I got tired of staring at the ceiling and decided to get some sleep. After taking off my coat, I pulled out my phone and pocket watch. The moment I saw my phone, I remembered I needed to tell Karen... that I'd just gotten my heart broken.
I tapped Karen's name and held the phone to my ear, but after waiting for quite a while, I still didn't hear his voice. I pulled it back to look at the screen.
It was still on the contacts page.
Thirty seconds had already passed.
So I tapped his name again and tried calling him a second time. Another thirty seconds went by, yet there was still no answer.
Why wasn't he picking up? Was he taking a bath?
...Forget it. I'll tell him later.
It was now 5:37 PM.
I held my pocket watch to my ear, listening to the steady tick... tick... tick of the second hand, hoping the rhythmic sound would lull me to sleep.
Before I knew it, I drifted off.
...
I had no idea how long I'd been asleep.
As my consciousness slowly returned, the first thing that crossed my mind was the time.
"...What time is it?"
"It's 7:08 PM."
"...Thanks."
"You're welcome."
So it was already seven. Perfect timing—it was dinner time.
After sleeping, I was actually getting hungry.
...Wait.
Who answered me?
Wasn't I staying in this room by myself?
Who came in?
And why did that voice sound so familiar?
I rubbed my eyes.
Through my blurry vision, I saw something orange.
What was that?
After rubbing my eyes again, my vision finally cleared.
It was Grace.
"Good evening, Mr. Jacob."
She looked genuinely happy.
Did something good happen to her?
I wanted to know—
...Wait.
Grace?
Why is she here?
I blinked twice, rubbed my eyes once more to make sure I wasn't imagining things.
No.
Grace was really standing in front of me.
Then everything that had happened earlier flashed through my mind.
"AAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!"
Terrified, I scrambled backward, rolled off the bed, and kept retreating until my back slammed into the wall, banging my head.
I didn't even care about the pain.
I stared at Grace as if I were looking at a terrifying monster.
Looking worried, Grace took a step toward me.
"Mr. Jacob, are you alright?"
"Don't come any closer."
I wasn't going to be fooled by her again.
I'd already been hurt enough.
I wasn't about to lose my life over love.
"I just wanted to—"
"Don't come any closer!"
The image of Grace pointing a sword at me was burned into my mind.
Right now, there was no way I could see her as someone harmless.
At that moment, Ethefelis suddenly stepped between us, blocking Grace from my view.
"Calm down."
Seeing Ethefelis here immediately made me feel relieved.
At the same time, it also made me angry.
"Ethefelis! Why is Grace here?! You know what she tried to do to me!"
"Listen to Sis Gra."
"I'm not listening. I won't believe her anymore."
"Misunderstanding."
"There is no misunderstanding. She threatened my life."
Ethefelis kept trying to persuade me to hear Grace out, but I refused.
Then Grace suddenly stepped into my line of sight.
"Mr. Jacob, I was wrong! I thought you were giving up on me. I was so heartbroken that I lost control. I really do love you."
I didn't want to hear any of her explanations.
To me, they were all lies.
Unable to hold myself back anymore, I shouted at her.
"Stop lying! You told me with your own mouth that you didn't like me! I'm not a three-year-old child! I'm not going to forget everything you did just because you're acting nice now!"
"I never said that! I said I wasn't rejecting you! I was just so happy and embarrassed! I said I liked you too—no, I said I loved you! I love you so, so much!"
"Then why did you try to kill me?!"
"I...!"
"You can't answer, can you? You're just ly—"
"Calm down!"
Just as I was about to accuse Grace of lying again, Ethefelis covered my mouth and shot me an annoyed look before turning to Grace.
"Grace. Be honest."
"Ms. Eis... Right! Mr. Jacob, I really do love you. I love you so much that I can't imagine marrying anyone else. I know I was the one who let the opportunity slip away. You thought I rejected you, so it was only natural for you to give up on me.But... I couldn't bear the thought of someone else becoming your partner.So I had a terrible thought...If I couldn't have you, then I wouldn't let anyone else have you either.I was wrong. Please forgive me. Please give me one more chance. This time, I'll be completely honest with you."
Grace knelt before me and held my hands tightly as she confessed with complete sincerity that I was the only man she would ever accept.
Then Ethefelis looked at me.
"Sis Gra's love is... heavy."
At first, I was only listening because Ethefelis asked me to.
But after hearing those words, I lowered my head.
Ethefelis wasn't an ordinary child.
She wasn't someone who could be fooled so easily.
I never imagined Grace's feelings for me would be this intense... this dangerously intense.
Should I be happy?
Or should I be worried?
If I accidentally touched another woman, would she chop off my hand?
As I was lost in thought, Grace gently pulled my hand toward her chest.
It stopped just a few inches away.
...
This is so frustrating.
Falling in love is easy.
Giving up is hard.
I really can't bring myself to hate Grace.
I'm nothing more than a pathetic man blinded by love.
...But I'd also like to keep both of my hands.
Still, I knew she had only lost control for a moment.
What mattered was how she truly felt.
Right now, though, I wasn't ready to answer feelings this overwhelming.
"I... need some time."
"Of course! As long as you don't hate me, I'll wait however long it takes!"
"And... I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you."
"It's alright! I don't mind at all!"
Grace smiled brightly.
...That smile.
It was dazzling.
So she really did love me that much.
Compared to her feelings, mine didn't even come close.
I needed Karen's help.
But before that, we had to deal with the Phinto Powder case as quickly as possible so I could meet him again.
"...Let's deal with the Phinto Powder first."
"Yes!"
"Dinner."
It was dinner time.
Ethefelis had probably been hungry for a long while.
She was the one who helped Grace and me clear up our misunderstanding.
I was truly grateful to her.
"Alright. Let's have dinner first."