She Was the Treasure All Along novel Chapter 998

Helena was struck completely speechless.

"Don't you think this grand realization is coming a little too late?" she finally whispered.

"Perhaps," Morris conceded smoothly. "It is the one variable in my life I am the least certain of." He held her gaze, dark and unyielding. "That is why you are welcome to punish me."

Helena stared at him, the heavy silence stretching between them. Deep down, his words were intoxicating—a venomous lure tailored specifically to her weaknesses. But her rational mind was screaming, begging her not to throw herself back into the fire.

Gathering her strength, she finally broke his hold, pulling herself out of his grip. She turned her back, went into the laundry room to retrieve her dry clothes, quickly changed, and grabbed her purse, fully intent on leaving.

Morris watched her from the doorway. "There won't be a single cab driving out to this estate at this hour. Sleep here tonight. You can leave in the morning."

Helena didn't argue. She knew he was right; his mansion was buried deep in the hills, miles away from the city.

She turned and walked into the guest bedroom. Just as she was about to close the door, Morris spoke again, his voice cutting through the quiet hall.

"Every word I said tonight is a permanent offer. It doesn't expire."

Helena shut the door without a word.

The next morning, when she walked out to head to work, Morris was already dressed in a sharp suit, tossing his car keys in his hand. "I have to stop by the office anyway. I'll drop you off."

She didn't bother declining.

When Morris's sleek luxury car pulled up to the entrance of Lonsdale Music Atelier, Helena immediately spotted Swain standing by the front doors.

Her phone had died the night before, so she hadn't seen his inevitable barrage of texts. She asked Morris to pull over, pushed the door open, and stepped out onto the sidewalk.

It was better to end this right here, face to face, before it dragged on and became something uglier.

Swain was wearing a dark blue dress shirt she had bought for him, his hair styled perfectly, holding a bag of breakfast pastries. When he saw her step out of the passenger side of a multi-million dollar car belonging to one of the city's most elusive billionaires, the eager smile on his face faltered.

But he quickly masked his insecurity. He didn't even ask why she was in Morris's car. To Swain, a man like Morris was so far out of their league that he couldn't possibly be a threat. A guy like that wouldn't look twice at a girl with Helena's family baggage.

He jogged over to her, closing the distance. "Helena! I called you a hundred times last night. You never picked up. I was so worried I didn't sleep a wink."

Helena looked at him, making no move to take the breakfast he was holding out. "My phone died."

"You look exhausted. What did I do wrong to make you act like this out of nowhere?" Swain pleaded, trailing behind her as she walked into the lobby and dropped the pastries on a side table.

Helena let out a sharp, mocking laugh. "Just go."

Swain scrambled to justify it. "I didn't delete her because she didn't do anything wrong! I didn't want to be a jerk and embarrass her! It literally means nothing!"

Helena looked at him in disgust. If a man truly loved his girlfriend and was caught in a misunderstanding like this, the first thing he would do is block the other woman to prove his loyalty.

But Swain was just protecting himself, layering lies over excuses. The sweet, reliable illusion she had built of him shattered completely, revealing the weak, selfish coward underneath.

"Get out of here, Swain. My coworkers are going to be here any minute," she said, her face an unreadable mask, burying the dull ache in her chest.

Seeing that his excuses weren't working, Swain's panic morphed into defensive anger. "You can't just do this to me! My parents forced me to go! If I didn't show up, they would have marched right back here and harassed you again! I was running interference for you! I took a bullet for you, and instead of being grateful, you're blaming me?!"

"And how long were you planning to run interference?" Helena shot back, her voice finally cracking like a whip. "A year? Two years? Or just until your parents paraded the perfect little rich girl in front of you and you finally decided I wasn't worth the headache anymore?"

Swain's head snapped back as if she'd struck him. "Why can't you just see it from my side?! Your family... look at your parents! Look at what they did! How am I supposed to convince my parents to accept that?! I'm human, Helena! I'm under a massive amount of pressure. I have to take responsibility for you, but I also have to take responsibility for my family—"

"And did you?" Helena cut him off, her voice dropping to a lethal whisper. "Did you take responsibility for me?"