He Wouldn't Claim Me — Another Man Did-Chapter 37 - 33: Entanglement

Isla Prescott didn’t visit Silas Lockwood during the week he was hospitalized. It wasn’t that she was ungrateful, but she knew Yvette Shaw would surely be at the hospital. If Isla went, she would only upset Yvette and create a rift between mother and son.

A week later, Silas Lockwood was discharged from the hospital.

The first thing he did after his discharge was go find Isla Prescott at her school.

Isla was in the dance studio at the time. She had just finished stretching when a familiar figure flashed in the mirror’s reflection.

She turned and saw Silas Lockwood.

He wore a cream-colored casual blazer and had shaved his stubble, restoring his usual refined and handsome air. However, his hand was still wrapped in thick gauze.

Isla turned off the music on her phone and walked toward him.

"What are you doing here?"

"You didn’t come to see me, so I had to come see you," Silas Lockwood said with a smile.

Feeling guilty, Isla explained, "You saved me. By all rights, I should have come to see you, but I was worried your mother would misunderstand, so I didn’t."

"It’s okay. I heard from Ivan that you called to ask how I was doing. I know you still care about me."

Isla froze for a few seconds. ’How could Ivan have such a big mouth?’

"You saved me..."

"I know, I know. You were going to say that since I saved you, it was only reasonable for you to call Ivan and ask how I was doing." Silas wiggled his gauze-wrapped hand. "So, since I saved you, I’d like you to treat me to a meal. That’s not asking too much, is it?"

"It’s definitely not too much to ask, but..."

"No buts. Let’s just go to your school’s cafeteria."

Silas was asking her to treat him, but he was also being considerate of her financial situation. Since he’d made such a concession, Isla couldn’t very well refuse.

The two of them went to the cafeteria.

Silas’s hand was injured, so Isla got the food for him.

"This is my first time eating in your cafeteria." Silas held a spoon in his left hand and scooped up some scrambled eggs with tomato. "Tastes pretty good."

Isla had been eating at the school cafeteria for nearly four years and no longer found the food appetizing. On top of that, sitting and eating with him in such an awkward situation made her feel ill at ease.

She kept her head down, having no appetite at all. It felt like she was just completing a task, and she wanted to finish the meal as quickly as possible.

"I called off the engagement," Silas said suddenly.

Isla wasn’t surprised. Silas had personally sent Lydia Sinclair to prison; it was impossible for them to stay together.

"I also submitted my resignation today."

That statement hit her harder than the news of his broken engagement.

Isla looked up. "Why?"

She knew how much Silas loved the sky and loved flying. Becoming an outstanding captain had always been his ambition.

"I’m preparing to join the Lockwood Group."

’So he’s joining the Lockwood Group.’

Isla thought about it. ’With the Lockwood Family’s vast enterprise, it’s understandable that Silas, as the sole heir, would choose to take over the family business. Still, she couldn’t help but feel a pang of regret. The dashing Captain Lockwood had ultimately given up on his dream.’

She wanted to offer some words of comfort, but when she opened her mouth, she couldn’t find a single thing to say.

Of course, Silas hadn’t come for her comfort.

He put down his spoon and, with his still-functional left hand, covered the back of Isla’s hand.

"Isabelle, can we start over, please?"

Isla instinctively pulled her hand back and answered without hesitation, "No."

"Why?"

Shane Sterling’s warning—"a good horse doesn’t turn back to graze on old pasture"—popped into her head. ’Damn it, how did he seem to know Silas would want to get back together? Is he psychic?’

"Because it’s pointless."

Silas looked into her eyes. The eyes that had once looked at him, brimming with tenderness, now showed no trace of their former excitement or radiance when they gazed at him.

A dull ache spread through his heart.

"Isabelle, our breakup was full of misunderstandings. My relationship with Lydia Sinclair was just a family arrangement. We had no feelings for each other. Our parents orchestrated the whole thing, from the moment we met to our engagement talks." Silas reached out and took her hand again. "From start to finish, you were the only one in my heart. I swear!"

"Well, well! Silas! What a coincidence!"

A dark figure sat down in the chair next to Isla, bringing a faint, elusive scent of tea with him.

It was Shane Sterling.

Silas and Isla simultaneously pulled their hands back as if by reflex.

The scene couldn’t help but remind Isla of when she had just started dating Silas. They would be holding hands in a garden, and at the slightest disturbance, they would quickly let go and create distance. The act of pulling their hands away felt like muscle memory.

And it was this very action that made Isla even more determined. She would absolutely not start over with Silas.

Shane Sterling acted as if he hadn’t seen a thing. His gaze fell calmly on Silas. "When did you get out of the hospital?" 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

"Today."

"Coming to have a meal with Isabelle the moment you’re discharged, huh? You two siblings are really close."

’No wonder he always carries the scent of tea,’ Isla thought. ’He can be so sly sometimes.’

Silas’s expression stiffened. He cleared his throat. "What are you doing at the school?"

"I’m here to take care of some business."

Shane Sterling lifted a finger and pointed to the cafeteria entrance, where a man and a woman were standing, waiting for him.

The man was strikingly handsome, with picturesque features that gave him the classic good looks of a manga protagonist. The woman had waist-length hair and a tall, slender figure. Her back was turned to them, so they couldn’t see her face.

"Is that Ezra?" Silas asked.

He hadn’t seen Ezra Sterling in a long time, and given the distance, he wasn’t entirely sure.

Shane Sterling hummed in agreement. "I have things to do, so I won’t disturb you. Take your time."

He stood up as soon as he finished speaking, as if he really had just stopped by to say hello.

Isla watched Shane stride away. When he reached the doorway, he glanced back at her. Isla met his gaze for a second, then quickly looked away.

’How ridiculous. I haven’t even done anything, yet I feel the shame of being caught having an affair.’

Seeing that Shane had left, Silas wanted to continue their previous conversation.

"Isabelle, give me another chance. Trust me one more time, okay?"

"Trust you with what? Trust that you have feelings for me, yet you don’t even dare to hold my hand in front of an acquaintance?" Isla found the whole thing pointless. "Silas, I used to really like you. I liked you so much that I was willing to be in a secret relationship with you, one that couldn’t see the light of day. But I discovered that the relationship only made me insecure and anxious. My unhappiness outweighed any happiness love was supposed to bring. I don’t want to wear myself out anymore. I think I deserve to stand in the sunlight, too."

"Isabelle..."

"Thank you for saving me, but a breakup is a breakup. Please don’t pester me anymore. Pestering is like repeatedly tearing open a scabbed-over wound. It just delays your own healing and disrupts the other person’s new beginning. Let’s just let each other go."