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.

echoed down the cliff, catching Nnenna’s attention as she bent over immediately after she held on

snapped up, wide eyed, heart hammering. All three of them swayed gently in the breeze, and she saw Somto’s hand slowly drift away from Arthur’s. Her

It can hold us three!" Her voice was trembling, quivering with a mixture of

sharp, unyielding. His voice was quiet, controlled, the steel in it cutting through the fear like a blade. "No. It will not hold three people. Not safely...

with desperation. Tears

arm, trembling but unrelenting. "Please... you have to trust me!

at Arthur, whose gaze burned with disbelief, anger, and helplessness. I can’t let them risk it... not for him

please... don’t leave me! Not like this..." She

The rope swayed like a silver

Somto

slipped from Arthur’s hand and disappeared into the thick, swirling mist below. The ocean waited far beneath, silent and endless. No sound traveled upward, not a splash, not a

"Somto...!" Her voice broke, barely more than a whisper, but it was jagged with terror

fists tightened on the rope, knuckles white. He stared down into the mist, lips pressed into a

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. She

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

lifeline dangling between life and death. The cliff seemed impossibly high, the void below infinite, and the silence thick with grief, fear,

a long while, silence pressed in, broken only by the faint whistle of the wind rushing through the cliffside. Arthur’s chest heaved, but his eyes never left

it wasn’t until minutes passed

was pale, frozen in

but

locked on the mist

word, he reached for the rope, hauling himself upward with quick, practiced movements. Then he caught

"I want to go down.

voice cracked,

Her resistance was frantic, every motion wild with grief, but he didn’t

pulled her until both of them reached the edge. He didn’t force her to move farther, didn’t push her away from the cliff. Instead, he sat down right beside her, silent, still, shoulders

reckless. His grief was heavy, pressing against his chest

boots and armor clashing against stone echoed through the cliffs before Carl finally appeared, leading several key commanders with him.

his gaze unreadable. Beside him, Nnenna was crumpled on the ground, whether dazed or trembling with tears, Carl couldn’t even tell at first. But one thing was

Somto wasn’t there.

tightened. No. No,