Devil's Prisoner of Love by Prefer

Chapter 901: Transferring Schools

Dorian no longer felt the confidence he once had when facing Aveline. Now, all that remained was an overwhelming sense of awkwardness.

For the longest time, he had assumed Aveline came from a modest background, believing that her closeness to Orion was due to money. But the truth struck like a thunderbolt-his family's business was merely a tiny distributor under the Barnet family's vast empire. The disparity between them was far beyond anything he had imagined.

"Aveline, are you leaving?" Dorian asked, his voice strained and unnatural.

"Yes, I'm leaving," she replied calmly. Aveline didn't dislike Dorian. Despite his occasional narcissism, he wasn't an unlikable person overall.

"Aveline, I know you and Orion have been close since childhood, but I want to say this- I really like you."

Aveline didn't expect him to be so persistent. She found it strange. After all, they were only in middle school. How could someone so young truly understand what it meant to like someone? Even though she had spent her entire life with Orion, she wasn't sure if her feelings for him were romantic.

Could someone who had only seen her a handful of times truly understand what "liking" meant?

"My answer is the same as before-I don't like you," she said firmly.

"You don't have to like me. It's enough that I like you," Dorian replied, his tone resolute.

"It's not that I doubt your sincerity, Dorian. I just find it odd. Do you really know what it means to like someone? You've only seen me a few times. You don't even know what kind of person I am in private."

"I may not know you completely, but I know you like white, you enjoy sweets, you prefer quiet places, and you dislike noisy crowds. You like soda water, but you hate flies..."

Aveline was startled. They weren't even in the same class, yet he knew so much about her.

interrupted,

in bookshops. She doesn't dislike noise-she dislikes people with ulterior motives trying to please her. And she prefers freshly made yogurt over

even know a fraction of what I do. Dorian, is it? Forget

out of nowhere, his voice steady and unwavering. Nearby, Joyce clapped her

book from Aveline's hands as if it were second nature. He turned to

chance in this lifetime," Orion said, his tone final. "Aveline, let's go. Mr. Barnet and

indifferently. Who in the world could compare to Orion in terms of attentiveness? He knew every embarrassing thing about

the girl in the white dress forever etched into his memory. "Aveline, why

white dress, her hair tied simply at the back. Most of the other students were accompanied by their parents for registration, but she had walked alone, her face carrying a distant,

he had spotted her, and for the first time in his life, he understood

mesmerizing everyone around her. He

he saw Aveline, he realized it

until she had walked far away that he snapped out of his daze. Thanks to his striking looks, he quickly attracted the attention of many girls, but his heart stayed fixated

been difficult. Aveline's beauty

days, many boys had confessed to her, only to be rejected. She was

was as though her world consisted

he continued to wait for her at the same spot every day, timing it perfectly to

cold, every time he

thing about liking someone. A fleeting moment could leave a lifelong

dark expression and tugged at his sleeve.

"No," he replied curtly.

Orion is jealous!" Joyce teased, clearly enjoying the drama. "It's because other boys like Aveline just