He Wouldn't Claim Me — Another Man Did-Chapter 43 - 39: Missed

The more she had once longed for Silas Lockwood to declare his love for her in public, the more she now wished that everything that had just happened was only a dream.

Unfortunately, fate always seemed to have other plans for her.

"Isabelle..." Silas Lockwood called her name, his voice laced with a hint of pleading.

He had gone all-in, laying his cards on the table in front of everyone. Now, victory or defeat was entirely in her hands. He hoped she would rule in his favor.

He knew a confession wouldn’t solve everything. Afterward, they would still have to face countless societal challenges and complications. But as long as she was willing to take his hand again in this moment, he would consider it a victory.

Isabelle Prescott took a shallow breath. "Come downstairs with me. We’ll talk down there."

She didn’t reject him in public, wanting to let Silas Lockwood keep his last shred of dignity.

Seeing the impassive expression on her face, Silas Lockwood suddenly felt a hollowness in his chest. Her composure seemed to foretell their end.

The main characters had left, but the crowd of onlookers was even more excited.

Just as everyone was trading looks and whispering about how Silas Lockwood could be involved with his own sister, Shane Sterling calmly took a pen from the front desk. He ambled over to the bouquet of roses, flicked off the cap, and with a slight lift of his hand, a balloon by his side burst with a loud POP.

The sudden noise startled the crowd into silence.

"Everyone, please delete the videos from your phones." Shane Sterling’s gaze swept over the crowd as he said with a humorless smile, "Regarding what happened today, if anyone dares to spread a single word..."

POP!

He popped another balloon. Then, his smile vanished seamlessly as he uttered two menacing words: "Try me."

Ivan Fulton and Annabelle Leighton also hurried out to help control the scene.

"Right, right, this is a private matter. Please cooperate, everyone. Don’t go spreading these videos around. It would be a bad look."

Not a single person in the crowd was a pushover, but in front of Shane Sterling, they all obediently put away their phones without exception.

Shane Sterling walked to the floor-to-ceiling window.

In the plaza below, Isabelle Prescott and Silas Lockwood stood side-by-side at the edge of the wishing fountain.

Shane Sterling watched them, his hand clenching the pen so tightly that the tip dug into his palm, yet he remained oblivious.

--

Isabelle Prescott walked to the edge of the wishing fountain, and Silas Lockwood followed close behind her.

"Isabelle..."

"Don’t say anything yet."

Isabelle Prescott stopped him. At that moment, she needed to take several deep breaths just to keep her emotions in check.

Today was supposed to be a new beginning, the start of her entrepreneurial journey, but Silas Lockwood’s appearance had easily pulled her back into the maze of the past.

"Isabelle, I’m serious. I love you. It was only after we separated that I realized I can’t live without you..."

"I thought I made myself perfectly clear last time." Isabelle Prescott looked at Silas Lockwood. "There’s no longer a future for us."

"Why?" Silas Lockwood was bewildered. "Didn’t you want to be in a relationship that’s out in the open? I can be in an open relationship with you right now!"

"’With me’?" Isabelle Prescott laughed. "A relationship is between two people. Why does it sound like you’d just be keeping me company?"

"Don’t misunderstand, that’s not what I meant. I just wanted to show you my determination."

It wasn’t that Isabelle Prescott couldn’t sense his determination. But after all those years with the Lockwood Family, she knew all too well that Yvette Shaw alone was enough to shatter Silas Lockwood’s resolve.

"Does your mother know you came to confess to me today?"

"Why are you asking that? This is between the two of us. Would your answer change depending on whether my mom knows or not?"

"What if I agree to be with you, and your mother is dead set against it? What will you do then?"

"Don’t worry, I’ll convince her. This time, no matter what, I will convince her!"

"And what if you can’t convince her? What if she continues to object?"

"Isabelle, why do you have to imagine the worst-case scenario?" Silas Lockwood grew agitated. "She’s my mother. Do you have to force me to choose between her and you?"

Isabelle Prescott shook her head. "I’m not forcing you to choose. But I know she will."

Silas Lockwood fell silent.

Sometimes, he had to admit that Isabelle Prescott understood his mother better than he did.

"Isabelle..."

"Of course, your mother isn’t even the biggest problem between us. The biggest problem is... I’m not in love with you anymore."

Silas Lockwood’s eyes stung. "You’re not in love with me anymore?"

"That’s right, I’m not. I feel like our love is out of sync, like we’re in different time zones. When my love was blazing hot, you were still asleep. By the time I came to my senses, you were just beginning to fall. We just never managed to be on the same time."

"That’s not it, Isabelle. I was never asleep. I just... I had no choice. I had my reasons."

"What reasons?"

Silas Lockwood was at a loss for words. ’That’s right, what reasons?’ he thought. ’If my mother’s threats were my ’reasons,’ didn’t that just mean I was pushing myself toward the very choice I refused to face?’

"See? Deep down, you know better than anyone that it’s truly impossible for us now." Isabelle Prescott looked into Silas Lockwood’s eyes, her voice a choked whisper. "Silas Lockwood, let’s not try to force our watches to sync anymore. We missed our chance, and that’s that. Can we please just accept it?"

--

After Silas Lockwood left, Isabelle Prescott quickly composed herself and headed back upstairs.

She wasn’t made of stone. She saw Silas Lockwood’s struggle and his lingering attachment to their relationship. Her own heart was filled with countless unspeakable regrets and sorrows. But today was the grand opening of her dance studio. She had too much to do; she couldn’t just dump everything on Annabelle Leighton.

The second floor was still buzzing with activity. Annabelle Leighton and her friends were still energetically handing out flyers. The somewhat cumbersome giant bouquet of roses had been pushed to the side by someone, placed next to the grand opening flower arrangements.

"Isabelle, the takeout I ordered is here! Go get something to eat," Annabelle Leighton shouted to her.

"Okay."

Isabelle Prescott walked into the studio. Shane Sterling, Ivan Fulton, and the others had already left. Kiki Ford was chowing down on her food. Seeing Isabelle, she stuck her tongue out playfully. "Isabelle, this spicy chicken is super hot. If you can’t handle spice, grab the pork chop one."

"Okay."

No one asked her what had happened with Silas Lockwood, which made her breathe a sigh of relief. She was incredibly grateful.

The afternoon was still very busy.

Isabelle Prescott threw herself into her work. She was in charge of the children’s dance classes. The kids were full of boundless energy and had a million bizarre questions. By the end of the day, her back ached and her ears were ringing.

"Isabelle, once we wrap up here, I’m taking the friends who helped out today to dinner. You should come too, right?" Annabelle Leighton had booked two large private rooms for the evening.

"I’m not feeling well, so I think I’ll skip it," Isabelle Prescott said.

If Silas Lockwood’s public confession hadn’t happened at noon, she definitely would have gone. After all, the grand opening had been a roaring success, all thanks to the incredible support from Annabelle Leighton’s friends. She would have felt obligated to go and express her gratitude. But now, she just felt awkward.

Annabelle Leighton knew what was on her mind and didn’t press the issue.

"Alright then. Go home and get some rest."

"Okay. And thank your friends for me."

"Will do. I’ll pass it along."

Isabelle Prescott was the last to leave the studio. Before she left, she double-checked all of the day’s client information.

By the time she got downstairs, the plaza was nearly empty.

The studio’s opening day had been a huge success, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that the day wasn’t perfect. Perhaps it was because of the wounded look in Silas Lockwood’s eyes as he left.

She didn’t love him anymore, but she never wanted to cause him pain.

Before, she had desperately hoped to break free from this relationship quickly. Now, she held that same hope for Silas Lockwood. She hoped he could get over it soon, too.

--

When Silas Lockwood returned to Arcadia Heights, he reeked of alcohol.

Yvette Shaw was in the living room playing with her cat. When she saw him return, for once she didn’t get up to fuss over him.

Silas Lockwood was glad for the peace and quiet. He was about to head upstairs when he heard Yvette Shaw bellow, "You! Stop right there!"

With a "MEOW," the cat shot under the sofa in fright.

Silas Lockwood froze, glancing sideways to watch his mother in silence.

"Aren’t you going to explain what happened today?" Yvette Shaw demanded.

There’s no such thing as a perfect secret. Although Shane Sterling had forcefully shut people up, there were always a few defiant souls. A video of Silas Lockwood’s confession to Isabelle Prescott had made the rounds and eventually landed on Yvette Shaw’s phone.

When Yvette Shaw saw the video, she was so ashamed and furious that her whole body trembled.

She knew the society lady who sent her the video wasn’t doing it out of kindness. She was just trying to rub her face in it.

"There’s nothing to explain."

After speaking, Silas Lockwood started to head upstairs.

Yvette Shaw strode over, grabbed his arm, and swung her hand across his face.

With a crisp SLAP, before Silas Lockwood could even react, Yvette Shaw burst into tears.

"I think you’ve gone mad! Your father just passed away, and so many people are just waiting to see the Lockwood Family become a laughingstock. It’s bad enough that you’re so disappointing, but now you’re actively creating scandals for them to laugh at! Do you really like Isabelle Prescott that much? She’s just some girl from a poor mountain village. What’s so good about her?"

"Everything about her is good."

"But she’s your sister!"

"Isn’t she from a poor mountain village? Have you, the great Mrs. Lockwood, ever once treated her like your own flesh-and-blood daughter? You haven’t. So what right do you have to demand that I treat her like my own sister?"

"Silas Lockwood!" Yvette Shaw glared at him. "Have you really lost your mind?"

"I have. And I only regret not losing my mind sooner."

Silas Lockwood’s eyes filled with tears.

’If I had lost my mind sooner,’ he thought, ’if I had been like this just a little earlier, maybe I could have kept her.’

"Don’t give me that nonsense about pure love. You are the heir to the Lockwood Family! Your marriage is destined to be bound by family interests, the inheritance of wealth, and social responsibility. If you want the freedom to marry for love, then you’d have to give up your inheritance! Unless you stop being a Lockwood!"

Silas Lockwood stood rooted to the spot, silent.

Yvette Shaw wiped away her tears and walked over to straighten her son’s suit jacket.

"Silas, be a good son. Mommy is doing this for your own good. Next week, I’ve arranged for you to meet with Rhonda Sloane, the daughter of the Cross Family. When you see her, you will explain what happened today. Just tell her it was all a misunderstanding..."

"I’m not going on any more blind dates." Silas Lockwood pushed his mother’s hand away. "If I can’t marry the woman I love, I’ll stay single for the rest of my life!"

With that, Silas Lockwood strode upstairs.

Yvette Shaw watched her son’s resolute back, her lips trembling with rage as she clenched her fists.