Unexpectedly, she saw Ace leaning against the wall outside the ward as soon as she opened the door. The incandescent lamp in the corridor hit him, casting a long shadow on the floor.
Wearing a cold face, she kept quiet and was about to close the door when...
"Let’s have a chat."
He looked up and suggested with a hoarse voice.
"We have nothing more to talk about."
"If you thought so, you won’t open the door at this hour."
Joanna was struck speechless.
For a mont, she found it hard to give a reply.
’Yeah, I tossed and turned in bed because there are too many things in my heart. I couldn’t fall asleep. If I don’t sort these things out, I’ll be restless for a very long ti."
"Fine. Let’s talk."
After agreeing, they took the elevator to the rooftop.
The rooftop had a great atmosphere. It was a cafe with an outdoor do, where one could see the brightest stars.
Joanna casually sat down and looked up at the twinkling stars. She did not speak for a long ti.
Ace stayed with her and did the sa, looking up at the twinkling stars. Similarly, he kept quiet for a long ti too.
That feeling was very strange. They were not the closest people, yet they seed like lovers that had reunited after a long stint of separation. They could feel each other’s rhythms. Even if they didn’t speak a single word, they could feel each other in their hearts. Their minds were at ease.
Ace liked that kind of feeling very much.
Technically speaking, he loved the feeling of being with her.
"Don’t you want to speak to ? Why aren’t you saying anything?"
After a long while, Joanna averted her gaze from the starry sky and happened to see his passionate eyes.
Ace felt quite awkward since she caught him stealing glances at her. He cleared his throat unnaturally, "Err... You... Are you Joanna?"
He asked the obvious, which was quite low-level.
"If not? Whom should I be?"
Joanna raised her brows slightly.
She found him slightly different from the past. He should be Mr. Iceberg, but he was just being rather silly at the mont.
"Do you know how mad I was at you during this period? I told myself that I’ll scold the hell out of you if I saw you again one day."
"Do you want to scold ?"
"Are you very surprised? Shouldn’t I scold you?"
Ace then recalled the past. He unconsciously clenched his fists. "What I hate the most is people who fail to keep their word. You promised to let see you imdiately after my eyes were cured. But you... went missing without leaving a ssage. You’re so cruel and heartless. Of course, you should be given a hard scolding."
"It was indeed my fault. I’ll apologize to you now. It’s not too late to scold now."
Joanna lowered her eyes and humbly admitted to her mistake.
It seed like she was destined to be scolded today, either by Jovan or Ace. Well, she was ntally prepared.
"I can’t do that now."
Ace confessed honestly, "What I can think of now is how nice you were to . Of course, I want to thank you. How can I bear to scold you?"
"No, I don’t think so. The way I treated you was... so-so."
Joanna beca slightly dumbfounded.
The drastic change in his attitude filled her with trepidation.
"Is that so? But you stayed close to to take care of . You even risked your life to save . And I know that you used your blood as a kind of ingredient for my dicine. Is that what you called so-so?"
Ace’s gaze was simple, straightforward, and overbearing, coercing her little by little. "I don’t have anything else to say, but I’m very curious. Why did you treat in such a special manner?"
Joanna inevitably beca nervous under his powerful and intense gaze. With a tinge of anticipation, she tried to sound him out and said, "Why do you think I treat you in a so-so manner?"
She did not know if he had regained his mories or purposely playing dumb here.
If that was true, his acting skills could have won him an Oscar. How perfect and exceptional!
"The only reason why a woman is willing to sacrifice unconditionally for a man is because she loves him too much. So, can I guess that you treat in a special manner because you love him very much?"
Instead of beating around the bush, Ace raised the question that had been troubling him for nearly half a year.
It was because the experience he had at Greenwood Sanatorium was indeed very unique. Even if he was slow, he could feel how deeply Joanna cared about him.
Holding that kind of doubt, he returned to the sanatorium again afterward. It was also at that ti he learned that she used her blood as an ingredient for his dicine. He beca aware of her deep love for him.
However, he could not figure out the reason why she left without saying anything since she cared so much about him.
"Do I love you too much?"
Joanna shook her head and teased, "Is there a possibility that I am the modern Florence Nightingale? I like to help people. What’s more, I don’t want to make it public even if I do anything good. It’s simply because I’m a good person, huh?"
"Don’t be all smiles here. There are many ways to be nice to people. What other reason could it be if you risk your life for soone else if it isn’t under the na of love?"
"Ha! Ha! Ha! Mr. Moran, do you feel very lonely? Is that why you make a fuss and claim that others love you? Have you ever thought of another possibility? If a woman sacrifices unconditionally for a man, perhaps it’s because she’s trying to atone for her sins."
At first, Joanna attempted to avoid his gaze, but now, her eyes turned fierce.
If he had to get to the bottom of it, she could only show him the disgusting past. She would make him see how wicked humans were and how cruel the reality was.
Ace’s gaze changed a bit before he asked coldly, "Which of your sins do you want to atone for?"
"Don’t you rember how you turned blind? How did you fall and hurt all over that you needed brain surgery?"
"I..."
Ace frowned deeply. Various scenes erged in his mind and flashed by quickly, but he could not make up a complete picture. Quietly, he said, "I heard from my mother that I turned blind because I was plotted against by my enemies. I did lose a part of my mory. Could it be that this part of mory is related to you?"
He hugged his head with both hands and tried his best to recall sothing. But there seed to be a thin thread in his brain, tying down that part of mory that he had lost. Whenever he tried to recall it, intense pain would shock his brain.
"Don’t force yourself if you can’t recall. That’s not a beautiful mory, and I’m not a good person. Groundless hatred doesn’t exist, let alone groundless love."
Joanna’s comnt carried an air of unmistakable haughtiness.
She would rather he forget all about her or hated her instead of loving her while being unable to be with her.
It was because she knew more than anyone else how painful it was if one’s love was unrequited.
She would be the only one to suffer through that pain. It was unnecessary to implicate him.
However, Ace shook his head vigorously and tried his best to keep calm. He then grabbed her wrist and scoffed coldly. "I don’t want to be a fool. Since there’s no groundless love or hatred in this world, I wonder if I am fated to receive such treatnt from you. What other reason could you have?"
"So, what if I tell you? If I said that you beca blind because of , will you take your revenge? If you want to, you can do it now. My eyes are here. You can take them away."
Joanna closed her eyes with a bitter expression. Like an inmate on death row, she waited for his final adjudication.
Ace observed her flawless face that was filled with stories. He did not believe a single word she said.
"That’s impossible. If you wanted to harm , why risk your life to save ? It’s contradictory!"
"It was because I regretted it. I was afraid that your family would take revenge on . Do you believe now?"
"Why did you want to harm then? What happened between us? Why risk getting avenged? Are you doing this to hurt ?"
"I don’t know. I don’t know anything. Let go!"
Joanna almost gave up in front of him.
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