Thought It Was 'The End', Only to Return to a Changed Genre - Chapter 89
When Shane returned from taking a quick bath, Lloyd had already disappeared from the bedroom.
Shane knew he was a petty and small-minded man. He had always been that way when it came to Adeline since childhood.
When Adeline said she would pick up and raise Lloyd, he initially wanted to separate them because Lloyd was dangerous. But when he found out she had taken him along when she disappeared, he felt genuine jealousy.
Why did she keep only that boy by her side?
While he was the first one she discarded.
One day, Adeline suddenly started to push him away.
She would brush cookie crumbs off his lips when he talked about breaking their engagement and told him to stop joking around, then declared she wouldn’t meet up with him anymore.
“I’m serious! I won’t meet you anymore!”
“Why are you suddenly angry?”
“I’m not angry, but still, I won’t see you. Don’t come to find me!”
“Okay, I’ll come again.”
“Ugh, I said don’t come!”
Even her anger seemed cute to him.
Though she tried to avoid him, they were still engaged, so they had to see each other at least once a month. Even if only for a short while.
Although she seemed to ignore him heartlessly, Adeline couldn’t leave Shane completely. She seemed to think she had drawn a firm line, but if she truly hated him, she wouldn’t have let Shane follow her around for so long.
In any case, he would have found another way.
When he pleaded, her guard would drop.
If he cried, Adeline would look even more pained.
“Just tell me the reason. I’ll fix it. I can fix anything.”
“You haven’t done anything wrong.”
“Then why are you doing this? Adeline, do you… hate me?”
“…”
Foolish Adeline. Even as he cried, Shane couldn’t help but stifle a laugh with his palm.
This wasn’t right. If she left ambiguous feelings like pity, she wouldn’t be able to cut him off.
She needed to say she couldn’t stand him, that his existence was disgusting.
But Adeline couldn’t say that.
Rumors about what his deceased mother had said about him were already widespread. She had hysterically screamed that he was like a reptile, disgusting and unbearable.
Adeline had gotten furiously red-faced when she heard those rumors.
He loved it so much that he felt like he was going to lose his mind. Shane wanted to bite her flushed cheeks and keep them for himself. It felt like she would be entirely his that way, unseen by anyone else. How could someone be this beautiful?
“I’m not trying to belittle reptiles, but you don’t look like one at all! Do you know how beautiful your blue eyes are? Oh, of course, you must know from looking in the mirror!”
“As long as they’re beautiful to you.”
“If you ever doubt it, look in the mirror, Shane. You’ll see an angel.”
“…Even so, I don’t have a habit of being that narcissistic…”
“You have a face that deserves to be a little narcissistic. If anyone says otherwise, bring them to me.”
“Are you going to punish them? You?”
“My hands are really spicy.”
“Then I’ll have to be careful not to get hit.”
Maybe those memories made her worried that saying she hated him would hurt him.
Only Adeline was like that.
No one ever thought Shane could get hurt, but she treated him as if he were a freshly laid egg. She worried about him like he was something so fragile that even a touch could dent him.
Shane firmly believed that Adeline didn’t hate him.
He thought she had enough sympathy that if he stuck around persistently, she wouldn’t be able to leave him. Indeed, she couldn’t bring herself to cut him off or even say she hated him. Though she wasn’t affectionate, she spent time with him.
That’s why he was so shocked that she tried to escape even in death.
‘Well, even if I knew she truly hated me, nothing would change.’
There was no way he would do something as noble as giving up.
Shane pulled back the covers and lay down next to Adeline.
“Now, even if you say you hate me, it’s no use, Adeline… Too bad for you.”
It’s pitiful, having someone like me sticking to you.
He brought his lips to her tear-stained eyes. They were still warm. He kissed her long lashes too.
One thing causing Adeline’s misery was enough.
Even if she didn’t tell him why she cried, he had plenty of ways to find out. A crooked smile found its way to his lips.
