Page 28 of The Rancher's Second-Choice Wife

Valerian had felt he was near breaking point after that...until he realized there was one last thing he had yet to try.

Poppy.

Within moments of speaking to her, the incessant buzzing in his mind had gone silent, and a sense of almost miraculous peace slowly settled over him. The sound of her voice alone was unexpectedly soothing, and when she unconsciously spoke her erroneous thoughts out loud?

'He likes me.'

Valerian stunned himself by actually having to hide his amusement with a cough upon hearing his words. For the entire fucking week, all he had known were anger and bitterness. All he had been able to think of was how to save his company.

But within minutes of talking to Poppy, everything had changed.

"Thank you, Poppy."

"F-For what?"

"For thinking I like you."

A thud immediately followed his words, and Valerian could easily imagine what this meant. "Did you fall off your bed?"

"N-No!"

So damn bad at lying, Valerian thought.

It was another thing he liked about her, but it was also why he heard himself ask, "Why?"

"I'm sorry." Poppy's tone was full of dismay. "I didn't mean to put you on the spot. Of course, you don't—-"

"It's not that." And he wasn't lying. Any man would end up liking Poppy. He knew that now. But what he couldn't get was the other side of the coin. "I'm asking why...me."

"W-What?"

Valerian could feel a flush darkening his cheeks. He knew this almost seemed like he was asking her to pander to his ego, but it wasn't that at all. He just wanted to know—-

"Why do you like me?"

Because it didn't make sense at all, why an angel like Poppy would be attracted to a jerk like him.

"W-Why wouldn't I?"

The tone of her voice had Valerian imagining her squirming as she spoke.

"You know how you look. Any girl would have a crush on you."

Valerian struggled not to feel disappointed by her answer.

"But...that was just the start, you know? You'll probably think I'm crazy, but...but...I love watching you work."

Her tone was a mixture of shyness and certainty.

"You were passionate about it. Competitive but not in an ugly way. And I...I know this may not be the time to speak about it," she said in a rush, "but I know how hard you've been working to turn things around. Heather told me you won't be exactly penniless even if your company went down, but it's because of the people who depend on you that you're not giving up. And that's what...that's w-what I really l-like about you."

Memories alone made it easy for Valerian to imagine Poppy blushing as she started to stammer.

"I k-know this may not mean anything, but I just want you to know...I believe in you. I know you can do this. I have complete faith in you."

The quiet conviction in her words was unmistakable, and it was this that had Valerian slowly squeezing his eyes shut.

Why, dammit?

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