Garden of May - Chapter 119
“Lady Rosaline.”
Just as a boisterous group exchanged greetings and passed by, a gentleman appeared, his hair neatly slicked back with pomade. Unlike the men who had come before, his face still held a trace of boyishness.
Spreading his arms as if greeting a long-lost friend, he grasped Rosaline’s extended hand with theatrical flair. As the two shared a brief reunion, Vanessa narrowed her eyes at the man. He looked familiar, somehow.
Had they met before? If he was a friend of Rosaline’s, perhaps they had passed each other once or twice… While she racked her brain trying to recall his name, the man, having planted a kiss on Rosaline’s knuckles, turned to look at her with a hint of surprise.
“And… Lady Vanessa.”
Flustered that he knew her name precisely, Vanessa hesitated, clutching the fabric of her skirt. Had Rosaline not nudged her side with an elbow, she might not have offered her hand in time.
The man gently took her somewhat awkwardly extended hand. Vanessa noticed he held onto it a moment longer than he had when kissing Rosaline’s. Finally releasing her, he straightened from his bow and winked playfully.
“We’re classmates meeting for the first time in ages, and I don’t even get a hello?”
“Don’t tease her, Logan.”
Rosaline cut in smoothly with an elegant shift of her stance, blocking his view of Vanessa.
“You barely spoke a word to her at Saint Louis. Expecting a warm welcome now shows a distinct lack of conscience.”
“But we were in the same class for three whole years.”
“She’s just nervous. She didn’t sleep well last night.”
At that, the man’s eyes widened before he burst into a pleasant laugh.
“How to put it… her personality is unexpectedly cute.”
“Vanessa was always cute. What on earth did you think of her?”
“She looked kind, sure, but she didn’t exactly seem easy to approach.”
“That’s only because you boys put her on a pedestal and worshipped her like a goddess.”
“…What is that supposed to mean?”
Vanessa, utterly bewildered by the unpredictable flow of conversation, interjected flusteredly. The man shrugged and answered readily.
“Consider the times. We were all trapped in that dreadful place, and there were so few pretty girls to begin with. Of course, that includes you, Rosaline.”
“I am truly honored.”
Unsure if he caught the sarcasm or not, the man grinned, showing his teeth, and scratched the back of his head as he continued.
“At first, quite a few guys tried to approach you seriously. But after seeing you flinch and run away when Mason tried to talk to you, everyone just gave up. They figured if you ran away from a face like his, the rest of us didn’t stand a chance.”
“Vanessa had every reason to. You lot looked rather menacing.”
“Well, after watching from the sidelines sucking our thumbs, we eventually came to a mutual agreement to leave her as an inviolable territory.”
Inviolable territory. She knew the boys often whispered behind her back, but she never imagined it was something like this. She had assumed they were gossiping about her poverty or her uncle’s unsavory reputation, so she hadn’t paid it any mind.
Every day back then had been a struggle. Her entire focus had been on raising her grades. She woke at dawn to head to the library and split her lunch hours to do campus volunteer work. If she could prove her excellence, be selected as a student representative, and secure the dean’s recommendation letter…
She had hoped, in vain expectation, that her uncle might then allow her to take the entrance exam for Oltempos University.
“I… had no idea… about any of that.”
Vanessa trailed off, averting her gaze. Even though it was ancient history, her cheeks burned with embarrassment.
- Protected: Garden of May Chapter 152 - Jun 16, 2026
- Protected: Garden of May Chapter 151 - Jun 16, 2026
- Protected: Garden of May Chapter 150 - Jun 16, 2026
