requirements, and even though just hearing snippets, the complexity of the Ford family’s situation was apparent.

Knowing rationally is one thing, feeling saddened is another.

Not solely because of witnessing him refuse her and then laughing alongside another woman.

But rather from clearly recognizing once more the reality gap between them, like a chasm, like an abyss.

Scarlett Shaw ultimately watched the entire play alone.

During the performance, the theater was dark, and she could no longer see Julian Ford.

"Midsummer Night’s Dream" is a romantic comedy with classic lines and a joyous atmosphere, yet strangely, by the play’s end, Scarlett Shaw clandestinely wiped her dampened eyes as she joined everyone in applause and sorrowfully departed amidst the thundering ovation.