Molly had, in fact, ignored Roy for nearly two full days. Work had consumed her attention, and she’d been unintentionally distant.

When she finally took his call, the first thing she saw was Roy’s handsome face, darkened by drunken melancholy and unspoken grievances.

But the moment he realized the video had switched to her, his entire expression lit up.

For a moment, he looked almost dazed, rubbing his eyes like a man waking from a dream, struggling to believe she was really there.

He leaned in so close it seemed he might try to crawl through the screen just to be sure. “Momo?”

Molly gave a languid nod.

Roy pinched his cheek. The sharp sting grounded him in reality.

“You’re in Wallington? At Shermaine’s?”

“Yeah.”

She set her wine on the table and moved to the sofa. When Roy latched onto a video call, it was never a short one.

The thought that she was now in the neighboring city stirred something restless in Roy. But the excitement was quickly drowned out by a wave of frustration and doubt he hadn’t yet learned to hide.

“Momo… are you getting tired of me?” he asked, his head hung low, his voice hollow with discouragement.

The sight tugged at Molly’s conscience. After a pause, she softened and said, “No.”

“But you’ve been ignoring me.”

“I was on a flight.”

“And after you landed?”

“I was busy.”

Roy flinched. Her words fell like a slow, cold rain, quiet, indifferent, and unrelenting. All he heard was that she hadn’t cared enough to reply.

“If I hadn’t called Shermaine, would you even have texted me back tonight?”

Molly frowned. The truth was, she hadn’t checked her phone at all that day. She’d been caught up in long–overdue conversations, sipping wine, easing into the comfort of familiar company. But she didn’t explain that.

Her silence hit Roy like a blow to the chest. He finally understood why long–distance relationships so often withered. It wasn’t the miles, but the silence in between.

And the crueler truth was, he and Molly weren’t even in a relationship. Whatever flame had sparked between them was flickering out before it had ever found shape.

His eyes reddened. He missed her terribly. She was in his thoughts every night, threaded through his dreams like a ghost he couldn’t shake.

But she didn’t seem to feel the same. And with him no longer in Ustrana, he had no way of holding on to her heart.

His face had gone pale, his chest tightening with the weight of unspoken doubt.

Maybe she’d never liked him at all.

Chapter 434

“Roy,” Molly said at last, voice low.

It was true, she had neglected him, that much she couldn’t deny.

And perhaps, in trying not to think about Roy, she had also been trying not to confront the growing uncertainty in her heart.

“Momo, you don’t need to apologize,” Roy said softly after a beat. “It’s always been me chasing after you. If anyone should apologize, it’s me. My head’s spinning… I should go. Goodnight, Momo.”

It was the first time he’d ever ended a call with her so abruptly. But he couldn’t take it, not the silence, not the apology, not the way it felt like goodbye.

To him, it was heartbreak, quiet and premature.

Molly didn’t love him. And if he confessed, he was certain she’d turn him down.

His head throbbed, and he felt the sting in his eyes.

Even if she didn’t love him, he couldn’t help how deeply he loved her.

Molly stared at the blank screen, brow furrowed. All she’d said was “sorry,” and yet Roy’s reaction had been so intense, so final.

As the call ended, Danielle leaned over with a smirk. “You really do play the cold–hearted beauty a little too well.”

“I’m cold–hearted now?”

Danielle recited her words mockingly, “'I was on a flight. I was busy. Sorry.' Classic. Another poor guy crushed under your heel. Doesn’t look like he’ll be winning the girl after all.”

“I was just being honest.”

“Sure. And not replying? Also honest.”

Molly had no answer to that.