Happy Birthday (2)

By the time she got used to this life, spring had come in. Against the backdrop of such lively scenery, both of them often went for walks. The sun was especially warm that day. Unlike So-hee, who had walked with her eyes fixed on the sea, Deon’s nerves were all focused on Ariad. Suddenly, he looked down at Ariad’s somewhat swollen stomach and suddenly grabbed her hand.

“Have you thought of a name for our child?”

The purple eyes staring at the sea scanned Deon once and lifted at the clear sky. For a while, So-hee looked at the heavens in silence before speaking again. “Alaz.”

“That’s a pretty name.”

“It means a miracle.”

They walked two more rounds at the beach before returning to the mansion since it was already time to eat lunch.

“Can’t we stroll once more? The weather is so nice that I don’t want to go in yet. Please, Deon.”

“Let’s have some lunch first. Aren’t you hungry?”

“I just ate the birthday cake you made me yesterday, so I’m not that hungry.”

“Ari, you stopped eating it after a few bites after claiming it tasted awful.”

“No, it’s not———” Faltering in embarrassment, So-hee added. “Don’t be disappointed. I’ve already accepted your sincere heart. It’s been a long time since someone took care of me like this on my birthday.” She grinned, making Deon laugh like a fool. Then, he tilted his head as if he suddenly felt strange.

“Ari, what are you talking about? I took care of you last year, too. Come to think of it. I don’t think your birthday was in March.” He muttered the latter to himself in pointed disbelief. So-hee’s eyes widened for a while and shrugged. For some reason, she thought it wouldn’t matter to Deon. Did this idea originate from a relaxed mind? Also, So-hee couldn’t figure out why she was so calm at this moment. If she was talking to Joshua, she would have been sweating buckets.

“My birthday is in March.” She stated confidently that Deon had stopped trying to unearth his memories and just accepted them. As they walked back towards the mansion, the idea that someone was watching them was unthinkable. Four days later, a light brown envelope came for Ariad Pearson. Sohee was dumbfounded after checking the documents. They were divorce papers stamped with Joshua’s seal. They envelope was neatly written with familiar words.

‘Happy birthday.’

His last greeting felt so calm that she might as well find her dreams about running away for fear of beheading funny.

* * *

The harp’s beautiful melody rang in the dining room. As he listened to the music, Joshua chewed on his roughly cut meat. He couldn’t seem to taste its flavor but he still moved his jaws. On the morning of Her Majesty’s call, he vaguely guessed why she was looking for him. A ridiculous scandal had spread across the walls of the Crown Prince’s palace that Ariad had disappeared. Of course, she wanted to talk about that.  The leaked rumor had reached back into Joshua’s ear but he had no more reason to desperately stop it. Ariad’s ruined reputation was also none of his business. Bianca, who was sitting across from him, picked up the champagne and drank before speaking. “Is Ariad so sick? It’s been a long while since I last saw her.”

Joshua chewed the meat without responding. Why was he having a hard time swallowing it when it wasn’t that tough? Bianca carefully examined his countenance as if to read his thoughts. Tapping the glass with his long fingernails, she continued. “There’s a strange rumor going around that the girl had eloped with another man.”

Joshua lifted the glass next to him and took a sip of water. Only then did the meat, which he had a hard time swallowing, finally went past his throat.

“It’s ridiculous I know. But even if she’s not feeling well, she should show her face sometimes so that the rumor won’t affect anyone.”

“It’s not that she’s not feeling well.” A calm voice rang out. “Ariad is not in the Imperial City.” He uttered in a monotone as if he was talking about a third party. Bianca raised an eyebrow and then burst into laughter.

“So, is the rumor true?”

“Half right, half wrong.”

Joshua chopped the remaining chunks of steak on his plate with a knife. Not for a moment did he make eye contact with Bianca, who was staring at him. His words were as relaxed as his movements.

“It’s not about the men, mother. Just as you said, the more I knew about her, the less I want to get involved. I decided to let her go because I was sick of her.”

“What?” Bianca’s voice raised in bewilderment. “So, you believe me now———-”

Joshua cut her off. “I’ll divorce her.”

Finally giving up on cutting the meat, he put down the knife and raised his head. “I’m doing what you want.”

Joshua gave her a mysterious smile. Relieved, Bianca didn’t interrogate him anymore.