Guidelines for the Perfect Goodbye - Chapter 232
Logan closed his eyes in the carriage as it rattled along the road. Today, he felt like a complete fool. He was fully aware of itâthere was no other word for it.
When he first received the invitation from the Heens family, he had hesitated. The invitation clearly had ulterior motives.
But he hadnât declined it.
Later, at the party, when his eyes met Ceciliaâs across the masks, he hesitated again. He could have walked straight to her and spoken.
But instead, he deliberately averted his gaze.
Finally, when Nigel and Cecilia were engaging in their ridiculous antics, that was the perfect moment to confront her decisively.
âNo matter what you do, I wonât let the engagement end.â
âŚYet he had granted her wish.
He could have grabbed Nigel and thrown a punch, as Ulysses had done. He could have dragged Cecilia away to who-knows-where, ignoring her opinions entirely. He could have done anything.
To be honest, he wasnât afraid of any of it. Though indifferent to power, he wasnât ignorant of how to seize and wield it.
Yet, the only thing he could do was cling to one small corner of her many desires, like a leaf hanging on.
âHave I gone madâŚâ
He placed the back of his hand against his forehead and let out a long sigh. None of this felt like himself.
Latelyâor rather, ever since meeting herâhe had felt strange. At first, he thought it might simply be attraction, but even he could tell it had grown far more serious. Like some infatuated boy falling in love for the first time.
Was he the type to fall easily at first sight? No. If he were, he would have pursued romantic relationships long ago. It wasnât as though women hadnât approached him.
Was he soft when it came to women? Absolutely not. He didnât disregard women, but that didnât mean he went easy on them.
During his naval voyages, he had encountered all kinds of groups, including women as strong as men. If he had treated them lightly just because they were women, his head would have long since ended up hanging from a banana tree like a cluster of fruit.
Cecilia was the only woman who had ever made him feel pathetic.
That realization solidified just moments ago. He had gone to see her, fully intending to lay out his feelings in words.
I have no intention of ending our engagement.
But I also wonât tolerate your insolence.
Youâre not so remarkable that you can act this way, are you?
So make your choice. Either deal with the consequences of your actions after weâre married, or come back with me now and face them.
âŚUp until the moment he saw her, heâd even considered forcibly taking her back to his home.
But as he opened his mouth to remind her of the harsh realitiesâto utter these wordsâhis lips shut tight.
A vivid, lightning-like flash of an image struck himâa wedding.
Someone spoke.
âCecilia, I despise you.â
It was him who uttered those words, and the other personâs gaze was sunken and heavy, as if they couldnât endure any greater wound.
His chest tightened. Overwhelmed by a weighty guilt, he took a deep drag on the cigarette he had been restraining himself from. Yet the suffocating feeling didnât subside, and his thoughts remained chaotic.
Surely, it was nothing more than a figment of his imagination.
But the fleeting emotion had already tangled with reality, wandering aimlessly without direction. He saw his anger dissipate like a cloud of smoke.
He had no right to be angry with her.
Nor did he have the authority to oppress her.
If anyone couldnât claim that right, it was him.
As long as he remembered her as she had been in that momentâŚ
âRemember?â
He shook his head.
Weâve never even been married.
âWhat kind of nonsense is thisâŚ?â
He chuckled bitterly to himself. But his faint smile quickly hardened again, and the unease in his chest refused to fade.
T/N: Heâs starting to remember?? Hello???
This is such a slow burn but Iâm still on the edge of my seat aaaaaaaaahh
And I honestly still want to see how things develop between Cecilia and Ulysses, and Cecilia and Nigel ohoho
I wonder if theyâll also start to remember?
