unedited

That John did not go back easily. He said he would wait for her to come out, even at the butler’s insistence, so the impatient David ran out.

Rare, harsh language even came out of David’s mouth. John did not betray only Annie’s trust.

The two men got along better than anyone before the breakup. They went fishing together, drank alcohol and stayed all night long.

As wise and clever as his sister, John was also David’s best adviser. He thought seriously about any questions and answered them.

But that was it. Now to David, John was the unscrupulous harasser who ruined his sister’s future, and the disappointment of a human being.

David’s stinging fists hit John several times, and John fell to the ground. Blood dripped from his mouth on the cold floor.

Even David, who had beaten him, was a shocking mess. John’s face turned so white, that even if he fainted right now it wasn’t strange.

However, John quietly left the room, saying he was sorry for the rudeness and coming without a message.

A feeling of guilt rested on his shoulder as he faced the iron gate. That was the last appearance of John delivered by the servants.

The people’s evaluation was divided in half. One was ‘I feel sorry for him, don’t you make mistakes in life’ and the other was ‘you should do well when you’re with them’.

Carla was absolutely the latter.

“Ugh! I knew it. He dared to eat and live well after betraying our Miss!”

Carla, who was dressing Annie’s dress early in the morning, was fuming. Her stout fingers tied the laces of the white dress tighter than usual.

Annie’s face faintly contorted as if there was emotion in her hand. Carla relaxed her hands when Annie asked to be a little softer.

Still, her mouth did not rest for a moment.

“He said that he regretted it later. Ha. It’s useless even if he dies.”

“You don’t need to be agitated by things that you can just ignore.”

Annie spoke indifferently and blinked her heavy eyes. Her fatigue rose to the top of her head as she hadn’t slept through the night.

Carla, noticing that her master’s condition was difficult, rubbed her shoulder and said anxiously.

“The Miss’ complexion is not very good. I think it would be better to rest tomorrow as well.”

“It seems to get more painful because you keep treating me like a patient. It’s okay, let’s go out for a little bit today.”

“Where are you going?”

“Lake Wimtlan.”

Carla’s eyes widened slightly at the unexpected answer. If it’s Lake Wimtlan, a place Annie frequents whenever she needs to cool her head down. She used to go there whenever her successor classes or studies gave her a headache.

As she sat on the bench and looked at the rippling lake, everything in the world seemed to be at peace. Annie loved the place very much, and she used to take her loved ones there.

Annie hasn’t set her feet in that direction since she broke up with John. She lied that she was ok with a face that would make it more complicated if she went there.

But she seems to have changed a lot now, so Carla was overjoyed.

“Okay. Let’s go take a break after a long time. I’m not going today, so please relax and enjoy yourself, Miss!”

After Carla’s strong greetings, the Dsev carriage headed for Lake Wimtlan.

Annie couldn’t take her eyes off the window the whole time the carriage was moving. The scenery moving through the carriage window entered her eyes in detail.

It was a maple road that looked like it had been painted with red paint. Large maple trees spread out on either side, and the leaves swayed with the wind as the carriage moved.

Somehow, the world seemed to be quiet. She couldn’t remember the words of her lover, whom she had been with for years. The story she whispered to him was also faint, as if it had happened in her previous life.

Annie’s right hand gently touched the carriage window. As if wanting to stroke the landscape, she didn’t move for a while.

The carriage stopped, and Annie walked on a familiar yet unfamiliar road. It had rained, so the leaves around the lake were half gone.

The circumstances of the autumn leaves touching the soles of the shoes were no different. Her brown shoes made her way as she walked down the faded maple road.

Then, in the distance, a faint image appeared. It was a man sitting on a wooden bench.

How did he feel her presence even though he sat down and had his back turned? No, that person has always been like that.

[How did you know I will be here?]

[Just because it’s Annie.]

He was a man who made her want to believe even when he gave an unreliable answer, and he was a person who made her trust burn to the ground.

As he slowly got up, strength entered Annie’s jaw. With his back to the lake, he smiled painfully.

“Long time no see. You look better.”

As if he had been confined somewhere since he was born and had never seen the sun, he had a pale complexion and uttered a friendly voice.

Annie first thought that she was lucky that she didn’t bring Carla, and she recognized only what caught her eye.

What the people said were true. He seemed to have only bones left in the man who wasn’t on the lean side from the beginning. The eyes, which were full of brilliance, were deeply sunken.

Looking at the curved lips and earnest expression, it was as if there was a story behind it.

But what does it matter? The two of them were completely finished. Whatever the circumstances, she had already seen the bottom.

Just as Annie was about to turn her body, John’s voice caught her.

“I missed you. I missed you so much.”

His slurred voice trembled. Indeed, John had a face Annie had never seen before.

He was crying

“Even though I knew I might die tomorrow, all I could think of was you.”

“…..”

“It couldn’t be even harder.”

His eyelashes got wet little by little.

***