Chapter 293: The Confession
Marcus’s heart began to pound the moment he saw her.
Willow Moran stood before him, close enough that he could feel her warmth. Her beauty and slender figure carried a quiet, devastating charm that seemed effortless. She was not trying to seduce him, yet temptation clung to her like a natural aura. The distance between them was almost nonexistent, and every breath she took brushed against him.
Her skin looked smooth and polished, flawless beneath the soft light. The graceful curves of her body rose and fell with her breathing, impossible to ignore at such proximity. A faint feminine fragrance surrounded her, warm and intoxicating, stirring both his senses and his thoughts in ways he struggled to control.
Everything about her embodied mature femininity. Even dressed simply in loose clothing, with light makeup and an unpretentious elegance, Willow captivated him completely. She did not need deliberate gestures or practiced expressions. Seduction seemed written into her nature itself.
Willow Moran possessed a beauty that felt dangerous precisely because it was natural. She was the kind of woman whose mere presence unsettled a man’s composure, the kind men could neither resist nor forget.
Her charm came not only from her heavenly face but from something deeper, something alive within her. Standing before her, Marcus felt an instinctive pull, the raw recognition of a woman who represented desire itself.
"Of course I’m back."
Her voice broke the silence.
Willow stared at him intensely, standing so close that her eyes seemed determined to pierce through him. Anger burned there, mixed with disappointment and something far more complicated. She looked as though she wanted to strike him, as though resentment had been building inside her for a long time.
Seeing him again made her nose sting. Her vision blurred despite herself. Proud and composed Willow Moran suddenly felt dangerously close to tears.
"Marcus..."
She spoke his name, then fell silent.
The face before her was painfully familiar. It had appeared in her dreams countless nights, etched into her heart whether she wished it or not. She had planned everything before coming here. She had sworn that when she finally saw this heartless man again, she would not waste words. She would simply slap him twice and leave.
But now that he stood in front of her, she could not lift her hand.
Her chest tightened. Her mind went blank. Instead of anger, emotion surged uncontrollably upward, threatening to spill from her eyes.
More than a year had passed since she had last seen him. The moment they met again, longing overwhelmed her careful resolve. All the words she had rehearsed disappeared. How could she truly blame him when her heart reacted like this?
’Willow, be strong. Slap this heartless man twice.’
She repeated the thought to herself, clinging to it.
She hated heartless men. She despised them more than anything. When she learned that Marcus and Snow had broken up, she had decided she would confront him and teach him a lesson. At the same time, she could not allow him to discover her own hidden feelings.
Yet the harder she tried to remain firm, the more chaotic her emotions became. Anger mixed with sorrow. Hurt tangled with tenderness. Longing refused to disappear.
Her body trembled faintly. Her breathing grew uneven, her chest rising and falling before his eyes.
"Marcus... why do you have to make people sad?"
Lowering her head, Willow finally forced herself to calm down. When she looked up again, the proud woman who despised heartless men had returned, at least on the surface. She intended to make him acknowledge his mistake.
But then she noticed something unexpected.
Marcus was staring at her. Not politely, not absentmindedly. He was openly admiring her.
His gaze lingered, almost unconsciously, on her figure. Desire flickered in his eyes before disappearing just as quickly.
"Marcus..."
Willow noticed it instantly.
She was extremely sensitive to men’s intentions, usually reacting with instinctive hostility. Yet when she saw the fleeting greed and longing in his eyes, her heart began to race instead of recoiling.
Facing this man’s gaze, she found herself defenseless.
Her carefully built walls collapsed. She could not strike him. She could not even remain angry. She stood there, strangely passive, unsure what to do.
"Marcus... you really are a womanizer."
The words slipped out softly.
In her memory, Marcus had never looked at any woman the way he once looked at Snow. Back then, his eyes had held no space for anyone else. Not even Willow Moran, admired wherever she went, had ever drawn such attention from him. He had always treated her like an older sister, respectfully distant.
But now, the moment they reunited, he looked at her with unmistakable male desire.
Confusion stirred within her.
’Idiot... did you finally wake up?’
Despite her hatred of men, Marcus had always been the exception. Instead of disgust, his gaze made her heart beat faster. Somewhere deep inside, she had waited a long time for him to look at her this way.
"Ms. Willow, don’t stand out here upset. Come inside."
Marcus had no idea what turmoil filled her mind. To him, Willow was a woman famous for disliking men, someone who had only tolerated him because of Snow. Seeing her angry and close to tears filled him with warmth and guilt at the same time.
She had come all this way because she cared. Because she worried. Because she was disappointed in him.
He could not bear seeing her hurt.
’If this continues, I’ll lose control,’ Willow warned herself.
She lowered her head quickly and walked inside, silently repeating her resolve.
’You came here for Snow. Marcus and Snow belong together. Your job is to make him change his mind. Do not reveal your feelings. Do not complicate their relationship.
Men are unreliable. You hate them. And you are almost thirty. How could anything ever exist between you and Marcus?’
By the time she sat on the living room sofa, her expression had returned to its usual cold elegance.
"Marcus," she said firmly. "Tell me. Why did you break up with Snow?"
Just thinking about Snow’s pain reignited her anger. Snow loved him with her entire heart. How could he abandon her so easily?
And worse, he knew she despised heartless men. Why had he become exactly that?
"Ms. Willow, can you stay out of this for now? I’ll handle it myself."
Before, he would not have known how to respond. Now he had already decided to win Snow back. This was his responsibility alone.
"You want me to stay out of it?" Willow stood immediately. "I personally entrusted Snow to you. Do I need to remind you how much she loves you?"
Her calm shattered again as she approached him.
"Snow is devastated. I know her. She would never betray you. So this must be your fault. What happened that made you do something so despicable? Tell me."
"Please don’t ask yet. Trust me. I’ll fix everything. I’ll give you an explanation too."
It was all he could offer.
"How can I not ask? Snow’s problems are my problems." Her voice trembled with anger. "I trusted you. I gave Snow to you because I trusted you. Now she cries every day. How am I supposed to trust you again?"
She stood directly in front of him, refusing to retreat.
"Marcus... is it Lily? Did you leave Snow because of her? I heard Lily is living here. Where is she? Is Snow not good enough? Does she not love you enough?"
Marcus immediately stood.
"Ms. Willow, don’t make assumptions. This has nothing to do with Lily."
His sharp defense only convinced her further.
"Marcus..." Her voice weakened. "So you really did fall for someone else. You abandoned Snow for Lily. You’re cruel... so cruel."
Tears gathered in her eyes.
Had she misjudged him all along?
Why am I still defending you? she wondered bitterly. Why can’t I give up on you?
"Ms. Willow, please don’t be sad. It’s not what you think. My relationship with Snow has nothing to do with Lily."
Seeing her cry made his chest ache.
"How could I not love Snow?" he said quietly. "If it were you... could you abandon her?"
He revealed just enough truth to calm her, hoping she would grant him time.
But the conversation only made his thoughts more chaotic. Snow’s heartbreak, Willow’s tears, his own helplessness all pressed down on him at once.
Deep inside, the Human Rock technique began to stir. A restless heat rose through him, sharpening his emotions until restraint became difficult.
"Marcus, you still love Snow!"
Willow looked hopeful for a brief moment, then shook her head.
"No. You’re lying. If you loved her, you wouldn’t have left. Do you know how much you hurt her?"
"Some things aren’t that simple," he said, frustration creeping into his voice. "Love alone doesn’t solve everything."
"If you love someone, you stay," she insisted. "You don’t walk away. Why did you leave her?"
Her accusations continued, unaware of the faint golden glow beginning to emanate from him.
"Sometimes you don’t have a choice," Marcus said, agitation rising. "Sometimes you have to do things you hate."
"I don’t believe that!" Willow cried, shaking her head as tears finally fell. "If you don’t love Snow anymore, just admit it. Let me give up. Let Snow give up."
"Ms. Willow!"
Unable to endure her tears, Marcus grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to look at him.
He wanted her to believe him. But the truth was impossible to explain.
Seeing her tearful face, beautiful and vulnerable like rain falling on blossoms, something inside him snapped.
All the frustration he had buried erupted. The Human Rock technique surged beyond control, releasing emotions he had suppressed for years.
"You say people should do whatever they want," he shouted hoarsely. "But some things you can’t do. Like how I like you. How I’ve wanted you for so long but never dared to say it. Never dared to act."
Willow froze.
"I like you!"
The confession burst out of him.
He pulled her into his arms, hands wrapping around her slender waist, drawing her close until her breathtaking face tilted toward his.
"No more hiding," he said. "No more lying to you."
Overcome by emotion, he lowered his head and kissed her.
Her lips were soft and warm beneath his. The scent of her overwhelmed his senses as desire, long restrained, finally broke free. The Human Rock technique roared through him, amplifying every feeling until reason faded beneath instinct.
He held her tightly, kissing her deeply, fiercely, as though afraid she might disappear if he let go.
The world narrowed to the warmth in his arms, the trembling woman against his chest, the overwhelming realization that this was the woman he had secretly longed for all along.
Her presence ignited him completely. Heat surged through his body, powerful and uncontrollable. Every instinct urged him closer, urged him to claim the moment he had denied himself for so long.
She was intoxicating. Irresistible.
And in that overwhelming rush of confession and desire, Marcus knew one thing with absolute certainty.
He wanted Willow Moran.