I froze, looking up, directly meeting Killian's cold gaze.
But in the next moment, like the ice breaking on a lake's surface, Killian suddenly winked at me.
Before I could process what had just happened, the butler, with a serious face, looked at Lorena and said with a hint of satisfaction, "You're the first woman the young master has brought back."
Wait, what he said... it sounded like something I'd said!
Looking at Lorena, her expression was playful, and she turned to Killian, "Sir, didn't you say you just brought me back to change clothes?"
That's when I realized, not only Killian, but Lorena's jacket was also stained with red wine.
Thinking back to the moment she had fallen into Mr. Schneider's arms, I could already picture it in my mind.
Killian's face was expressionless: "Come to my room."
Lorena froze for a moment, pursing her lips, with pride and defiance on her face: "Mr. Schwartz, please respect yourself. I came back with you to change clothes, but I'm not the kind of person who..."
Before she could finish, Killian furrowed his brow and pushed her aside, looking straight at me.
Lorena's voice was cut off abruptly.
I stood up and saw a strange line of words appear above Lorena's head:
"Warning!"
But before I could focus on it, the line flashed and disappeared.
Killian didn't even glance at Lorena, snapping his fingers. "Take her to the guest room to change."
Soon, the hall was left with just Killian and me.
He seemed about to say something, but then he rubbed his head, his face contorted in struggle: "Patricia Calderon, who is that woman? How could I…"
Patricia has always preferred to call me by my full name. She said it had a beautiful ring to it.
"Only by shouldering the sky with unflinching strength can one truly reach for the highest of goals."
This quote is inspired by the writings of an ancient philosopher, embodying the idea of aspiring to greatness and seeking the farthest horizons.
In truth, though, my original name was "Patrician", a name given by the couple who sold me to the Jimenez family, as they longed for a son.
It was Killian who decided to change it to Patricia—a name that symbolized a fresh beginning and higher aspirations.
The first time we met, he came down from the spiral staircase, wearing a white shirt, stepping toward me against the light, reaching out his hand to someone who had nothing.
The image of that proud young man in my memory gradually matured, revealing sharp and handsome features like those carved from stone.
I recalled that day, Killian looked down at me, his voice trembling as he pleaded:
"Patricia Calderon, help me."
"Don't let the plot control me."
My heart softened, and I grasped his hand tightly: "Let's go to your room and talk."
My intention was simply that this hall wasn't the right place for such a conversation.
But Killian, red-faced and shy, grabbed my hand and pulled me inside.
The sight of a towering man in a suit, blushing like a teenager, was quite strange.
I held back a laugh. "Alright, tell me what's really going on."
Killian took a deep breath: "I feel like something's wrong. Especially that woman…"
As he spoke, his anger grew:
"That glass of red wine, I had already set it down, but she insisted on picking it up and spilling it on me."
"I asked her to pay for the damages. She just cursed me, saying I disrespected others just because I had a little money."
"Thirty-two thousand for a custom-made suit, two thousand one for a Burgundy wine. I only asked her to pay me three hundred thousand, and she curses me?"
"What's even crazier is that I brought her back to change clothes?"
"I've lost so much already, and now I have to pay for her to change?"
By the end, Killian was almost shouting: "Why the hell should I? I'm not a fool!"
Me: ...
It was clear that Killian was really angry.
Lorena, this protagonist, was even more capable than I had imagined. She could actually reverse time.
What was even stranger was that, compared to Killian, I seemed unaffected, even my memory was intact.
Killian angrily looked down at me: "Why aren't you mad at all? Aren't we in a relationship?"
I almost spit out my drink, coughing as I tried to speak: "Cough, cough, cough, are you sure you want to hear what you're saying?"
"Not?" Killian looked more shocked than I did. He blurted out, "No, wait, I remember I wrote…"
After saying that, he suddenly realized, blushing furiously, and immediately reached out to cover my ears.
Muffled, he said: "I'm not thinking straight right now. Pretend you didn't hear that."
