They Hated Me in My First Life, But Now I Have the Love System

Chapter 557: There Was Nothing Left to Say

She had faltered at first, but only briefly. The concentration, the focus, the precision of her solutions... and when she credited him indirectly, a small nod, a quiet acknowledgment of his guidance, his chest had tightened. She trusts me.

That was the best feeling he had ever had in his entire life.

The arena. Stephanie’s smirk. The crowd leaning forward. Nnenna on the defensive, every skillful move of hers countered by Stephanie’s reach and strength. She had fallen once, countless times. But each time, she rose.

Her fists, her stance, her will, unyielding. Her resilience had been almost blinding in its clarity, and he had watched, clenched, aware of every hit she dodged, every strike she parried, every stumble she recovered from. She had not given in. Not once.

The cliff. The wind. The salt in the air. His grip tightening, not on the stone, not on the ledge, but on the memory of her, every fragment vivid and alive.

Her dance, her sleep, her words, her brilliance, her fight, they all intertwined into one truth: she would never break, not from fear, not from pressure. She was fire, and he was the shield.

The ground yawned beneath him, but the only thing real was her. Her safety. Her happiness. Every pulse of memory sharpened the resolve coiled in his chest.

I would give everything. My life, my strength, everything.

He inhaled sharply, wind biting his lungs. The memories swirled faster now, impossible to separate: her hand in his at the coronation, her head on his shoulder in the plane, her words spilling into the night, her brilliance in the strategy exam, her defiance in the arena. Each beat of memory fueled the certainty burning in him.

I would do anything. Anything. To keep her safe. To keep her happy. Even this. Even now.

And the edge of the cliff, whatever comes next, didn’t matter. Not when all he could see was her.

Somto’s gaze flicked to a rope suddenly dangling down the cliff, shimmering faintly in the dim light. Where did that come from??

He examined it carefully. Maybe there was a way out of this. The rope looked strong but instinct screamed at him: it wasn’t strong enough to support all three of them. His jaw tightened, and he felt the weight of his decision pressing against his chest like a vise.

Slowly, deliberately, his hand began to loosen from Arthur’s. The movement was almost imperceptible at first, but the tension between the two men was immediate.

Arthur’s eyes narrowed, sharp and wary. "Somto... what are you doing?" His voice was calm, measured, but there was an edge to it, a quiet storm simmering beneath.

Somto didn’t answer. His focus was on the rope, on the void below, on the reality that he couldn’t risk all three lives. I’ll do whatever it takes... even if it costs me everything.

Arthur’s patience snapped. "DON’T YOU DARE LET GO!" His voice rose, cutting across the wind, carrying authority, fear, and unshakable insistence.

Nnenna’s attention as she bent over

in the breeze, and she saw Somto’s hand slowly drift away from Arthur’s.

The rope, trust me! It can hold us three!" Her voice was trembling, quivering with a mixture of fear and determination. She gripped the rope tighter, knuckles white. "I—I can make

quiet, controlled, the steel in it cutting through the fear like a blade. "No. It will not hold three people. Not

flashed, frustration mingling with desperation. Tears threatened

me! If you let

burned with disbelief, anger,

me! Not like this..." She leaned slightly forward, shaking, her whole body betraying the

The rope swayed like a

then, Somto let

mist below. The ocean waited far beneath, silent and endless. No sound traveled upward, not a splash, not a whisper, just the infinite quiet of

whisper, but it was jagged with terror and grief. She pressed her face against her trembling arms, feeling the void where

tightened on the rope, knuckles white. He stared down into the mist, lips pressed into a hard line. "Somto..."

and on Arthur’s arm. Her entire body trembled, not from cold, but from fear and helplessness. "I... I should’ve—" she whispered, voice breaking, choking back sobs she couldn’t hold back.

held her steady, grounding her trembling body with a firm hand, but even his calm, unwavering presence couldn’t fill the emptiness left

seemed impossibly high, the void below infinite, and the silence thick with grief, fear, and the weight of

through the cliffside. Arthur’s chest heaved, but his eyes never left the spot where Somto had disappeared into

were white around the rope, and it wasn’t until minutes passed that he finally tore

pale, frozen in shock. She

hoarse, low but firm. "Climb up. Use

there, lips trembling, eyes locked on the mist below as if her will alone could pull

another word, he reached for the rope, hauling

want to go down. Somto might still

cracked,

he dragged her upward. Her resistance was frantic,

He didn’t force her to move farther, didn’t push her away from the cliff. Instead, he sat down

there, watching her from the corner of his eye, prepared to grab her if she tried anything reckless. His grief was heavy, pressing against his chest like stone, but he held it in. For now, his only task was

of boots and armor clashing against stone echoed through the cliffs before Carl finally appeared, leading several key

Nnenna was crumpled on the ground, whether dazed or trembling with tears,

Somto wasn’t there.

No. No,