I Pretended To Be His Crush For Three Years Chapter 13

I Pretended To Be His Crush For Three Years Chapter 13

“When did you know?” she asked. Her voice cracked on every word, each syllable trembling with unbearable tension and fear.

“About… a year ago.” His tone was flat. Unreadable.

A year ago.

That meant he’d known the truth long before they broke up. The realization struck her like a blow to the chest.

“Then why didn’t you call me out?”

“Because I realized,” he said slowly, “that the person the system wanted me to ‘pursue’-wasn’t the person I actually wanted.”

She couldn’t hold back the tears. They fell fast and hot.

“Reid, you’re insane.” She choked on the words, nearly incoherent. “You knew I was a fraud, that I tricked you -why would you still-”

“Still what? Still love you?” He reached up and brushed his fingertips gently across her tear-streaked face. His fingers were trembling. “Nora. Three years. Do you really think I stayed because of some system command?”

She shook her head wildly, tears still falling. “No. This is my fault. I planned that bump. I blocked Nyssa on purpose. I made all of it happen. It was all me.”

“So what?” His voice rose. “So that means you don’t deserve to be loved? So that means you can’t even cry in front of me?”

“So that means you run to Milan alone-no goodbye, no explanation?”

“I-” She opened her mouth. Nothing came out.

“Nora. Have you ever actually thought about this?” He leaned closer, his gaze locking onto hers, his eyes reddening at the rims. “You lied to me for three years. But I lied to you for three years too.”

“You lied about being the right one. I lied about only loving you because of the system.”

“And neither of us actually cares about that. Do we?”

She stared at him, tears streaming down her face like pearls falling from a broken string.

“But… Nyssa?”

“Nyssa?” He frowned. “When did I ever say I liked Nyssa?”

“The piano duet. The party. Coming to Milan together-”

“The piano duet was work. She helped me record harmonies for a new song. The party-she happened to be

on the same guest list. And Milan-she has work here.”

He spoke clearly, patiently. One thing at a time.

“Nora.” He cupped her face, his thumbs brushing away her tears. “There’s nothing between me and Nyssa.”

“It’s always been you.”

She was sobbing now, too choked up to speak.

Three years. Three years of guilt, of fear, of nightmares.

All of it broke apart in that moment.

Not because he’d forgiven her. But because he told her he’d already forgiven her-from the very start.

“Then why… why did you break up with me?” Her voice was thick with tears. She sniffled, trying to steady her

words. “If you knew it was all a lie from the beginning, if you loved me all along-why did you end it? Why did

you leave me alone to suffer for so long?”

He was quiet for a moment. “Because I-

Before he could finish-a sound. Sharp and electric, cutting through the air.

It came from everywhere. From nowhere. A screeching static, a digital scream, surging from all directions, from every inch of space around them, crackling with electric noise.

[Warning! Warning! The host has formed a deep emotional bond with an unauthorized target. Core protocol

violated. Forced memory erasure protocol activated. Countdown: 10, 9, 8…]