Gwen’s expression instantly darkened.

She clenched her fists tightly beneath the table before glaring at him with visible resentment.

"You really don’t understand anything at all."

After throwing those words at him, she abruptly stood up and stormed away.

At that moment, Gwen truly felt furious.

She genuinely liked James. In fact, she had almost begun viewing him as the future love of her life.

But how was she supposed to continue this relationship when her boyfriend so obviously cared about another woman?

Even if James himself failed to notice it, Gwen could see it clearly.

That was precisely what hurt her the most.

A few minutes later, Lana returned carrying plates of food.

The moment she arrived, she immediately noticed that Gwen was gone.

Only James remained seated there, awkwardly staring down at his phone while repeatedly typing and deleting messages.

His distressed expression made it obvious that Gwen was refusing to respond to him.

Lana quietly placed the food down before sitting across from him.

Then she lightly tapped her fingers against the table, finally snapping him out of his thoughts.

James hurriedly looked up before forcing out a weak smile.

"Sorry, I was just..."

But before he could continue, Lana interrupted him calmly. "You should apologize to Gwen."

James blinked in confusion.

Lana leaned back slightly before continuing.

"If I didn’t know any better, I would’ve thought you had a crush on me."

The moment those words left her mouth, James froze completely.

For several seconds, he simply stared blankly at the table.

Then, looking flustered, he hurriedly tried explaining himself.

"I... I used to have one," he admitted awkwardly. "But not anymore."

Lana narrowed her eyes before laughing. "Are you sure you had a crush on me?"

"Huh?" James looked at her with puzzlement.

"From what I can see, you were attracted to me because I saved you in a way. I think you confused admiration and attachment for something else."

Lana’s words made James stunned.

She could tell that while James no longer held romantic feelings toward her, he still possessed a strong emotional attachment to her presence.

After all, people naturally gravitated toward those who made them feel safe.

Lana sighed softly.

"I understand that you’re socially awkward," she said gently. "And I know you probably struggle to process your emotions properly."

James lowered his head silently.

"But that still doesn’t justify hurting Gwen unintentionally."

The moment she finished speaking, James immediately frowned.

"I would never hurt her; I love her," he protested helplessly. "Why doesn’t she understand that? I’ve never asked her to compromise anything for me."

Lana shook her head slowly.

Then, without warning, she calmly dropped another sentence.

"I already have a boyfriend."

James immediately looked up in surprise.

"His name is Lucian."

For a brief moment, James blanked out completely.

Oddly enough, he did not feel heartbroken after hearing that revelation.

Instead, the first emotion that surfaced inside him was irritation.

’Why didn’t she mention this earlier?’

But the thought only lasted for a second before he quickly realized how unreasonable he was being.

In reality, he and Lana were not particularly close.

She had absolutely no obligation to share details about her private life with him.

The fact that she was even telling him now already showed a considerable amount of trust toward him.

Realizing that, James slowly lowered his gaze again, feeling both embarrassed and conflicted at the same time.

Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to calm down and continued listening quietly.

Lana leaned back slightly in her chair before speaking again in a calm voice.

"In both my past and present experiences, I used to hate it whenever he beside me behaved ambiguously around another woman."

Her gaze lowered slightly as though recalling unpleasant memories.

"I would become jealous, angry, and even irrational sometimes. There were moments when I felt so miserable that I started doubting whether that person even loved me at all."

The moment she admitted those words, James immediately frowned in confusion.

"But how can he do this to you?" he blurted out instinctively. "You are already the best girlfriend a man could ask for."

Hearing his protective tone, Lana could not help smiling softly.

’I really didn’t raise this boy in vain.’

The thought amused her greatly.

Still smiling, she calmly continued, "Exactly. Now imagine this happening to Gwen."

James froze slightly.

"You know what hurts a woman most? Its ambiguity makes them overthink. Sure, they are wrong. But everyone has flaws. If Gwen could endure your flaws, you should too."

James instinctively opened his mouth to argue, but no words came out.

Lana slowly continued.

"Now try to look at this situation from Gwen’s perspective. Isn’t she suffering from the exact same thing right now?"

The moment those words sank into his mind, James fell completely silent.

Seeing that he was finally beginning to understand, Lana continued patiently.

"Honestly, neither of you was entirely wrong. But do you know where you truly failed?"

James quietly looked up at her.

"You praised me constantly while completely ignoring Gwen’s contributions."

James immediately stiffened.

Lana continued without hesitation.

"Gwen could have abandoned me at the entrance purely because she was jealous of your previous crush on me. But she didn’t."

Her voice softened slightly.

"She stayed behind. Even though she felt jealous and insecure, she still understood that I came there to save her. She never once vented her frustration toward me unfairly."

James slowly lowered his head.

Every single word Lana spoke felt painfully accurate.

Then Lana continued with another blow.

"And when it came time to bring the corpses back yesterday, the idea wasn’t even yours."

James froze again.

"It was Gwen who noticed how exhausted I looked," Lana continued calmly. "She was the one who understood my condition immediately."

Her eyes narrowed slightly. "But you didn’t."

James felt his ears grow hot from embarrassment.

Indeed, he could have understood far more than he actually did.

Meanwhile, Gwen herself had also been exhausted, yet she still noticed Lana’s condition before he did.