Chapter 143
“Want to strip me and touch it?”
“…When did you take this?”
It was the brooch I had bought as a birthday present.
“I found it.”
Liar. There was no way the pocket I had fastened securely beneath the skirt of my dress could have fallen off on its own…
…Actually, perhaps it could have.
Remembering how rough the act had been, enough to make my head ring, I couldn’t be certain. I pressed my lips tightly together before speaking.
“It’s mine. Give it back.”
“I told you, I found it.”
“If you found it, you should return it to its owner.”
“What proof do you have that you’re the owner?”
“……”
He asked as he took the empty cup from my hands.
When I couldn’t answer immediately, his sharply defined brows lifted slightly. Playfulness lingered in his ash-blue eyes.
“Because it must have fallen out of my dress.”
“Why would this fall out of a perfectly intact dress?”
“That’s because…!”
I hesitated, unable to say it aloud. It was infuriating that he would ask even though he knew perfectly well why it had fallen out.
Gerard patiently waited for my answer before finally opening his mouth.
Thump. But before the words could emerge, I reflexively covered his mouth.
“…Maybe it isn’t mine after all. You can keep it.”
I had intended to give it to him anyway. Just not like this.
Gerard stuck out his tongue and tickled my palm. I startled and tried to pull my hand away, but he seized my wrist.
He nibbled the soft flesh beneath my thumb until he finally left a bite mark.
“Thank you for the birthday present.”
“……”
He whispered while pressing a kiss to my palm.
The sea from my dream overlapped with the sight of him.
You’re so perceptive. How ridiculous must I have seemed, pushing you away with my words while my eyes dripped with lingering attachment and affection?
But now, I truly felt as though everything would be alright.
Even if you held another woman in your arms before me.
Even if you declared that you loved me and courted me passionately, just as you had in the past.
I felt as though I could calmly push you away and let you go. Sincerely, rather than as an act.
And when that happened, I knew you would withdraw on your own.
You might be stubborn, but you weren’t cruel enough to force one-sided love upon someone.
Unable to meet the gaze fixed upon me, I turned my head away.
I forcefully pulled my captured hand free.
“What about the banquet?”
“It ended yesterday.”
I had suspected it, but apparently, I had slept for an entire day.
My body, which had been sticky with bodily fluids, was clean, and I was dressed in the thin nightgown I often wore.
Familiar worries began flooding in.
Gerard was the central figure of the banquet. Wouldn’t people find it strange that he had disappeared early?
Surely no one had seen Gerard carrying me out of the banquet hall?
What had happened to Arvina?
Just then, long fingers snapped in front of my face.
My thoughts abruptly broke off, and my darkened vision cleared.
“You’re taking every worry in the world upon yourself again.”
“……”
“We slipped out without anyone seeing us. I usually only show my face at banquets before disappearing, so no one will be suspicious.”
As though he had read my thoughts, he told me exactly what I wanted to hear.
“You hate being noticed by other people.”
“……”
“You’re excessively sensitive about rumors.”
“I simply don’t want to get dragged into unnecessary gossip.”
“Do you actually have another man?”
“……”
“Maybe you’re already married, or you have a child.”
It was an utterly absurd thing to say. However, I thought it might not be such a bad idea to let him believe that.
It wouldn’t be bad if Gerard lost interest and began distancing himself from me. Later, I could even use my supposed guilt toward my child and husband as an excuse to end our relationship.
For the sake of the future, I answered ambiguously.
“Well…”
“I can take responsibility for three or four children, but your husband had better stay out of my sight.”
“…There’s no such person.”
I immediately abandoned the idea.
“I know.”
Gerard smiled and abruptly squeezed both my cheeks. After kissing my protruding lips with a loud smack, he stood up.
For a moment, I was too stunned to react, like someone who had been ambushed. By the time I realized what he had done, he had already left for the living room.
At the clattering sounds, I forced my aching body to move and followed him into the living room.
