Chapter 2
810 Words
When I returned to Mocas Manor from the cemetery, Louis was having a leisurely dinner.
He was a very picky eater and refused to eat a ton of things.
Over the seven years, I personally selected ingredients for him every day, making his palate even more finicky.
Seeing me come back, Louis put down his cutlery and asked, "Where did you go?"
When my father was killed, blood splattered onto Louis.
Whenever my father was mentioned, Louis would think of the blood from that day.
I knew he hated hearing that, so I deliberately avoided mentioning it and said, "I went out for a few drinks and didn't realize I'd lost track of time."
What Louis didn't know was that I never used to drink alcohol at all.
Alcohol tasted very bitter to me.
But after my father died, I drowned my sorrows in drink all day long and gradually grew to like drinking.
Alcohol numbed my nerves and made me forget everything.
Louis said nothing more, and the house fell silent.
This was a common occurrence over the seven years I had been Louis's fiancée.
Before, whenever this kind of silence fell, I would go back to my own room.
But remembering what I had heard in the study, I asked Louis, "Tomorrow is the date we're supposed to register our marriage. Are we still rescheduling?"
Seemingly surprised that I would take the initiative to ask about it, Louis stared at me.
I had never brought it up before. Every time, just as I was dressed up and ready to go to the church, Louis would send his advisor to tell me he had something come up and couldn't make it.
"The Leon family is holding a banquet tomorrow, which is extremely important for my business. Wait a little longer," Louis looked at me and said.
He had postponed our wedding so many times that I had grown numb to it.
Before, I'd just assumed he was busy. It never occurred to me that he had gone to such lengths to come up with so many excuses simply because he was unwilling to marry me.
My heart gave a sharp twinge, but I still nodded and said nothing. Then I headed straight back to my room.
My calmness caught Louis completely off guard. He stared at my back for a long time before lowering his head again to continue eating his dinner.
Once I stopped clinging to the idea of marrying Louis, I slept soundly through the night, completely unaffected by the postponed wedding.
I no longer needed to get up early to prepare breakfast for Louis.
However, I was woken up very early the next morning by Chloe White, Louis's childhood sweetheart.
I had no choice but to get out of bed.
The moment she saw me, Chloe came up to me warmly.
She complained to me, "Sofia, I've been absolutely tormented by the piano lessons my family arranged for me lately. I haven't had a single moment to spare. Otherwise, I would have come to see you ages ago. I've missed you so much."
She spotted the injury on my arm at a glance. "How did you get that? Does it hurt?"
From last night until now, Louis hadn't noticed my injury at all.
Yet Chloe had spotted it immediately.
I pushed down the sharp, bitter ache in my chest and changed the subject. "What brings you here?"
"She's coming with me to the banquet."
Louis answered for Chloe before she could speak.
Louis disliked others getting too close to him, but Chloe was an exception.
They grew up together, and he allowed Chloe to stay by his side on all kinds of occasions.
Louis had specially hired a makeup artist to style Chloe. Throughout the process, Chloe kept talking to Louis, and he always responded.
I had rarely seen Louis smile before, but in front of Chloe, he smiled many times.
An awful ache settled in my chest. I sat aside listening to their conversation, unable to get a single word in.
Finally, Chloe's styling was done, and the two of them walked toward the door.
I called Louis's name almost by instinct.
Louis froze mid-step, all the warmth he'd had a second ago gone.
He frowned, his tone displeased. "What is it now?"
Just now, while Chloe was getting styled, the atmosphere between them had been warm and full of laughter.
Louis's suddenly cold tone made me zone out, and I forgot what I had intended to say.
Noticing my pale face, Chloe gave the lapel of Louis's suit a playful tug.
Louis's expression softened a great deal.
I looked at Louis, forced a faint smile, pretended not to have seen their little interaction, and said, "Come back early."
Once I went to the church and called off the engagement, this would all be over.
- Writer
