That’s my story

Theron originally believed that one never knows how a person’s life will turn out.
Just looking back at his own past proved it.
Would the young boy who used to wander around in a piss-smelling basement room have ever imagined that he would be acting like a respectable businessman in the future?
It wasn’t much different when he had set his mind on seducing Selene Ashcombe.
Not only did he think it was not a difficult task, but he had also boasted that he would not fall in love with that woman.
Thinking about it now, it was such a foolish boast.
How could he have known the future?
From the first time he saw Selene Ashcombe, he had wanted to lick her red lips, and now, far from seducing her, he was clinging to her and begging her to meet him just once.
Theron let out a hollow laugh and picked up the blueprint of the second building that was on the desk.
‘So, it’s not strange at all that I’ve come to make this decision.’
Glancing at his watch, Theron stood up from his chair as the time he had informed Selene to meet was approaching.
He had put on all sorts of airs to get Selene to that place, so it wouldn’t make sense if he was late.
Theron, who had left the company, got into his car.
The address he had given Selene, 14 Ashford Crescent, was not far away.
Thanks to that, he still had plenty of time, but thinking that this was really the last resort to hold onto Selene, Theron found himself hurrying.
Theron, who had stopped the car and gotten out on the roadside, looked around the place where he had promised to meet Selene.
It was chaotic and noisy.
‘It’s understandable.’
Realizing that the most chaotic and noisy place might be his own mind, Theron took a deep breath to soothe his hollow heart.
There was still a lot of time until the appointed time.
He swept back his hair with nothing to do, looked around the nearby coffee houses, and was counting how many cars were passing on the road when a familiar car stopped on the roadside.
Theron recognized the car that Selene usually rode in at a glance.
His heart pounded.
Even in his state of waiting for the end, his dead heart began to pound like a dog’s tail meeting its master at the fact that he could see Selene, and Theron was so amused that he laughed.
Of course, the laughter immediately died down as soon as he met Selene’s cold eyes.
“Hello, Selene.”
Selene stared at Theron without a word.
Theron tried his best to speak calmly.
“I knew you would come.”
“I didn’t want to come. Because I didn’t want to see your face.”
“But you came anyway.”
‘Then that’s enough. Didn’t they say that starting is half the battle?’
‘Since Selene is here, half of it is already achieved.’
Selene, who had been silent, asked, “Why did you call me here?”
“I have something to show you.”
‘On a street like this?’
Selene, with her brow furrowed, seemed to be asking that.
Ahem.
Theron cleared his throat.
“Look behind me.”
“…”
“What do you see?”
Selene, with her brow narrowed, as if she didn’t like this riddle, answered obediently.
“A building being demolished.”
“Yes. But that’s not just a building. It’s a structure that represents the efforts I’ve made so far, that is, a structure worth more than 100,000 pounds in numbers.”
At Theron’s explanation, Selene turned her gaze away from the construction site, which was being demolished with a loud noise, and looked at him.
“…What do you mean?”
“What do you think it means? It means that the building that is being shattered to pieces right now is the second building of our company that was scheduled to be completed next month.”
Selene’s lips parted.
“You’re crazy.”
Finally, a voice of disbelief flowed out.
Theron accepted her words nonchalantly.
In fact, it was a statement he had been hearing every day from those around him after making this decision.

“Theron, are you really out of your mind? What about the investment we were supposed to receive!”
“Sir…! If you’re not crazy, please reconsider! This is ridiculous!”

Lysander, Gary, and many other people had told him outright that he was crazy.
Nevertheless, the reason Theron could be nonchalant was because he had admitted that he was crazy.
More precisely, it wasn’t that his mind had gone crazy, but that he was crazy about Selene.
If he could just change that woman’s mind, if he could just apologize like this, he wouldn’t regret it even if the whole building, which was almost finished, went up in smoke.
“As I said, if you include the future value of that building, it’s worth about 100,000 pounds. Since the cash assets of the ducal family that I would receive if I married and divorced you are about that much, you’ll know that I no longer have any lingering attachment to money.”
“…You’re crazy, Theron Cox.”
Although Selene was not the type to show much change in her expression, this time she looked quite surprised and shocked.
It was closer to denying the events that were unfolding before her eyes rather than just looking at a truly crazy person.
However, Theron had the duty to make such a Selene accept reality.
“I’m perfectly sane, Selene. Because I had to go through countless procedures to make this decision. I even remember roughly how many insults I heard in the process.”
Still, what was comforting was that the large investment that had been recently made had not been canceled due to the demolition of this building.
It was possible because he had proven through the financial statements that the business was running without any problems.
Surprisingly, the representative of the largest client was a romanticist, and the reason he had understood after he had explained the situation honestly was also a big factor.
‘I didn’t think it would work…’
Theron, thinking he was surprisingly lucky, gazed at Selene.
“Selene, I’m not trying to force anything on you.”
“…”
“I just want to show you my sincerity and build a new relationship.”
“A new one…?”
Theron gave a short nod.
“Yes, a new one. I deceived you, and I’ve told not a few lies. It was true that I had a lot of experience with women, and it was also true that I had received a proposal from your uncle to seduce you.”
“…Yes. You deceived me.”
“That’s not all. I introduced myself as a gentleman at first, but I’m actually a vulgar person with a rough mouth and a different inside and outside.”
As he revealed himself so openly, Selene’s expression became subtle.
‘It’s probably because, even though he showed his sincerity by demolishing a nearly completed building, the most important thing is still missing.’
Just then, Selene pointed that out.
“You say that, but I still don’t know you, Theron Cox. You always keep your mouth shut about the important things. You still haven’t told me why you needed money so much that you would approach me by deceiving me.”
‘Yes. That’s it.’
Up to this point, it was no different from what he had appealed to Selene before.
This cumbersome appeal was missing its core.
Theron felt his heart, which had not even trembled when he had signed the final document agreeing to demolish the building, pounding loudly at this moment.
“I did that because it’s a shameful thing I don’t want to reveal. But someone told me that to start anew, I have to show myself completely, with the mindset of showing all the dust in the house.”
Theron stuck his hands in his pants pockets to hide his trembling.
“Listen carefully, Selene. As I’ve said before, I grew up under a violent father in a poor family. Every day was terrible.”
‘I really didn’t think I would be telling someone this with my own mouth.’
“It was a daily routine for that man to get drunk and hit me, and on bad days, he would try to kill me. One day, he tried to drown me in the bathtub, so I ran away with all my might, and that was the last day I saw that damn man.”
Still, it was a relief that Selene was not frowning as if she were hearing something unbearable.
“After running away like that, I lived hard not to starve to death, and when I was able to make a living, I ran into my biological mother, whom I had forgotten about, on the street. It would have been nice if we had just passed by, saying we were both living well, but as it happened, I almost got into an accident with a car that was rushing recklessly that day, and that woman threw herself for me.”
“…”
“She was badly hurt. So much so that she has been in a vegetative state and hasn’t opened her eyes since.”
Even as he spoke, Theron glanced at Selene’s reaction.
He was worried that she would be disgusted by this shabby story.
However, there was still no particular change in Selene’s expression, so he couldn’t rashly guess her inner thoughts.
“Because of that, I was tormented by guilt and a sense of debt. It wasn’t something I wanted, and I didn’t have many good memories of my biological mother, but when I closed my eyes, it was as if my breath was being choked. And after a few days, I realized. That even with time, I couldn’t escape the shadow of that woman who had closed her eyes. That I would struggle with this gloomy guilt for the rest of my life.”
“…”
“So I decided I had to repay her for my life with the vineyard on the Rigus Coast that she used to talk about so often. Unlike that plan, the imperial family announced that they would buy up that area, so with the fire at my feet, I came up with the ridiculous plan of seducing you and receiving a share of the ducal family’s fortune… but anyway.”
Theron cleared his throat for no reason at Selene’s lack of reaction.
“…For now, that’s my story.”