Guidelines for the Perfect Goodbye - Chapter 64
Ulysses closed the door firmly behind him and placed the book he brought on the wooden table.
‘If he wanted to read, he could’ve done so on the second floor as usual. What a bother…’
Being around him was only making her already throbbing headache worse from stress.
Cecilia struggled to the door, leaning on the wall for support. Ulysses watched her from the sofa, not exactly stopping her but not ignoring her either, which was incredibly annoying.
‘If you’re not going to help, then at least be obnoxious somewhere else.’
Just as she was about to push the door open, a shadow fell over her from behind. Cecilia looked up and said,
“I’ve noticed you hardly make any noise when you move.”
“Really?”
“Yes. So…”
She wanted to say, ‘Make some noise when you walk. Give me a chance to avoid you.’ But she bit back her words and instead asked,
“Why is that?”
A faint irritation crossed Ulysses’s impassive face. He sighed softly through his nose and began to speak.
“I’ve noticed you require quite a bit of attention.”
“What?”
Before she could add anything, her shoulders were seized, and she was lifted off the ground.
***
At that moment, Adam was questioning Caroline about the recent commotion in his study.
“Explain, Caroline Lasphilla.”
He tapped the floor with his oak cane a couple of times as he commanded.
“I, I don’t know what this is all about…”
“Caroline!”
“Hiccup!”
Startled by his shout, Caroline hiccupped continuously and stuttered out her response.
“I, I didn’t do it…!”
“When did I accuse you of any wrongdoing?”
Adam, feeling suffocated, loosened his tie.
“I want to know why Cecilia fell from your room.”
“That’s…”
Caroline clamped her mouth shut and sobbed silently. Adam’s brow furrowed deeply at her silence.
“We nearly faced a disgraceful scandal because of something that happened in your room. And you can’t even explain how it happened?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know what happened…”
“Caroline.”
Adam suppressed his anger and spoke.
“As the eldest daughter, you failed to properly take care of your younger sister. This is undeniably your fault. Denying it a hundred times won’t change that fact.”
Caroline, with tears streaming down her face, nodded her head. Adam lifted his cane.
“Father…”
“Extend your arms.”
“… ”
She hesitated to speak, then resignedly extended her arms. But internally, a surge of injustice welled up.
‘What did I do wrong?’
It was that girl who fell on her own. If there was no malice, there should be no reason for punishment.
‘Could it have been intentional…?’
A malicious suspicion arose, but Caroline quickly shook her head. It was too cruel a mindset to have, considering that her younger sister was injured now.
Caroline, with her arms swollen, headed towards the living room on the first floor to see Cecilia, who should be lying on the sofa right now.
‘Has she woken up by now?’
Cecilia could have died.
‘I hope she’s awake.’
She needed to ask her to keep today’s incident a secret.
Whether Cecilia would agree or not was uncertain, but regardless, showing concern for her injured sister was the duty and virtue of an eldest daughter.
If Caroline didn’t at least visit her sister, who fell from her own balcony, the servants would gossip about her. They would no longer regard her as the kind and lovely eldest lady.
Caroline was most afraid of being disliked by people, regardless of status.
‘I need to hurry and let them know I visited Cecilia…’
However, Caroline encountered Cecilia on the stairs before she even made it to the first floor.
“Cecilia? Why are you…”
Ulysses, who was carrying Cecilia, was an added surprise.
“Ulysses, what’s going on here?”
Caroline asked her former fiancé.
“It’s nothing serious. Cecilia just wanted to go back to her room and…”
Ulysses paused mid-sentence and looked down at the woman in his arms. A woman who was grimacing and groaning as if she was about to die, her eyes tightly shut.
Then he continued,
“…She collapsed while trying to move on her own.”
“Oh no, that sounds serious!”
“Yes. I was just taking her to a larger bed.”
“Wait here. I’ll go call the doctor right away.”
Caroline quickly ran down the stairs. As her footsteps faded away, Cecilia’s groans gradually ceased.
She said in a low voice,
“Put me down.”
