An Early Engagement - Chapter 19
“Let’s just call it off.”
Her brother’s words echoed in her ears. *Call it off, call it off.* That had always been an option. She had just never considered it before…
“So, let’s take some time to think.” The words spilled out uncontrollably.
“Shirley, what you’re saying—”
“It’s just… too old-fashioned, don’t you think? Being paired together since before we were even born. That’s just too much. So, let’s rethink this… us.”
“Rethink what?”
“Huh?”
Shirley suddenly noticed how cold Damian’s reaction had become.
“Are you saying you want to cancel this marriage?”
“Well, not exactly…”
It was just something she had blurted out without thinking. She didn’t really mean she wanted to call off the marriage entirely.
She just wanted to… postpone it, that’s all. But Damian’s icy demeanor made her panic.
“Why are you being so scary about this?” Shirley took a subtle step back.
“Look at me, Shirley. We’ve been tied together since before we were born. And now you’re saying we should undo that, like it’s nothing. What kind of—”
“Why are *you* getting so angry? Is this really such a big deal? I’m just asking for some time.” Shirley was both flustered by Damian’s sharp reaction—something she had never seen before—and resentful that he couldn’t understand her feelings.
“If it’s going to be like this, then let’s just call it off.”
“……What?”
Damian’s face turned deathly pale. It was an expression Shirley had never seen before—terrifyingly pale—and she instinctively took a step back.
“L-let’s go back. I’m just… not feeling well.” Shirley tried to walk past Damian, but his hand shot out and grabbed her.
“Look at me.”
The sudden force of his grip made Shirley turn to face him in surprise. Damian’s eyes, dark and heavy, were fixed on her.
They looked angry, but also… hurt.
“Why… why are you like this?”
“Call it off, you said?”
His voice was chillingly low as he asked.
“……”
Shirley was so overwhelmed by Damian’s intensity that she couldn’t bring herself to speak.
She needed to say that the words had slipped out unexpectedly, that she hadn’t meant them.
But as she met his cold, piercing blue eyes, she froze like a rabbit caught in front of a snake, her mouth firmly shut.
Damian took her silence as confirmation, and his expression grew even darker.
“Why? Because you think you can’t do *that* with me?”
As she stared into his eyes, a sudden suspicion rose in Shirley’s mind.
*That.*
She instinctively understood what Damian meant by the way he emphasized the word.
The kiss with the man from the balcony, the one who spoke Reichen.
Could it be…? Did he see?
**Thump.** Her heart began to race uncontrollably.
“Let go, let me go.”
Shirley couldn’t bring herself to look Damian in the eye. It felt like she had committed a grave mistake. No, it *was* a mistake.
She had a fiancé, for heaven’s sake. And he was even at the same party. No matter how unintentional it was, she had kissed a man she had just met today, and…
“Don’t look away.”
Damian grabbed her face and forced her to look at him. The strength in his grip as he held her chin made Shirley panic.
“Damian?”
This was Damian, who had never been rough with her before. The sudden force startled her, and she stared at him in shock.
“Let me go, please.”
But the grip on her only tightened.
“Shirley, what were you doing?” His eyes, looking down at her, were dark and unreadable.
“What… what do you mean?”
“You know exactly what I’m asking.”
Damian wasn’t smiling at all. Shirley felt a chill run down her spine.
“N-nothing.”
She tried to shake her head, but Damian’s hand stopped her.
“Be honest with me. What did you do with that man?”
“……”
Shirley’s struggling stopped completely.
“You… saw everything?”
At Shirley’s shocked expression, Damian gave a bitter smile.
“Yeah.”
At his low, subdued answer, shock slowly spread across Shirley’s face.
“You… saw everything? All of it?”
“Yeah. What he did to you, how you reacted… all of it.”
Shirley’s eyes widened. Hearing the confirmation directly from Damian made an overwhelming sense of shame crash over her.
“Let go, let me go, this is…”
Damian’s face suddenly came closer. His hot breath brushed against her lips. Just before their lips could meet, Shirley pushed him away with all her strength.
**Slap.**
A sharp sound echoed through the garden.
“……”
Damian’s head was turned to the side, and he didn’t move.
Shirley breathed heavily, her palm stinging from the slap. She could see his cheek reddening and swelling. The thought that it must hurt far more than her hand made her feel utterly lost.
“Da… Damian.”
At her call, Damian slowly turned his head back. Even as their eyes met in the darkness, neither of them spoke for a long time.
“I’m sorry, I… I was just surprised…”
Tears welled up in her eyes. Damian’s expression was clearly hurt, but no words came from him.
“I’ll… I’ll go ahead first.”
Shirley turned and ran away.
Contrary to her expectation that he would follow immediately, Damian didn’t chase after her.
As if under some spell, he just stood there, motionless, watching his fiancée run farther and farther away.
Even as Shirley felt Damian’s gaze on her back, she couldn’t stop running. All she could think about was getting out of his sight as quickly as possible.
She ran out of the garden and climbed into the carriage, where she burst into tears. Everything felt unbearable.
Damian, the arranged engagement, and everyone who had brought things to this point—she resented them all.
