Chapter 10
He had one hand pressed to his chest, clutching a notebook tightly against his body.
“Chloe, I’ve got your original manuscript back for you.”
Rainwater dripped down his forehead and chin.
I frowned, “I don’t need it anymore.”
“Why are you here?”
His eyes were deep and intense, “Chloe, come with me.”
“I don’t want you to get married.”
“I don’t believe you truly want to marry him.”
“Come with me, and I’ll marry you.”
With the thunder in the background, I almost thought I was hearing things.
“Marry me?” I sneered, “That’s absurd.”
I had chased after him for three years, never getting a word of promise in return.
And now, just three months after I disappeared.
This promise comes.
His Adam’s apple bobbed as he spoke softly.
“I misunderstood my own feelings.”
“Chloe, I’m sorry.”
A sound of water splashing came from somewhere, mixing with the rain.
The man before me was the one who had protected me as I grew up, and also the one who had hurt me the deepest.
I remained calm, “Didn’t you say you only had sibling affection for me? How could you have misunderstood?”
“Besides, I’ve now seen clearly what my own feelings are.”
“I no longer think about marrying you.”
“I’ve already become someone else’s wife. Brother, you don’t need to come find me out of responsibility or guilt. Go live your own life.”
Peter stood behind me, tilting his umbrella slightly towards me. He closed the courtyard gate again, disregarding the man standing outside.
I went back to my room, changed into dry clothes, and sat at the table, lost in thought.
Sophia occasionally glanced at my expression.
“Having second thoughts?”
“If you can’t let go, it’s okay to go back.”
I shook my head and chuckled lightly, “I just can’t understand why someone who rejected me so decisively would suddenly change his mind.”
“But now, I’m more interested in living in the south.”
After a long while, Sophia sighed.
12:18 PM
<
After a long while, Sophia sighed.
I looked out at the heavy rain and murmured, “Habits can be terrifying.”
It rained all night long.
I don’t know how long he stayed there.
I only know that when Sophia went to open the door at dawn, she was startled again.
From that day on, Luke would come here from time to time.
He always said the same thing concisely, “Chloe, come back with me.”
When we ignored him or left him waiting outside the door,
He would just sit there quietly.
Only when I occasionally passed by would he suddenly stand up.
He’d come up with all sorts of bizarre reasons.
“The goldfish in the pond have gotten thin without you feeding them.”
“I’ve found new storybooks I can read to you.”
I found it very annoying.
Not only did his presence here delay our plans to leave for the south,
It also meant that Peter and I had to occasionally pretend to be a loving couple.
To discourage his thoughts.
I finally came up with an idea.
I said, “I’ve heard there’s a lingzhi mushroom on the northern mountain.”
“If within three days you can bring it to me, with its roots intact and the fungus whole,”
“I’ll let you in.”
