"I’m not tired. You should go to bed first, don’t mind ," Ace hoarsely replied in a weak, unmotivated tone.
"What’s the point of staying here and giving yourself a cold? You should go back to your room and warm up."
"I’d like so ti alone."
"But you..." Susan let out a long sigh. "That woman made you this way. Please don’t tell you’re still hung up on her."
Ace remained silent.
"Oh Ace, don’t be like this. I’m your mother, and I know my son best. You may be perfect in every way, but you’re still a victim to love. If it weren’t for that woman, your life would’ve been smooth sailing, and you wouldn’t have ended up..."
"Mom, I told you. I want so ti alone." The man, sounding slightly aggrieved, balled up his fists gently.
"Alright, I... I’ll leave you alone. Just... ring the bell if you need anything." Susan didn’t say anything else and wiped away her tears, leaving the backyard quietly.
Joanna, on the other hand, hid herself quite well, which was why no one noticed her the entire ti. She continued to stand behind the pillar, watching Ace from the back for a long while.
She didn’t want to leave just yet.
’Hey Ace, you’ve lost so much weight... oh, you weakling! A re snake bite caused you to end up like this? Co on, man, get up! What’s the point of moping in the middle of the night?’
’You know, I actually ca here to say goodbye. I made a deal with the gods when you were on the verge of death. I was willing to step out of your life completely if it ant you could stay alive. So hate all you want. I’m sure that will bring you more happiness than loving .’
’So I hope you spend the rest of your life with Seraphina Murphy and be happy, okay? She really does love you. She had to endure so much trauma just to save you. I don’t even think I could ever do that for you. That’s why I just know you’ll be loved when you’re with her. It will be much easier than loving ...’
Not daring to approach him, Joanna was only able to blabber on in her mind, taking this as saying her goodbye.
Just as she was about to leave, she accidentally bumped into a vase.
"Who’s that?" Ace’s hearing had drastically improved after losing his sight. He stood up and slowly walked over towards the pillar, asking in an alert tone. "Mom, are you still here?"
Despite still hiding behind the pillar, Joanna was sure her cover had been blown. Just as she was about to wave at him, the man... acted as if she wasn’t there.
’What the hell is this guy doing? Is he doing this on purpose to ridicule ?’ Joanna thought. She took a deep breath but soon noticed sothing off when she was about to explain herself.
’Ace’s eyes look kind of weird. They aren’t focused on anything at all. It’s like he’s blind...’
’Wait... Is he actually blind?!’ Joanna felt her heart sink as soon as she thought about that possibility.
She gulped and mustered up the courage to walk away from the pillar, revealing herself to him.
Ace narrowed his eyes slightly, walking towards the sound of footsteps. "If you’re not my mother, are you Seraphina?"
Ace’s words confird Joanna’s suspicions. He... was really blind. He couldn’t see her, although she was standing right in front of him.
"You must be Seraphina. You’re not saying anything." Ace didn’t suspect much and pointed to the chair next to him, speaking softly. "The sky must look nice tonight, and it’s breezy too. So stay with for a little."
"Mhm." Joanna imitated Seraphina’s voice and responded lightly.
Ace hadn’t noticed anything just yet. Specifically... In his current situation, no one was permitted to co near him apart from his mother and Seraphina. Hence, he naturally didn’t assu otherwise.
Joanna noticed the man looking for sothing with his hands and could tell that he likely wanted so coffee. She quickly handed him his cup, which led to their fingers touching montarily.
Ace frowned slightly as if he realized sothing but rely took a sip from his coffee, not saying a word.
The two then continued to sit in silence, with Ace not wanting to speak, and Joanna not daring to.
The windy night brought them a nice flowery fragrance in the air, providing them with an indescribable romantic harmony.
After a long while, Ace spoke up. "Seraphina, you know so well, unlike my mother. She was really noisy. And you know that I love hand-ground coffee."
"I’ll be honest with you, I didn’t like coffee before, especially at night. Every ti I had any, I could basically kiss my sleep goodbye. But my ex-wife loved making things like these."
"I don’t know where she got her coffee beans and her coffee machine, and I have no idea how she ground them so finely. But the coffee she brewed had so kind of magic spell. I was hooked the mont I took a sip, and that’s how I developed my caffeine habit."
"Mhm." Joanna continued imitating Seraphina’s voice, replying dismissively.
This was the first ti she realized that the man liked the coffee she had brewed. He had never admitted this to her in the past, of course, usually complaining about the texture or taste. Sotis, he wouldn’t even visit ninjanovel bother to take one glance at it, ordering the maids to throw it out instead...
Yet now, he was acting like an old man, reminiscing about the past over and over again.
’What a tsundere!’
"I know you must hate her after everything that’s happened, and... I know that I should too." Ace’s solemn face was plastered with pain. "When I was at my lowest point in life, my only wish was to see her. At the brink of death, I want nothing else but to hold her hand..."
"But she left . She didn’t care if I was dead or alive. She was the one who plotted against , but I just... I’m hopeless. I can’t bring myself to hate her even after all this. I’ll forgive her as long as she’s willing to co see ."
Joanna was unable to utter a single word, her tears blurring her vision. She couldn’t tell him that she was right in front of him, let alone hug him or give him any sort of comfort.
"Do you think she’d co, Seraphina?" Ace turned towards Joanna, asking desperately.
He then shook his head, his gaze turning gloomy. "Forget it. I don’t think she should, not with the way I am now. I am useless, and she’ll despise for that. I can’t face her like this."
"No, she won’t!" Joanna couldn’t resist any longer and replied loudly.
After that, she regretted doing so. Despite her efforts to imitate Seraphina’s voice, Ace was too smart to have not noticed the difference.
Reviews
All reviews (0)