Chapter 65
Sitting on an old mat that didn’t go well with this brilliant sea, Chloe felt like a person who existed only to see the sea. Hunching her knees together, she thought she must have been sitting here a long time, judging by the redness of her earlobes.
That was why Eric was so furious.
All she did after coming to this nice tourist spot was to watch the sea. Since she was not in good shape, she should take a bath in the sea or take a walk in the sun. Why was she sitting there stupidly like that?!
Eric could feel his anger rising as he approached Chloe and tried to talk her out. However, the moment he saw the shadow on Chloe’s profile, he stopped.
Eric remembered the past, when Ed, the researcher he had taken care of, died.
Ed lay on an old bed and burned the last flame of his life fiercely! As Eric was holding his hand, he didn’t miss the hot words he spouted endlessly and put them all together. Then, with a bang, it was over.
Ed died with a literal pop and a feeling of disconnection.
Tap, tap, tap.
Eric thought that the thumping sensation he felt at that time was the soul leaving the body, in other words, the last sensation given by the disappearance of the soul contained in the body. He could feel that feeling in Chloe now. She looked dangerous as if she was about to break off…
…No, maybe she had already been cut off.
Eric thought that the Chloe he saw right now might not be the real Chloe. It seemed that her soul had disappeared, and she had become something other than a human, with only a shell remaining.
It shouldn’t be like this.
Eric ran towards Chloe, remembering Ed’s death at his hands.
“Chloe!”
Only then did Chloe move her body, which was stiff like a plaster statue. She turned her head slowly, very slowly.
Her stiff face was cracked when Eric came into her view.
She had been thinking of Eric until just now. She hated him, not because of longing or affection for him. Still, just thinking about the times, she had spent with him, feeling a new sense of resentment and feeling a strange sense of betrayal.
…But, Eric appeared in front of her.
Chloe couldn’t believe it.
“…Darling?”
She sighed and closed her mouth shut.
Darling… this title was not right among already divorced people. Chloe shook her head a couple of times and looked back at him.
Eric, who ran right in front of her, looked down at her with heavy breaths.
“What are you doing here?”
Crouching down a bit more, she then slightly turned her gaze to the sea before glancing at him again. Since her stream of gaze, instead of replying that she had been looking at the sea, Eric let out a low sigh and bit his lower lip.
Chloe asked.
“Then, why are you here?”
“I’m here to find you.”
“How do you know I am here?”
At those words, Chloe narrowed her brows slightly and rolled her shoulders.
“Did you send someone to me?”
Eric didn’t answer, but there was no way she didn’t know that this silence was affirmation. Chloe couldn’t believe it all. The fact that he was right in front of her, that he came to look for her, and that he sent someone to follow her, everything.
“Why?”
She asked.
“Why did you send someone to me, and why did you come looking for me?”
Eric still didn’t answer… No, he couldn’t. It was because he also didn’t know why. Why did he put someone to find out about her whereabouts? Besides, why did he come looking for Chloe…?
Why? Why?
It felt like something was wriggling in the depths of his heart, something he had been ignoring and suppressing. Was it because he really missed her, or was it because of his usual thoughts, that Chloe was his own and should not escape his grasp?
If it was the latter, he shouldn’t have been so happy to see Chloe now. As soon as he saw her face, his anger melted away like snow in his heart, and he wanted to hug her.
…Did he really miss her?
Was that why he followed her like this?
If so, why?
Why did he miss Chloe? Despite the fact that he has no feelings for her… No, did he really have no feelings emotionless?
Eric staggered back as if he had just realized something.
If he loved her, all these irrational behaviors made sense. He endlessly denies the divorce, worries about her, tries to hold onto her somehow, and when she leaves, even places someone to chase after her…
All of this was not a rational act. Nonetheless, if it were right that he loved Chloe… if it were love, then all these actions would be rational actions born out of true feelings.
…No, no.
Nonsense.
‘I love Chloe…’
How could that be?
Even though Eric denied it over and over again, the denial never came to pass because the emotion that was in his heart had already swelled. In other words, he clearly realized that he loved Chloe. Though even at this moment, he couldn’t confess to her.
…Not realizing it until everything was messed up like this!
As he covered his face with his hands, blaming his own arrogant stupidity…
“Eric.”
…It was Chloe’s low voice that called him.
“If you want to say that there is no divorce, all I can say is go back. I have already made up my mind, and I have enough willpower not to respect your wishes.”
Eric opened his mouth blankly.
He never expected his name to come out of her mouth. He himself had always been her husband, and she was the woman who never got his title wrong. But now, she called him by name… Just as she became Chloe instead of Chloe Aslan, now she called him Eric, not her husband.
The moment Eric realized this, he felt as if the ground was collapsing. The feeling that the ground he was stepping on was collapsing, and he was falling into the endless darkness.
Eric stumbled.
“Eric…?”
Feeling that he was strange, Chloe narrowed her eyes and slowly stood up.
“What’s wrong? Are you sick?”
Roar, crash!
The sound of waves hitting his ears awakened Eric’s spirit.
Eric shook his head and took a breath. As he stared at Chloe, who was standing in front of him, he gazed at her eyebrows, eyes, nose, lips, cheeks, ears, hair, shoulders, and hands.
He was in love.
He missed her.
Even though his legs gave out, Eric didn’t give up. He just grabbed Chloe’s shoulder tightly.
“Come back with me.”
Eric uttered with a firm voice.
“No, you have to go back.”
Chloe bit her lip softly.
The moment he arrived, the moment she saw his face again, Chloe felt a strong urge to run over to him and hug him.
This made her realize once again that the feelings of resentment and betrayal she had just felt were fleeting and that the true feelings she had for Eric were deep love, even though she was so desperate and hurt.
Yes. She loved Eric.
She was in love.
Nevertheless, she was too tired to stand by him. It was difficult now to live without being able to do anything, being nothing and not being anything. She didn’t want to live like that anymore, and she wasn’t going to listen to Eric if he asked for another chance.
After countless hopes and failures, she had no more hope left.
“I just told you.”
So, she said in a firm voice.
“Eric.”
She removed Eric’s hand from her shoulder.
“We are finished.”
Eric stared at his hand that had fallen into the air, then clenched his fist and bit his teeth tightly.
“You are sick.”
He continued, “Heart disease. Yes, fine. I will find a medicine that will cure you no matter what. I’ll come find you. I won’t let you die. So…”
Eric grabbed Chloe’s hand.
“…Let’s go back. Together.”
His hands were shaking so much that she could see it with her own eyes. Why was this man shaking like this? Chloe put her hand on his back.
“Eric.”
She spoke slowly but in a clear voice.
“I don’t mind dying now.”
“Chloe!”
Eric screamed unknowingly.
…It was okay to die? Why would she say that?!
A person must be greedy for life. No, of course, they want to live and struggle to survive. Humans were like that. However, it was okay to die?
An incident ran through his mind.
“No way, on the airship… Did you really want to die?”
Eric said, recalling the sight of her on the airship, with her wings spread wide like a bird in flight, relying only on a single thin cord. Chloe also averted her gaze for a moment, probably remembering that time.
“At that time…”
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