There was no logic, no reason behind it. I suddenly thought of him.
My mind was a jumbled mess. I sat back on the steps, staring blankly at the rain in the sky. Suddenly, a figure appeared in my line of sight.
Sharp features, dressed in a suit, holding a large black umbrella to shield me from the rain.
Valentine.
I froze for a moment, then hesitantly stood up, calling, "Mr. Ashford..."
"Still pretending?"
He sighed, reaching up to pinch my cheek.
"Would rather sit in the cold wind for three hours than come to find me. Anthea, what do I mean to you?"
So it really was him.
"How did you recognize me?"
I touched the spot on my cheek where he had pinched me. "This isn't even my face..."
He took off his suit jacket and draped it over my shoulders, his tone still gentle: "No matter how you change, I'll recognize you."
He warmed my cold hands. "Are you hungry? Let me take you to eat." Then, he firmly grabbed my wrist and pulled me forward.
It hurt, but I didn't dare speak. The reunion was nothing like I imagined.
His expression was too calm. So calm that it made me uneasy.
---
He took me to a restaurant.
He served me a bowl of soup and even put on gloves to peel shrimp for me.
He looked so focused and serious, just like an ordinary couple on a date, as if there was no barrier between us.
But I knew it wasn't like that.
"Valentine."
I couldn't help but ask him: "Why don't you ask me?"
"Ask what?"
"Like, I suddenly disappeared, and now I'm reappearing—aren't you curious?"
He smiled slightly, placing the peeled shrimp in my bowl. "I just don't think there's anything to say."
"You saved me back then, only to return home. Every 'I love you' you said was a lie."
"You're such a good liar, so why should I get any false information from your mouth?" I froze. After a long while, I tightened my grip on the fork.
"Sorry."
He knew everything.
No wonder he was the one who drove the male lead to bankruptcy.
In the face of the truth, all words were powerless. I didn't know what to say.
"Let's have our meal."
Valentine leaned back in his chair, his eyes cold. Clearly, he wasn't in a good mood. I didn't dare ask him anything else.
---
After dinner, Valentine asked me, "Do you want to come back with me?"
I nodded.
He smiled lightly, took a sip of water, and said in a calm voice:
"If you did have anywhere else to go, you probably wouldn't agree."
"I heard from the system that you didn't want to come back, that you didn't care about my life or death, that I was less attractive than an apple..."
He gave a self-deprecating laugh. "Anthea, don't you think I'm despicable?"
"You left, abandoned me, used my love to leave me. All of my sincerity and effort were just tools to help you return home."
"But even so, I still relentlessly pestered you to come home with me... like a dog, trained by you, only recognizing you as my master."
"I'm sorry."
I put down the tissue in my hand. "Valentine... I—"
"You once said you'd always stay with me," he calmly interrupted my words.
"But you broke your promise. Anthea, you don't want me anymore. So now, I can only use my own way to keep you."
It was only now that I began to feel the fatigue in my body, that overwhelming sensation of wanting to move but having no strength at all, which made me panic.
My gaze fell on the lemon water he had poured for me earlier. In disbelief, I asked, "What did you do?"
"A little something to help you rest," he twirled the ring on his right middle finger.
"Anthea, when you decided to leave me, you should've thought about today."
