Reborn With a Money-Making System: Ruined Actress to Nation's Treasure-Chapter 166: Penny, Stop Forcing Me to Confess!

"I don’t know when it started," he continued quietly. "Maybe it was when I saw you smile for the first time. Or maybe it was when I saw you crying and felt like my chest was being torn apart."

I was completely speechless when I heard my husband say that. I truly didn’t expect him to suddenly confess his love to me.

Meanwhile, I could only stay silent because, apparently, confessing my real feelings was something very difficult for me to do. It was probably because, when I was young, people often told me to shut up.

But it would be unfair if Lando had voiced his feelings while I didn’t do the same.

"I just wanted to say what’s in my heart." Lando turned his face away when I didn’t reply right away. He looked fine, but at the same time, I could clearly see the disappointment in his eyes. "If you don’t feel the same way, that’s not a problem. After all, there’s no obligation for us to have feelings for each other."

"No... that’s not it! It’s not that I don’t like you!" I forced myself to speak as I quickly grabbed his hands and made him look at me again. "I... I’m just shy!"

The words burst out of my mouth, and I might have spoken too loudly because he jolted a little.

"I... I’m just too shy to say my feelings out loud," I said again. My lips were trembling, and my hands felt cold because I was so embarrassed. "It’s not that I don’t have feelings for you."

My heart was beating so hard that it felt like it might jump out of my chest.

"Then... what kind of feelings do you have for me?" Lando asked softly. "I’ll listen no matter what."

I already told him I was shy, yet he still asked me to say it?!

Yeah... he was definitely teasing me on purpose.

I bit my lower lip, my eyes darting away from his face. My cheeks felt so hot that I was sure they had turned completely red by now.

"I..." I squeezed his hands tighter without even realizing it. "I like you. I really do."

The words were simple, but saying them out loud made my heart feel like it was going to explode.

For a moment, Lando just stared at me. Then his eyes slowly widened, as if he couldn’t fully process what I had just said. But after a while, his expression returned to normal.

"You... like me? As a friend, or what?" he asked, but it sounded like he was trying to tease me. After all, the word "like" is usually used between friends.

I felt like my head was about to explode as my face turned bright red. When I didn’t mean to, the word "love" could slip out of my lips so easily, but now that I had to say it on purpose, it felt so hard!

"I... I..."

Oh, fuck it.

Without warning, I grabbed him by the collar and pulled his face toward me. Then, in that moment, I planted a light kiss on his lips.

The moment our lips touched, my mind went completely blank.

It was just a light kiss—so quick and soft that it almost didn’t feel real—but my heart was pounding so hard I thought it might burst.

I pulled back almost right away, my hands shaking as they slipped from his collar.

"I— I meant that kind of ’like’..." I mumbled, too embarrassed to look at him.

For a few seconds, Lando didn’t move at all, and his ears turned bright red.

Then slowly... his hand lifted and touched his own lips, as if he was trying to confirm that what just happened was real.

[Lando’s favorability has increased by +6%]

What the hell! Now his favorability had reached 90%! So... he did like that kiss!

Well, I liked it too, but because of that, I felt so embarrassed that I couldn’t think properly. I immediately stood up from the chair and said, "I-I’ll go change my clothes now! And then we can go to the photo studio!"

But before I could walk away, Lando suddenly pulled my hand toward him. He stood up from his wheelchair, using the dining table for support with one hand while the other hand held tightly onto mine.

Before I could react, Lando leaned forward and kissed me deeply.

It wasn’t rushed this time. It was slow, warm, and careful, yet filled with so much feeling that my breath completely caught in my throat. His hand tightened around mine as if he was afraid I might disappear if he let go.

My mind went blank.

All I could feel was his lips, and the way my heart was beating wildly against my chest.

Only after a few seconds did he slowly pull back, his breathing slightly uneven. His forehead rested gently against mine.

"So... don’t run away," he said softly. "Not after doing something like that."

My face burned red all over again.

"I—I wasn’t running," I whispered weakly. "I just... wanted to change my clothes."

"You always run away after kissing me or doing something sweet to me," Lando pointed out my habit. "Helcia, you can’t keep running away from me like that. You’re giving me a headache."

Right now, I was the one who had a headache!

I turned my face to the side and, with my face burning hot, said, "I... I’m just too shy." Then I added, "You should hold my hand like this if you don’t want me to keep running away."

"But I’m sitting in a wheelchair all the time. How am I supposed to chase you quickly?" Lando said.

"O-oh, right... I’m sorry." I finally turned my face back toward him, but immediately looked away when I accidentally met his emerald eyes. "T-then I’ll try my best not to run away anymore."

"You look like you’re about to run away again right now." Lando lowered his gaze, looking at my feet that were angled to the side, as if showing that I was just a second away from running. "Do you really want to go?"

"If I want to go, will you let me go?" I asked in a small voice.

Even though Lando was holding my hand, his grip was actually very gentle. It only felt like he was lightly wrapping his hand around my wrist, not trying to keep me trapped in one place.

"Yes, I’ll let you go," he said. "If that’s what you want."

"I... I honestly don’t want to go," I admitted quietly. "Maybe... one more kiss."

Lando froze for a second, clearly caught off guard by my quiet request.

"...One more?" he repeated softly.

I nodded, my face burning as I clutched his sleeve like I was afraid he might disappear. I was the one asking this time, yet my heart was beating so fast.

"But friends don’t kiss," Lando suddenly said. "Only people who love each other do that."

I widened my eyes because I didn’t expect him to say something like that. "But... but I already kissed you once."

Lando narrowed his eyes slightly as he smiled. "Wouldn’t it be better if you just said your true feelings? I can’t fully understand how you feel if you don’t say it."

Liar! How could he possibly think that I only saw him as a friend after I kissed his lips?!

He just wanted me to confess my feelings!

[Ding! Ding!]

Oh, fuck you, Penny!

[Random Quest: Confess your true feelings to your husband!]

[Reward: $300,000]

[Time Limit: 5 minutes.]

What the hell?! Five minutes?! That was ridiculously fast!

[Penny has been very generous to you, Host. That’s why you can’t finish all the missions so easily!]

Well, she had a point... but still!

[Tick... tock... Host. Tick... tock...]

[Say it, or your easy cash will disappear.]

My chest tightened as the countdown echoed in my head.

Five minutes.

No, now it felt like five seconds!

My fingers curled tightly into Lando’s sleeves, my heartbeat pounding so loud I was sure he could hear it. My mouth opened... then closed again.

[Lando’s favorability will not increase if you keep hesitating, Host.]

Oh, shut up!

I squeezed my eyes shut and took a few deep breaths.

Say it. Just say it.

"I—" My voice shook as I spoke. I took another deep breath. "I don’t just like you..."

Lando didn’t say anything and simply let me continue my confession.

"Lando, I... love you," I said in a small voice, feeling so embarrassed that I wanted to cry.

[Congratulations, Host! Quest complete: Confess your true feelings to your husband!]

[Reward: $300,000 has been added to your balance.]

[Total Balance: $2,087,888]

I let out a sigh of relief because I managed to get that easy cash just by confessing my feelings. But that feeling was instantly shattered when I heard Lando say, "You’re speaking too quietly. I can’t hear you."

My face burned. From my cheeks to the tips of my ears, everything felt hot. "...You heard me," I mumbled weakly.

"No... I can’t hear you," Lando repeated.

I scrunched up my nose and couldn’t help but sob a little because I couldn’t contain my embarrassment anymore. "You’re such a bully!"