The Moment I Stepped Into His World as the Fake Girlfriend, I Became the Real Prize novel Chapter 52

"If I break up with her right now, things between us can go back to normal, right?"

Sterling's voice softened, his emotions difficult to read for a moment.

Faintly sensing the young man's shifting mood, Lydia offered a gentle explanation. "After all, you have a girlfriend now. I have to keep my distance."

Around the gazebo, cherry blossoms were in full bloom.

Pale pink and white petals carpeted the ground.

Sterling turned to the side and casually snapped off a cherry blossom branch.

"I can break up with Elena, right now."

When he spoke again, his voice was laced with a quiet loneliness as he twirled the cherry blossom branch in his palm.

Lydia looked up in surprise, her eyes locking onto the young man's gaze from a distance, seeing a mesmerizing haze swirling within them.

"As long as you say you're jealous, that you don't want me to have a girlfriend... Just say that one sentence, and I will publicly announce my breakup with her and cut all ties."

As Lydia listened, her lips trembled slightly. "Sterling, you can't be so unreasonable..."

"Why can't I?"

Staring at the branch in his hand, Elena's face flashed through Sterling's mind.

"Elena might have been right about one thing today. Everyone gets tired eventually."

He stepped back in front of her, a wry smile tugging at his lips. "Right now, I can't even tell if you've been rejecting me because you lack a sense of security, or if you just hate me. This is too unfair, Lydia."

As he finished, he offered the cherry blossom branch to her, the implication crystal clear.

If she took this branch, it meant she admitted she was jealous and didn't want him to have a girlfriend.

And he would break up with Elena immediately.

On the other hand... was he going to give up on her?

Lydia's eyelashes fluttered as she followed the branch upward, meeting the young man's eyes.

He had striking, aristocratic features. The sunlight fell across his brow, highlighting a fragment of profound tenderness in his deep-set eyes.

The number of girls who liked him had always been countless.

He had always kept his distance from those girls, reserving all his rare tenderness solely for her.

Because she knew him so well, she never thought he would change.

Until today, when Elena appeared out of nowhere.

"Sterling, you don't need to explain your intimate moments with Ms. Larkin to me."

Lydia's expression grew somber, her tone suddenly turning resolute.

"Actually, Elena isn't..."

Smack—

Sterling felt a headache coming on and decided to just reveal the truth.

But in the next moment, Lydia raised her hand and swatted away the cherry blossom branch he was offering.

The branch fell to the ground, scattering a few petals and losing its perfect beauty.

As he bent down to pick it up, he heard her speak again. "And whether you break up or not, don't make that decision because of me. I can't bear that burden!"

A profound sense of helplessness washed over Sterling. Thinking of the main culprit, he gritted his teeth, deciding to deduct her pay the moment he saw her—

"Sterling, there you are! I finally found you!"

At that moment, a woman's voice called out from behind.

It was Lorelei Lowell, jogging over breathlessly. She frantically informed him, "Sterling, you have to go check on Elena... she's in trouble!"