Chapter 998

Ryleigh could not even utter a single word after a long time. She had always regarded Joe as her best
friend-she would even categorize Joe as one of her confidants because he understood her so well.

However, she did not know that Joe understood her because he did so with all his heart.

“But… Why didn’t he tell me?” Ryleigh could not understand.

Maisie picked up the teacup, and her eyes were fixed on the rippling tea. ‘The feelings that he has for
you are more than friends but less than lovers. Once he crosses the line and tells you what he’s wanted
to tell you all this while, some things will never return to how they were before that, and that can ruin a
friendship.”

Having said that, Maisie raised her gaze and glanced at Ryleigh. ‘Are you sure that you wouldn’t be
frightened by him and stay away from him after confessing to you all of a sudden back then?” Ryleigh did
not know what to say for a while. After all, she had never thought about the answer to the question.
“What would I do if Joe had confessed to me back then? Maisie placed her hand on the back of Ryleigh’s
hand. “I know you’ve always regarded Joe as your best friend, but no matter what, you have to come
forward to solve this matter yourself.”

“What?” Ryleigh was taken aback and then pursed her lips. “But what if this is a misunderstanding…”
“I’apologize to Joe in person if that’s the case. Ryleigh, if you really don’t want your relationship with Joe
to go beyond a point of no return, go and tell him everything in person. If you can still be friends after
that, then take him back as the friend that you value the most in life. But if you can’t move on as friends
after that, you can only take it as a misfortune.” Maisie paused for a bit, stood up slowly with her arms
propping against the desk, and picked up her handbag. “Some things have to be made clear as soon as
possible.”



Ryleigh remained motionless in her chair after Maisie left. She lowered her gaze, pursed her lips, took
out her phone, and found Joe’s

contact number from her phone’s contact list.

That noon…





After Joe finished with his last class, he came to the place where Ryleigh had asked him to meet her at,
which was a park near their old high school Joe got out of the car while Ryleigh waited for him on a
swing, swaying back and forth gently. She raised her head when she sensed footsteps approaching, and
for a moment, she felt so familiar and yet so strange.

Joe smiled. “Why would you think of asking me out all of a sudden?”

“Joe, I heard… I heard that you have a thing for me.” Ryleigh looked away, remained silent for a short
while, and suddenly asked him with a euphemistic tone, “But we’ve always been great friends, so it’s
impossible for you to fall for me, isn’t it? There must be a misunderstanding, right?”

In fact, she hoped that she was mistaken too, and she wished to hear him deny everything.

After a moment of silence, Joe did not answer her directly but sat down on the swing beside her. His lips
then moved. “Do you want the truth?”

She nodded absentmindedly.

“Yes.” Joe turned to look at her and responded and then continued while she was still lost in her
astonishment. “I’ve always liked you.”



They exchanged gazes for a minute, but she looked away hurriedly and stared at her feet without saying
a thing. Joe turned to face her. “Ryleigh, I thought about confessing my feelings to you after our
graduation, but I didn’t have the courage to do so back then.”

Ryleigh could not help but clench her hands tightly and just listened to him quietly. “I know I would
definitely scare you if I were to have confessed to you back then, and I’d surely lose the chance to stay
by your side as a friend.”

Ryleigh frowned. “But, why can’t we go back to being,”

Joe held the back of her hand.

Ryleigh was astounded, seemingly frightened by his actions, and forgot to react for a short while.

“I can’t,” he said as he leaned forward and stared at Ryleigh. “I can’t just treat you as a friend, nor can I
pretend not to care about you. I regret it now. I regret that I didn’t tell you how I felt back then, even if it
meant getting rejected by you.”




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