That Lady’s Stalker - Chapter 9
Her lips parted slightly, and just as their lips seemed poised to touch.
“Asher?”
Asher snapped back to reality and stood up.
“Olivia, I—”
Before she could regain her composure, Asher had already bolted away, leaving her to shiver with embarrassment while grappling with the weight of his unfinished words.
“How could I think that…”
‘I’m a cursed and dirty man.’
Was that why he had circled around her, gazing at her with such longing yet never dared to approach?
‘What a foolish man.’
Olivia felt sorry for him, both as a person and as a woman.
* * *
That was probably why she had brought him up in the salon.
“Honestly, it’s a bit off-putting. With black hair and that gloomy demeanor, I doubt anyone has actually heard his voice.”
“My fiance said that on the battlefield, he really didn’t seem human. He said he looked just like a demon. It’s so ominous and frightening.”
Everyone shared similar sentiments—gloomy, foreboding, demon-like.
Normally, Olivia would have listened and brushed off such comments without a second thought, but now they clawed at her heart. After all, she was speaking about Asher.
“He’s not a bad person. He’s just clumsy with his expressions.”
She couldn’t hide the wave of emotion rising within her. The fine leather sofa she sat on suddenly felt unbearably uncomfortable.
“Goodness! Lady Olivia, he has black hair! Getting close to him could harm you!”
“It’s ominous. He bears the colors of demons…”
“He’s just a regular person like us. He simply has darker features!”
The group of five or six young ladies exchanged glances, surprised at Olivia’s raised voice. It was the first time they had seen her so passionate.
But she couldn’t afford to care about them. Even she didn’t understand why she was so angry.
On top of that, guilt washed over her for inadvertently bringing him up and subjecting him to ridicule.
As the belle of high society, Olivia had always feigned composure and grace, hiding her true self, and she knew she would regret today’s events. She thought about how she should have kept quiet, how she shouldn’t have gotten angry, questioning why she defended him when he had crafted such an image.
But…
Olivia bit her lip.
“He’s just an ordinary man.”
A foolish man who couldn’t even express his own feelings properly.
* * *
Olivia pouted, unable to find sleep.
She had gone to the salon to ask how to seduce a man or how to make a man approach her, yet somehow she had ruined the atmosphere by bringing up Asher. It wasn’t the first time they had made such comments, yet she had let her anger get the better of her…
She headed to the balcony, seeking a breath of fresh air. As summer approached, even the night was warm, and a gentle breeze swept past her.
The large fringe tree in front seemed to acknowledge the arrival of the warm season, blossoming with white flowers that fell like soft snow.
Olivia absentmindedly gazed down at the flowers swaying in the wind, but then she was startled when she noticed something below.
“Asher?”
Beneath the fringe tree, he stood with white petals falling all around him. Though the darkness obscured his face, Olivia instinctively understood; he must have been worried after seeing her glum expression when she returned from the salon.
Perhaps he feared that she had been subjected to unpleasant comments because of him.
Although they had never really talked openly, she sensed that he might be the kind of person to worry in such a way. He seemed delicate beneath that sturdy exterior.
“Women sometimes feel down for no reason at all. Today just happened to be one of those days.”
Olivia murmured softly. It was a tiny voice that couldn’t possibly reach him, but she felt the urge to say something. As her gaze fell upon the white petals resting on his head, she unwittingly opened her mouth.
“I like the color of your hair. It looks beautiful and soft.”
With those words, Olivia rushed back inside. She felt scared fear about how he would react and a deep ache in her heart at the sight of him standing alone beneath the white tree. Yet, her pounding heart began to shift from excitement to a growing fear.
I have become accustomed to your unique way of showing love.
To others, it might look like stalking; of course, if it were anyone else, it would have been unwelcome. But because it was you, I thought of it as a special way of pursuing me.
I had become blinded. I had lost my objectivity.
* * *
Olivia sat on the sofa, unfolding the letter Asher had just sent. It contained words expressing his concern for her mood and health. The neat handwriting, pressed down firmly, was as graceful as his face.
She opened the large paper box she had recently begun to frequent. Inside were cherished items, but what stood out the most was the stack of letters. They were all in the same blue envelopes, each addressed to Olivia Flonari in the same elegant handwriting.
They were the letters Asher had sent her.
