An Early Engagement - Chapter 45

Finally, as if he had just remembered, a short exclamation escaped him. Shirley’s mood sank even further.

You… forgot?

“I got a call about an urgent matter.”

“I see…”

“I thought my mother would have told you.”

“She did.”

Shirley nodded. But that wasn’t the point. She didn’t want to know why he had gone to the capital. She just…

Felt hurt, that’s all.

Instead of comforting her, he didn’t even seem to remember, which only made her more flustered.

“Um, Mom asked about you. Why you haven’t been visiting…”

It was actually an excuse. The Duchess of Lafez, being the queen of high society with a packed schedule, rarely had time to keep track of how often her daughter and her fiancé met.

She simply assumed they were meeting as usual.

But Shirley was willing to use her mother as an excuse just to hear his answer.

“Of course, I know you’re busy. But Mom was a bit curious.”

“Oh?”

For a moment, a strange smile—one Shirley had never seen before—flickered across Damian’s lips.

“There were a lot of things to take care of.”

His answer was simple, almost dismissive. Not only that, but he kept glancing past the balcony, as if he couldn’t focus on the conversation.

Was it just her imagination?

He wasn’t like this before. This never happened before. Damian, you…

Suddenly, Shirley felt that the Damian standing before her was somehow very different from the fiancé she had known.

And the reason was… could it be?

“Are you… bored of me now?” The question that had been weighing on her heart.

After throwing it out there, Shirley bit her lip hard.

“…..What?”

In an instant, Damian’s expression changed subtly. His face twisted slightly, but soon a distant smile spread across it.

“Ha…..haha.”

He covered his face and laughed for a long time. Shirley was dumbfounded, unsure what was so funny or why he was laughing in this situation.

“I asked if you’re bored of me.”

The sharp question shot out again. It was an embarrassing question, enough to make her ears burn red, but she was determined to get an answer today. She couldn’t stand being ignored like this any longer.

“Damian…!”

At Shirley’s call, Damian’s laughter, which had continued for a while, abruptly stopped.

In the uncomfortable silence that followed, all that remained was the sharp glint in Damian’s blue eyes.

“Well, maybe I really am, Shirley.”

“…What?”

Shirley trembled at the dry tone of his voice.

Even as she asked, she had convinced herself it couldn’t be true. Damian would never do that to her. Such a thing couldn’t happen.

But the answer that came back hit her like a shockwave.

“Are you… serious?”

Her heart felt like it was about to burst. The pounding in her chest made her head spin.

“I don’t even know my own thoughts well.”

He smiled as if pitying her. That vague answer felt like a sharp blade slicing through her heart.

There was nothing more to say. Shirley felt that if she stayed and talked to Damian any longer, her heart might truly explode. She was consumed by the thought of escaping this place.

Shirley tried to walk past him, but Damian blocked her way.

“Move.”

Her voice trembled with tears, the humiliation he had caused her spilling out. His hand on her shoulder tightened slightly.

“My answer isn’t finished yet, Shirley.”

His voice was soft, coaxing. Shirley slowly raised her head to look at him.

His eyes, looking down at her from his taller stance, were deep and unreadable. She couldn’t tell what he was thinking.

“I said move.”

She tried to push him away again, but his body, like a fortress, didn’t budge.

Had Damian’s body always been this strong and solid? The Damian who always yielded to her touch was nowhere to be seen.

Come to think of it, that night too…

Suddenly, the memory of that night flashed in her mind, and Shirley’s face flushed bright red.

The redness spread to her chest and shoulders, and Damian noticed immediately.

“What are you thinking about to turn so red, Shirley?” His words were laced with laughter.

“It’s hot, that’s all. It’s hot.”

“It’s quite cool here, though.”

The sound of the fountain’s water splashing seemed unusually loud. The garden, now past midsummer, was filled with a refreshing coolness.

“It actually feels a bit cold, though.”

Damian moved his hand, lightly rubbing Shirley’s shoulder as he spoke. Her flushed shoulder reacted sensitively to the touch of his large hand.

“Let me go. I need to go back. I’m the star of tonight, after all.”

“Right, everyone will be looking for you.”

Despite his words, Damian showed no intention of letting her go.

Instead, he seemed entirely focused on gently caressing her white shoulder, now tinged with pink.

It was the moment the strap of her dress slipped over her shoulder and caught on his hand. Shirley felt strangely breathless.

“One more time, and I think I’ll be sure.”

“……”

*Snap.*

The strap slid down without hesitation. As Shirley twisted her body to grab the loosened dress, Damian pulled her into his arms and let them both fall onto the grass.

“Ah!”

In an instant, Damian was on top of her. His gaze, looking down at her as he trapped her in his arms, was chilling.

“What?”

“Honestly, I think I might have gotten a little bored… but seeing you question me like that just now made me feel a bit excited again.”

Damian, pinning Shirley beneath him, smiled like a devil. His hand, touching her cheek, was as cold as ice. A shiver ran down her spine as his fingers trailed over her skin.

“Are you insane?”

Damian grabbed Shirley’s waist as she tried to escape, pale and trembling, and pulled her back down.

With her arms bound, Shirley had no choice but to accept Damian’s rough lips and tongue as they pressed against hers.

“Mmm, ah, mmph.”

The sensation of his tongue parting her lips was unnervingly hot.

This kiss was nothing like the careful, gentle ones they had shared before. It was a kiss that fully reminded her of that night’s sticky, lewd act.

As their tongues tangled and he sucked on hers without restraint, Shirley struggled fiercely, but the more she did, the more her already loosened dress slipped off, creating the opposite effect.

When Damian’s lips touched the curve of her chest, now exposed above the tightly laced corset, Shirley shuddered.

“No, Damian.”

“No?”

“Please, okay?” Shirley pleaded.

“You allowed it with that other guy?”

“……”

If marks were left in such a place, everyone would know exactly what had happened on her birthday.

Shirley’s resistance ceased.

“You always break my heart so effortlessly, Shirley.” Damian’s smile was tinged with sadness.

“Your eyes are always looking elsewhere. Always shining with curiosity. And damn it, there are so many guys who want you…”

His pained smile left Shirley frozen, unable to move.

Something was wrong.

Something was very, very wrong.

“You’re right.”

“……”

“An engagement made in childhood, even before we were born—what’s the point of keeping it?” Damian slowly stood up.

The weight pressing down on her was gone, but strangely, Shirley didn’t feel relieved. Instead, she felt an even heavier burden than before.

“To you, I’m just a friend who’s always been by your side, an old doll—nothing more, nothing less.”

“……”

“That’s why we can’t do anything.” He continued with a self-deprecating smile.

“It’s been like that since the day we met, hasn’t it?”

“Damian.”

Shirley called out to him urgently.

“Maybe it would’ve been better that way. Just me as your friend, and you as mine. If it had stayed like that, we wouldn’t be worrying about whether we can become husband and wife.”

As Damian turned to leave, Shirley scrambled to her feet. She didn’t even have time to brush off the grass clinging to her body.

“Damian!”

When she called his name loudly, Damian paused for a moment. But soon, he quickened his pace again, and Shirley called out to him once more.

His steps were much faster than hers, and with her dress still disheveled, Shirley couldn’t follow him out of the grass and was forced to stop.