All too late for his love

After some massaging, the pain in Willow's ankle seemed to have lessened. The cooling sensation of the medicinal ointment felt comfortable.

The physical contact with the opposite sex did not tempt lan. It wasn't that Willow was unattractive to him. On the contrary, she was the only woman he ever felt attracted to.

However, his desire for her was eclipsed by the anguish he felt. His heart ached upon seeing the injuries across her body, and his soul was thrust into deep pain. Her calm demeanor brought to mind a fortune teller's prophecy from his childhood. He had been told he would lead a life of boundless wealth. Only after meeting Willow did he realize that, despite his arrogance from his privileged background, he would one day willingly sacrifice everything for a woman.

He reluctantly released her ankle and asked her in a low voice, "Willow, how are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling much better. Thank you, Mr. Nightingale." She stood up, steadying herself on the couch. "I'm orry for taking up so much of your time. Let's forget about what happened last night. We have to move on somehow."

"As for the blind date... Please inform Mr. Quayle that we are, unfortunately, not a good match. Mr. Nightingale, to be honest with you, I have no plans to date. I think I'm fine living with Aaron,

"I hope you meet the woman of your dreams soon."NôvelD(ram)a.ôrg owns this content.

lan wanted to tell Willow that she was the woman of his dreams-the only woman who made his heart flutter.

However, he refrained from confessing his feelings upon seeing her dead eyes and her polite smile.

Willow started off with a good impression of him, but he messed it up. He single- handedly ruined her perception of him. He'd only scare her away if he insisted on pursuing her.

"Willow, have a good rest. He reached out to pat her on the shoulder, but he eventually withdrew his hand, as he believed the move to be too intimate for their current relationship and might disgust her.

She silently let out a sigh of relief. The troublemaker was finally going to leave her apartment.

"For tonight." lan began.

His words reminded her of her promise to buy him dinner from the audition last night. She cut him off." Mr. Nightingale, I'm sorry. I'm feeling unwell, so I will not treat you to dinner tonight."

"Okay." Feeling disappointed, he did not insist on a dinner nonetheless. "Eric will contact you this afternoon to get the contract signed."

With that, lan turned around and left her apartment.

Eric followed closely behind him. Certain details about the contract did not require lan's approval, but Eric thought it was necessary to consult lan, given the importance of Willow to lan. "Boss, regarding Ms. Sanford's endorsement fee...

"Well, the contract stipulated an annual endorsement fee of 10 million dollars-the rate for A-listers. But Ms. Sanford isn't even a D-lister. Based on the industry rules, we can only offer her a tenth of the rate for an A-lister, or even lower."

"Willow Sanford will become an A-lister one day!" lan insisted with lan determination.

Eric immediately got the hint that there was no need to change the e endorsement fee in the contract.

Zayn had just parked his car by the street when he saw lan emerging from Willow's neighborhood. Zayn wasn't in the best mood that day, and his expression crumpled even more at the thought of lan leaving

Willow's apartment.