Chapter 37: Why So Lonely?
’S-Shoot! Why is he here?’
El wore his sunglasses back and stood up from the bed. "I’ll get going now." He said, and when I thought he’ll leave, he suddenly gave me a peck on my cheek, catching me off-guard. "See you tomorrow, Ellie." With that, he took his leave.
’Why does he has to kiss me in front of Night?! No! Why does he have to kiss me at all?!’
Silence filled the infirmary while I only looked on the floor. Why do I feel like I’m in trouble because of what happened? Even though I didn’t do anything, and it was all El’s fault, I feel like Night will lash out at me.
"Does being my fiancée make you look down on me?" I heard that same cold and unfriendly tone I hadn’t heard for so long; it gave me goosebumps as I looked up at his face. His expressionless face stared right at me.
"What did I even do?" He’s going to scold me because of something I don’t have control over?
Night pushed his hair back with his hand. "Grandfather’s lenient when it comes to you, do you know why?" I can’t sense a hint of emotions in his voice, which scares me. "It’s because you’re a girl. You’re born to be weak and to rely on people."
I scoffed. "What did you just say?" How could he say something so misogynistic?
His dead eyes stared at me as if he were looking into my soul. "You already found a new man, didn’t you?" Is he calling El my new man? This is absurd! "If you’re going to cheat, then do it where no one can see you." I gulped as I could feel tension with every step he took towards me. ’Did he just call me a cheater? When did I cheat? And we’re not even in a relationship.’
"You’re the one who told me this marriage is contractual, so why does it matter if I started liking someone else?"
His silence was much more frightening than when he talked down on me. "That’s right." If what I said is correct, why is he reacting like this? Does he like me? No, that’s out of the question after all he did to me. "But you cannot be happy while I suffer because of you. You dare find someone else while I care for all your problems?" See? It’s all about him in the end.
"He’s not someone like that. Stop this already."
Night stood in front of me. "You better make sure. If grandfather learns of this, who knows what he’ll do to a traitorous person like you." He pulled the gown’s bodice up and made me look him in the eye. "Do not catch anyone’s attention anymore if you still want to live freely." After saying that, Night went out of the infirmary, and I could feel my heart aching.
When did having a guy friend become a traitorous act? Grandpa Kenta said I can divorce Night after solving my problems. It didn’t sound like it mattered to him if I fell in love with someone else.
I gasped as I continued panting as if I had been suffocated for a long time. My body was trembling due to fear, and the tears started falling out of my eyes. Traitorous person? What did I even do? I covered my face with both of my hands as I sobbed quietly. Does he hate me so much that he can kill me even if I didn’t do anything wrong to him?
"I want to go home." Those thoughts lingered inside my head as I felt lonely. I’ve been feeling lonely.
"Milady." I heard a knock on the door. "I have brought your clothes." Kaoru entered the room while holding the bag where I put my clothes. He’s keeping quiet despite seeing my eyes swollen with tears. "Shall I call Sir Kenji to let him know we’re going home now?"
Even though I want to spend more time with my friends, I can’t let them see this disheveled appearance of mine. "Please tell Ace and Andy I’ll be going home first," I told Kaoru, and he immediately obeyed without asking anything. Despite being innocent and naïve, Kaoru’s been behaving himself after that incident back in the indoor pool where I drowned. He kept that information to himself and didn’t tell anyone, even Kenji. I thank him for that.
I wiped my tears and changed into my gym clothes. Night always says the most hurtful words he can say towards me. He didn’t react like that when El kissed me because he liked me. He reacted like that because it feels unfair to him that I can go and flirt with other people while he suffers not being able to be with Tomoe because of me.
"He’s pouring all his anger at me." It hurts. It makes me want to cry again whenever I remember how he forcefully pulled my clothes and said those mean words.
When I came out of the restroom near the infirmary, Kaoru was already waiting in the hallway. "I’ve brought the lady some ice." He said while holding a bag of ice. "It’s for the lady’s." Kaoru pointed to my eyes, and I immediately understood.
"Thank you." He must have heard what Night said inside the infirmary since he’s too quiet.
I find it better this way. We walked in the hallway while we could hear the loud cheers in the field. The sports festival continues with or without me. "What did Ace and Andy say?"
"They said the lady should call them if there’s any problem."
I bit my lip to suppress my tears. I want to hug Ace, but I’m also thankful she didn’t follow me to the infirmary, or she might have witnessed that scene with Night. Ace won’t let that go, and she’ll definitely get mad at Night, even though Night’s not entirely at fault. El might have kissed me without thought, but if someone else saw it, they’ll immediately assume that he is the new apple of my eye, and it’ll make things worse.
When we arrived in the parking lot, Kenji had just arrived and already waiting for us. "What happened to the lady’s eyes?" Kenji panicked after seeing me holding a bag of ice on top of my eyes. "Did you have an accident while running?"
"No. Let’s just go home."
I got inside the car, and Kaoru followed in silence. Kenji must feel weirded out by this stillness from us, but he didn’t ask any more questions. ’I feel so tired. Maybe it’s because of all that running I did today.’ I closed my eyes and leaned my head on the seat.
The cold ice bag makes me calm, but there are still tears warning me to fall. Even if I’m tired today, I still have to attend Tomoe’s bridal lessons. What kind of lesson will she teach me today?
Rika greeted me with a smile when we arrived at the mansion. However, her smile instantly vanished after seeing my bruises and swollen eyes. "Y-Young miss! What happened to you?" Her loud voice caused everyone to pay attention to me. "D-Did someone hurt you? How come you’re all wounded up?" She’s panicking, and I can see how worried she is about me. Seeing that made me drop the bag of ice and quickly hug her.
"Y-Young miss?" I wanted to cry. I want to run away and be with my parents again. "I-Is the young miss alright?" Rika patted my back, comforting me from the pain I was going through. ’Until when must I suffer?’
I let go of her and painted a smile on my face. "I’m fine. I tripped while running. That’s how I got these bruises." I held Rika’s hand as we walked inside the mansion. We bumped into Tomoe’s attendants, who eyed me as if I were something disgusting. ’I should probably get used to this.’
"What is their problem? Our young miss will become the ane-san soon, so how could they act rudely towards the young miss?" Rika complained as soon as we got inside my room. She’s preparing for my bath because I’m sweaty and dusty after falling down on the field. "If the boss learned of this behavior, he won’t be lenient about it."
Lenient, huh? Is grandpa Kenta lenient towards me because I am my father’s daughter? If that’s the case, why is he mean to his own grandson? Is it because Night’s father is comatose? But my daddy is also unconscious based on what mommy told me in that letter.
"I don’t understand." When can I leave from here? When will they find out about those evil people after me? I’m still suffering here; it makes me think that being caught by those evil people isn’t that bad at all.
After taking a bath, I went to the room where Tomoe was waiting, but she glared at me the moment I got in. "How inappropriate, lady Noelle." She said before I could even sit. What did I do this time? I still haven’t done anything. "Do you think I won’t notice?"
