Only you in my love
Chapter 523 You Are Not Ruthless Enough

Nina knew what Vicente meant, and added, "So the media will believe that I have cheated on you. Are you worried that they will curse me?"

"Yes." Vicente lowered her eyes. "But I'm more afraid that I will be selfish and not stand up to speak for you. I'm in a very precarious position, Nina. I've sacrificed a lot to guard my title as the count. I have to protect my family.

That's my responsibility and mission." She raised her head again. "You're my good friend, and you're very important to me. But I'm afraid I'll choose my name and reputation over you one day. This is it for me. I'm meant to be here for the rest of my life." Nina understood what Vicente meant. Everything she said was true. 'Vicente has worked her entire life to get to where she is now. If we divorce, then the public will definitely target me.

Also, there's the matter of John and the children. They are like time bombs at this point. It's relatively easy keeping John's identity a secret, but the children are growing up now.

They're bound to bear a resemblance to their real father and then everyone will get suspicious and start asking uncomfortable questions.'

"Why do you sound so worried? I'm honored to be your friend." Nina smiled. She did not seem to be affected by Vicente's words.

Vicente was stunned. "Didn't you hear what I just said? Why aren't you angry?"

"Why should I be?" Nina asked. "Well, actually, one thing that you said didn't sit well with me. You said you were meant to be here for the rest of your life. We've discussed this before. I don't want you to be trapped here all your life."

"That's the least of our worries." Vicente glared at her. "If our divorce is really made public by the media, people will curse you. Even if I speak up for me, they won't believe it. That's how they are. They love hearing bad things about others. A lot of them like to gossip for fun while some slander those they think are dishonorable."

"I know." Nina was in a good mood. "But still, these are just mere assumptions. We can't know for sure right now how the people will react. You worry too much. As long as you keep Jett under control, no one will oppose you again. As long as you use my identity to amplify your power, anyone who dares to go against you dies."

A fierce look flashed across Nina's eyes. Hearing her resolute words, Vicente trembled. "Nina, you do know that I can't use my title and social status to kill people and shut them up forever, right? And even if I can,

I won't do such an evil thing." Nina was speechless for a moment. "That's why you are unable to defeat Jett."

Vicente's face darkened in response. "I thought we were good friends. Why are you saying this to me?"

"I'm serious." Nina stared at her. "You're not ruthless enough. You couldn't defeat Jett on your own, right? That's why you brought me in to begin with. I understand that you want to live your life honorably and honestly, but if you want to live long enough to stop the bad guys, then you've got to be willing to be worse than they are. Sometimes, being good means wielding bad powers against bad people. It doesn't necessarily make you a bad person. It all depends on how you use it.

Take John for example. Time Group's industrial chain has spread all over the world, and it hasn't gotten that way without John making some enemies. To protect his life's work and everyone who works for him, he's cruel to those who scheme against him, and has made a reputation out of it. He's a good man but not to his enemies, and everyone knows it. Now his enemies fear him, and his allies respect him."

Nina spoke very seriously as if she was giving Vicente some important instructions.

"John treats people very well. He just has an odd way of showing it. For example, his nephew James, the one I told you about. John bullies him every day, but in the process, he also teaches him essential business lessons that he can use to run his own entertainment company someday. There's also Chester who he also mentors and guides about other things since they doesn't want him to become a businessman. He's also good to his assistants, Henry and Richard. John is as good to the people around him as you are to your people."

Vicente quietly listened to Nina's story about John. The more she heard about him, the more she admired him.

"If you haven't told me all this, I will have forgotten again that he's not really a bodyguard but a successful entrepreneur. One of these days, I should go ask him for advice, but..." Vicente trailed off and sighed.

She turned her head and looked at Nina aggrievedly. "Can you stop praising him in front of me all the time? I get it. I'm not as tall and capable as he is. Every time you speak about him like this, I can't help feeling that I'm a loser."

Nina lowered her eyes, feeling guilty. "Does it really hurt you?"

"Yes." Vicente nodded. When Nina was about to open her mouth to speak, she quickly added, "And don't try and comfort me with the fact that I'm younger than he is and that I'm a woman. Those aren't reasons."

After getting along with her for such a long time, Nina was seeing Vicente so depressed for the first time. 'It seems that she's really frustrated.

But the light in her eyes is still there. Her ability to withstand any blow is still intact.'

"I've never thought of comforting you with those excuses, and I don't think women are weaker and less capable than men. The water's cold. Get up and get a hot shower, and I'll tell you all the things that you are that John's not." Nina stood up with a smile. "Oh, good. I'm aware that no one's perfect, but that doesn't mean I don't get to hear a litany of praises from you. You're not that easy to impress, you know." Grinning, Vicente stood up and took a hot shower.

Sitting on the sofa, Nina started unwrapping a package while waiting for Vicente to come back. Inside the package were lollipops from Noah.

"Would you like a lollipop? These lollipops taste good and have many flavors. You can choose what you like." Nina pushed the box in front of Vicente who had just come out.

Vicente glanced at the exquisitely packaged lollipops and said, "Men don't eat candies, so, no, thanks."

She used her original voice, but what she said suggested that she treated herself as a man.

Nina's chest felt heavy. Looking at Vicente, she thought, 'If I haven't run away, I would've been in the exact same position as Vicente.

If I haven't run away, there would be only Princess Nina in the world and no Nina.

I'm very lucky. I have a brother who helped me break from the shackles of my nobility and escape to my freedom. I have a brother who stayed behind and cleaned up the mess I had made. Vicente has nobody. Her hands and feet are bound, and she has to support herself.'

With tears in her eyes, Nina picked up one lollipop, peeled it, and stuffed it into Vicente's mouth. "Just eat."

The lollipop was particularly sweet, and it brought back a lot of memories.

Twenty years ago, she was still Vicki, not Vicente. She once saw other children on the streets eating candies. She wanted some, too, but her mother said that they gave kids dental cavities. She never bought Vicky candies no matter how hard she cried. Later, Vicente bought candies for her secretly.

That was the fondest memory she had of her brother.

With the lollipop in her mouth, Vicente was in a daze for a long time before she curled up her tongue. The lollipop's sweetness spread to her heart, deep enough to rouse the little girl from twenty years ago that still lived there.

Vicente suddenly jumped. She took the lollipop out of her mouth and put it on the table. A hint of panic flashed through her eyes. She said firmly, "I'm Vicente. It's well known that Vicente doesn't eat sweets."

When the lollipop thudded on the table, Nina knew that she had failed.

'She's contributed herself to her family.'0000