Page 114 of Grumpy Bossy Doctor

"Ian…"

"Natasha…"

We called each other at the same time. We both had something to say. I knew she would want to apologize for what had happened the last time and for wasting my time, considering that her feelings were never going to be returned. But just like David had advised, there was no way I was going to settle with a square zero.

"Let me go first," I requested.

"Alright," she affirmed.

"I'm sorry it took me this long to say, but I'm in love with you," I confessed. "From the moment we met, I have desired you. Even with both of my personas, I love you. You, whose eyes have been able to hold my gaze without regarding the possibility of another, I love you. I know what it's like to chase after people who have no eyes for you. But I assure you that mine do. I don't want to be friends. You might have overheard everything I said to David, and I want you to know that there was no single lie in anything I said."

I stopped and let her take in the words.

"I know you might feel I don't deserve to say these things. Why couldn't I say them earlier? And why did I choose to tell you this after the man you loved had rejected you?" I continued. "I just don't want to hesitate, like I did the last time."

"Ian…" she called out. "What do you mean that the man I loved rejected me?"

"What? You said you confessed to Ethan," I reminded her. "And he turned you down brutally."

"That was just the surface," she said. "Remember, I said Iwasin love with him, but that has long passed. He stopped being the man I loved for almost a month plus."

"So do you have a man you love?" I asked.

"Yes, I do," she said, "but he doesn't know it yet. I was going to tell him today after this."

Well, it was to be expected. It might not have been Lawrence, but there were a lot of people who looked up to her and desired her. I was probably just one among the many. But still…what is mine is mine. And there was no way I was going to yield her to anyone else.

"I'm sorry Natasha, I don't know who he is, but there is no better fit for you than me," I said with pride. "I will have you and no one else will."

"Strange…"

"Is it really?"

"Yes, because the man I'm in love with is you," she exclaimed. "Do you mind repeating that last line again?"

I was embarrassed.

"Ahhh…are your cheeks turning red?" She laughed and I looked away. She held my head and made me face her. "Didn't you promise that you'd hold my gaze? Where are you looking at?"

"Stop…" I covered my face with the back of my palm. "You're being annoying."

"And you had the nerve to steal my love confession," she said as she straddled me and held me by the collar. "You don't know how to treat a princess, do you? Calling me annoying."

"What, princess? You overgrown spoiled brat," I mocked and frowned.

"Says the edgy grown man," she shot back with a smirk.

"Take that back," I insisted.

"Tell me I'm a princess and not a brat," she demanded.

"My princess," I said.

Judging by the surprise on her face, she didn't expect me to actually say it.

"Don't think you're out of this yet–"

I cut her words short by kissing her. "You talk too much."

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