Thought It Was 'The End', Only to Return to a Changed Genre - Chapter 101
After finishing her preparations for bed, Shane stood up from where he was sitting on the bed.
“Are you going out?”
“I’ll be back before you wake up.”
“Alright, take care.”
“…”
“Are you still worried even though I said I’ll always come back to you?”
Shane just smiled slightly instead of answering. Adeline adjusted his disheveled shirt collar and said,
“You can lock the door or even tie me up if you want.”
“Even if I confine you in a place no one knows about?”
“As long as I can take baths…”
It would be uncomfortable without a shower. As long as the place had a bathroom and a shower, confinement would be bearable. She might gain some weight, though… Adeline chuckled as she thought about the practical aspects of confinement.
“It would also be nice to take a walk occasionally so that people don’t worry too much.”
“That’s all?”
“As long as I get good meals, can wash up, and see people occasionally, it’s fine, right?”
It might actually be an overly comfortable life.
On closer inspection, the five years she spent in seclusion felt more like confinement. She had locked herself up.
Adeline looked up at Shane, who was gazing down at her, and impulsively stood on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. Shane remained unresponsive, like a statue, then silently left the room.
The door locked.
Adeline lay alone, tossing and turning for a long time, unable to sleep.
When she slept beside Shane, she fell into a deep sleep quickly without any unnecessary thoughts. The weight and warmth of his body embracing her gave her a sense of stability.
‘There’s a long way to go…’
A lifetime of lies and avoidance had resulted in deeply rooted distrust. She couldn’t even feel unjustly wronged as it was all her own doing.
The result of loving Shane but not admitting it and coldly pushing him away.
Adeline had liked Shane Blanchard from the beginning.
A pretty boy with expressions that didn’t match his age. Although he smiled politely, he couldn’t hide his indifferent and bored eyes. Eventually, he began to open up only to her, and Adeline was happy about that. She decided she would protect him.
She resolved that this boy, who had to grow up too early, would never be lonely again.
The boy who smiled as if he was truly happy only for her was so adorable that Adeline found him special too.
Even after realizing it wasn’t her role to make him happy, her resolve didn’t change.
Adeline always wished for Shane’s happiness above all.
Of course, she genuinely didn’t want to die, but if disappearing could make Shane happy, she was willing to give up everything. She was willing to endure the pain for that.
Even while living in hiding in a land where no one knew her, Adeline never regretted it for a single moment. She believed that would make them happy.
Now she knew how much Shane cared for her, how deeply he felt.
She understood what it meant when he woke up alone at dawn and stared at her for a long time.
She knew how deeply his fear of her leaving was, making him unable to sleep unless he held her tightly.
Adeline was no longer thought of Shane lightly.
***
Shane stood in the hallway outside the bedroom for a long time.
He couldn’t bring himself to leave.
But if he didn’t distance himself from Adeline right now, he felt he might kneel and beg her to love him. Doing so wouldn’t make her love him.
On the contrary, she would realize that he couldn’t treat her harshly and would escape without fear.
Yes, Shane couldn’t hurt Adeline.
He had never been able to. Not for a single moment—it was utterly impossible for him.
Even while resenting her, when Adeline wavered, his hand always reached out first.
Even while saying he wouldn’t expect anything, if Adeline hugged or kissed him first, he couldn’t help but smile like a fool.
