"If you don't believe me, ask Blake whether I've already made Kitty leave the company and had the other company change their manager."
"And about the other day when she made you stand in the copy room all afternoon, copying a bunch of useless documents, I've already given her a piece of my mind and stood up for you."
"So, Arielle, can we just let this go? Let's not bring it up again, okay?"
Worried that his explanation might not be enough, Taylor added, "And besides, there's nothing going on between her and me. But you, you went out to dinner with Grant again. I treated it like you were just meeting a friend, and I didn't bring it up."
If it wasn't for trying to calm Leonora down, Taylor wouldn't have swallowed his pride.
But right now, he had no choice but to compromise, to give in.
Despite Taylor's heartfelt explanation, Leonora still didn't open her eyes, still didn't respond.
There was no hope for them anymore; she couldn't accept his apologies that always came with hurtful actions.
Otherwise, the same problems would keep popping up again and again.
Leonora kept her eyes closed, kept silent, forcing Taylor to ask, "Arielle, what do you really want? Can you give me an answer?"
Taylor was genuinely scared of Leonora, scared of her anger, scared she'd ignore him, scared she'd stay silent.
He didn't realize that his fear came from caring about her, which is why her anger and silence terrified him.
When Taylor asked what she wanted, Leonora finally opened her eyes, looking at him with a dull gaze, and said, "Break up. I want to break up with you."
Even though Taylor had apologized early in the morning, Leonora's decision was firm.
She was determined to end things with him.
Hearing her insist on breaking up, Taylor's face changed immediately.
He stared at Leonora for a long time, then gently removed his hand from her face, softly saying, "You must be exhausted. Why don't you sleep a bit more?"
After saying that, he didn't stay in the bedroom, but went to the next-door study instead.
He was afraid that if he stayed, they'd end up arguing again, making things worse.
If that happened, it would be better for him to keep his distance from Leonora, to give her some space to cool off.
However, Leonora's cool-off period this time seemed way too long.
Taylor didn't come to her, and except for trips to the bathroom, she stayed in bed all day, not eating, not drinking, not speaking.
Taylor came in a few times throughout the day, but Leonora still didn't say a word.
"Arielle, you haven't eaten all day. Even if you're mad at me, you don't have to punish yourself. Please, eat something," Taylor pleaded gently by the bed, holding a bowl and utensils.
Leonora kept her eyes closed.
She knew that if she forgave Taylor, similar issues would arise again.
It was always his fault, but in the end, it would somehow become her fault.
She didn't want to take the blame, didn't want to endure such humiliation any longer.
Moreover, there was nothing between her and Grant. Since Grant had returned, they'd only seen each other two or three times, and it was always because of something Taylor had messed up that Grant would come to check on her.
Grant was his uncle, and if they continued to be together, Taylor would always be suspicious, and Grant would always be caught in the middle.
Rather than continue this way, it was better to end things!
So, even though Taylor was trying his best to coax her, Leonora remained silent.
Leonora's steadfast silence left Taylor out of options. When he looked at her with a heavy heart, he eventually put down the bowl and utensils.
Looking at Leonora with a sense of helplessness, Taylor said, "If you don't want to talk or eat, then just try to get some more sleep."
Leonora remained silent.
Without any other means to deal with Taylor, she could only play dead.
But that was probably torture enough for him.

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