That Lady’s Stalker - Chapter 26
Do you remember the first day we met? Do you remember when you followed me around? The moments we shared love were as beautiful as a dream. I love you, Asher. I miss you. Please don’t forget the promise to come back.
Olivia had been frequently gazing down at the white fringe tree from the balcony. She silently wished, over and over again, that the man who would end the war would one day look at her with longing eyes beneath those white flowers, just like before.
* * *
When Olivia, who had collapsed in anguish, opened her eyes, it was already dark outside. She sprang to her feet, though her body, drained of strength from the sudden movement, swayed. Still, she stubbornly stood upright.
She hadn’t said the evening prayer. The anxiety within her rose up to her throat.
I can’t let this happen. If the rumors are true…!
With trembling hands, she lit a candle and knelt in front of the small statue of a goddess on the table.
“Please, keep him safe. I don’t mind if he doesn’t return to me. Please… just let him be safe…!”
Like a child begging for forgiveness, Olivia clasped her hands together. Her heart ached with desperation and frustration.
“Please… goddess, please, please, please… keep him from harm.”
His letters had stopped arriving long ago. The war was nearing its end.
Soon, the sounds of victory would echo. All kinds of hopeful news were flooding in, but Asher’s news was not among them.
“Just take me instead. Take me instead…!”
Olivia’s voice echoed eerily in the darkness. Her once-beautiful red hair had lost its luster and looked dry, and her gaunt, thin body seemed ready to collapse at any moment.
The woman once called the flower of society had lost her past glory, but a sorrowful beauty had taken its place.
Olivia got up from her place just as the cold dawn light began to paint the sky.
She had to write a letter. For him.
Do you remember the first day we met?
Even if you’re hurt, remember the days we loved, remember those longed-for days, and live—live, and come to see me, who is still here. The one you loved so much is here.
Do you remember when you followed me around? The moments we shared love…
* * *
Today, too, Oliver shouted at Olivia, who muttered to herself like a madwoman.
“Sister, please, pull yourself together! He…!”
“No! It can’t be! I’m praying like this! I’m, I’m begging like this! It can’t be!”
Her eyes, red with fury, glared at Oliver. Olivia shouted desperately, as though having a fit.
“No! No!”
Tugging at her hair and crying, Olivia was out of her mind. After Asher left, she appeared to be calmly waiting for him, at least on the surface.
Though her body was growing thinner and her temperament more irritable, Olivia managed to carry on with her daily life.
But after hearing news of Asher at her recent salon visit, Olivia changed.
“He’ll come back. He promised me. When the war ends, he’ll return to me.”
“Sister…”
“He’ll come back! He will! For sure!”
A woman’s heart-wrenching scream echoed through the mansion.
“I’ll wait. I’ll wait until the war is over…”
Her sobbing, fragile back looked pitiful. Olivia was falling apart.
The tedious wait stretched on. Olivia continued to write letters and pray to the goddess. At times, she would cry out and throw tantrums, worrying her family, but still, her days were mostly peaceful.
A month had passed since the war ended. For the first time in a while, Olivia sat at her desk with a clear mind. The warm breeze blew in from the open balcony as summer approaches.
Today, she felt good. It seemed as though her beloved might visit the mansion. A smile appeared on Olivia’s face. It was the first smile in three years.
To my beloved, whom I miss.
Her quill moved gracefully, as if dancing.
You surely remember the day we first faced each other.
That day felt like any other day to me. There were always people around.
Even at a victory banquet, where there should have been a main character.
Olivia, who had been writing with her head lowered for some time, suddenly looked up and gazed at the balcony. She caught a glimpse of the fringe tree. Its white flowers swayed gently in the breeze.
She walked toward the balcony as if entranced. The tree, dressed in white, looked different today. Was it because of the person leaning against it? Her trembling hand grasped the railing. Her eyes first caught sight of his short hair that was cut haphazardly.
“Asher…!”
Her gaze moved down his body, taking in the bandages wrapped around his shoulder, his arms wide open to her. Finally, her eyes settled on his tear-streaked face.
Her face twisted painfully as if trying to suppress something rising within her. Her heart ached in response.
Olivia’s face mirrored Asher’s pain. Her vision blurred, and she hurriedly wiped away her tears.
She wanted to see him up close.
Olivia stepped onto the railing. The time it would take to leave the mansion and walk to the garden seemed too precious to waste. He would catch her safely if she fell.
Her body swayed. He still stood with his arms wide open.
Towards him, into the arms of the one she longed for.
“I love you, Asher.”
The white fringe tree gently swayed its branches affectionately.
