I Wish You Well In Your Next Love, My Love - Chapter 26
With that one remark, the difference in position between Gerard and me became painfully clear.
There was no reason for Gerard to choose his words carefully around me. To begin with, I didn’t have the influence to spread or exaggerate rumors, nor was I someone who could bear the consequences of speaking carelessly.
I quietly intertwined my fingers. Even though Gerard seemed to realize I had nothing more to say, he didn’t take his gaze off me.
“Well, it’s not like it would be completely impossible.”
“If you want to talk, go ahead.”
He wasn’t putting on a brave front on purpose, he genuinely didn’t care in the slightest. Thinking about it, Gerard had always been indifferent to gossip about himself.
Whether people talked behind his back about his origins, or spread rumors calling him a madman who enjoyed slaughter.
Rumors didn’t quiet down just because they were ignored. If they weren’t washed away quickly, they stuck like gum, leaving marks no matter how much you tried to scrape them off.
But Gerard covered the rumors surrounding him in a different way. Through his outstanding achievements as an Awakened.
Even without false rumors, there were always more than enough stories about him.
Gerard was so easygoing about anything related to himself that it was almost worrying. I had never liked that side of him.
“What will you do if I tell Arvina?”
The words slipped out without thinking, and they sounded more hostile than I intended.
The moment I said them, I realized my mistake. Should I say it was a joke? But while I hesitated, I missed the timing.
Then, a breathy laugh was heard.
“Make sure to add that I’m refusing even after getting kicked out of my house.”
“…Well, if I end up telling her, sure.”
“You even threaten the same way as me.”
Gerard muttered to himself, sounding amused.
Still unable to shake the lingering tension, I looked around aimlessly, then picked up a mop. I pressed a dry cloth down and wiped the rainwater footprints from the floor.
“So let me stay for a bit. Think of it as repaying the favor for saving your life, overlooking the harassment, and giving you a ride the other day. If I’m here, that woman won’t be able to find me either.”
“It’ll be cramped and uncomfortable. The Odriann estate would be much more…”
“I can’t go courting a woman’s house looking like this.”
“…Don’t you have any other friends?”
“What do you think.”
Gerard leaned his head back against the sofa and looked at me.
Right. That was a pointless question. Even before, I had been his lover and his only friend.
I stood the mop upright where I had been scrubbing.
Behind me, the sound of the rain came down harsh and relentless.
A small sigh escaped me. It was sad, but I didn’t have the strength or the power to throw him out.
“…Only until the rain stops.”
* * *
“Isn’t the bed too big for this house?”
You bought it. You.
Gerard sat down on the bed. He pressed the mattress with his hand a few times, then let out a satisfied, “Oh.”
“You can take the bed.”
“Just me?”
“I can sleep anywhere.”
I wasn’t just saying that. As long as I had a place to lay my head, I usually fell asleep quickly.
I picked up one of the two pillows lying side by side on the bed and held it in my arms.
“Why don’t we just lie down together? The bed’s big enough.”
At that moment, his shameless voice drifted over.
