My Beloved, Whom I Desire to Kill - 245
—What are you doing tomorrow night?
—I was planning to go see Elena.
—I see. Don’t I have enough of a relationship to visit her in the hospital?
This was a person who, on any other day, would have simply sent his well-wishes through Giselle. The fact that he wanted to tag along now was so transparent it was unbelievable.
—You know we’ll be chattering for over three hours. You won’t be able to stand the boredom.
—Ah… I shouldn’t make the ladies uncomfortable. Then how about the day after tomorrow?
—…….
Doesn’t he usually only make plans for the weekend? Besides, they see each other every day, anyway. She couldn’t very well say the weekend was too far away and that she couldn’t bear the wait.
—Are you always this aggressive with women?
—No. Not at all.
Edwin, who was far from impatient, felt unfamiliar with himself, as he’d never acted this way before. Even seeing her every day felt insufficient, and even when she was right there, he craved more. As if under a curse, he couldn’t stand the unquenchable thirst, so he chased this woman with a stubbornness he knew was unreasonable.
On another level, it was also a fervent cry to Giselle. She was a woman who had been hurt by his indifference in the past. The patience Giselle Bishop had for Edwin must have dried up as much as her love. If she were to feel anxiety and exhaustion in their relationship again, she wouldn’t hesitate to close the door on him to protect her heart. Fearing this, Edwin—as Giselle put it—charged forward aggressively, determined to prove he had changed and that she would no longer be in pain.
—I don’t need to take a single step toward a woman. Women come chasing after me first.
Giselle’s mouth hung open in shock.
—Wow… that was incredibly arrogant, and it also made me very flustered.
With the words, he elevated Giselle to the most unique and special woman in his romantic history, all by saying he’d never had to put in effort or had any reason to. He was flattering her by putting himself on a pedestal first.
He knows exactly how to grab a woman’s heart and shake it.
This skillful trickery could be seen as the fruit of long-honed social skills, yet a subtle suspicion began to creep in—that it was the savvy of a man with a great deal of romantic experience. Perhaps the confidence that he would ultimately win Giselle’s love also came from that rich experience.
—So, I guess you’ve dated a lot of women who came charging toward the director who was just standing there?
In the past, he had publicly announced he would remain a bachelor for life, but that didn’t necessarily mean he wouldn’t date. And she remembered that after he became a duke, he had met with potential duchesses. The names Giselle knew numbered more than five.
—There are no relationships you don’t know about.
This man was too clever to get himself into trouble with a lie that would immediately be exposed.
—And none of them lasted long.
This seemed to be an attempt to reassure her that she was the only woman he was genuinely serious about, but it had the opposite, and somewhat counterproductive, effect.
—Wow… My little director was a secret playboy after all.
—Now what kind of stretch is that? If I seem like a playboy, it’s just the result of my efforts to match your preference.
—My preference?
—You said you liked experienced men.
—When did I ever say that?
—Don’t you remember? You said it while defending some disgusting lecher named Boswell or something.
—Ah.
Only then did she recall the lie she had told long ago. She, the one who said it, had forgotten the very name, but why did he, the one who heard it, still remember it so vividly?
—You said you liked it, so I tried acting like I was experienced. What do you think? Am I doing a good job?
The fox. Trying to escape his predicament by using her own words as an excuse. But no matter how good he was at deception, if he was caught being a fox, it wouldn’t work. Besides, wasn’t Giselle a professional intelligence officer trained to detect lies?
—I don’t think that’s something you can just pretend.
—Maybe it’s just a natural talent. Like your intelligence and beauty.
You can’t get me with such a shallow trick. Giselle glared and bit her lip, pressing down the corners of her mouth that threatened to curve up at the wrong moment.
—If this is what you’re like just using your natural talent, what happens when you follow the instincts in your blood? You’d probably be a legendary playboy with hundreds of lovers, decorating the tabloids.
—Giselle, there aren’t hundreds of women like you.
Her mouth fell open, and she was so speechless that she couldn’t even manage a gasp of admiration.
He disarmed her attack, which suggested that the family legacy of being an Eccleston stud was late to show itself, with the words that his heart only beats for Giselle.
First, he said I didn’t look like a woman to him, and now he’s saying I’m the only woman he sees. Good heavens. Her heart was pounding, but her head felt dizzy and faint as if the blood wasn’t circulating.
Completely defeated, Giselle finally buried her face in her hands and laughed to her heart’s content. She could see him through the gaps between her fingers as he bent his head. She thought he’d mistaken her laughter for crying, but he began to leisurely and deliberately kiss every part of her hands that covered her face. After knocking on her heart’s door again and again, and making it loose, he asked again.
—So, do you have time to go on a date with me the day after tomorrow?
Giselle once again felt firsthand why the man who had always been so gentle toward her had risen to the position of a commander in an espionage war. She never realized his ability to psychologically corner someone until they willingly gave him what he wanted was so persistent and exceptional.
She was just a fledgling intelligence officer who had barely shed her baby feathers, but she had been thoroughly trained under him and had even been called a hero for her clever wit. She thought she had a chance, but she was no match for the master of psychological warfare.
—Let’s go on a date.
In the end, Giselle gave him her time. Until the weekend. Every day. And she even gave him the hand he had so desperately wanted. The situation was clearly a defeat, a state of being dragged along even though she held the leash, yet she felt a sense of pride, as if she were the winner.
This was all thanks to the man who, as if he had been waiting for her approval, reeled off one date plan after another without hesitation.
How hard had he prepared for this?
Giselle felt the intensity of his resolve: he wouldn’t desperately try to hold her back if she left, but he would pour his heart and soul into making sure she’d never leave in the first place. This from a remarkable man who had never had to put in effort for other women.
This is my power.
Unlike yesterday, she hadn’t been able to grasp the power she held, as if it were an illusion. But now, she could feel it vividly in her hands.
Making a man who had everything and therefore never had to struggle for anything, a man who wouldn’t take a single step outside his domain, charge forward with all his might: that was Giselle’s power.
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On Wednesday evening, Giselle went straight to her dressing room as soon as she got home. As she took off her officer’s uniform, she let out a small laugh, suddenly remembering the moment last Sunday when Edwin Eccleston had looked confused, asking why she was going to watch a movie in her work clothes.
Because it wasn’t a date.
But tonight was a real date, with the full understanding and agreement of everyone involved.
Giselle took out the outfit she had picked out the day before. Since it would be warm while dancing, she chose a light blue linen dress and brought a cardigan and a coat for early winter so her date wouldn’t have to scold her for her lack of foresight.
She took off her wristwatch, which was essential for work but not for a date, and put on a bracelet instead. While choosing long, light earrings that would sway nicely when she danced, Giselle’s gaze wasn’t on the mirror but on a large velvet box tucked away in one of her jewelry box drawers.
Inside was the pearl necklace the man had given her for her birthday. She opened the box and ran her fingers over each pearl. The feel and look of them felt different now. Was it because the meaning of the necklace had changed?
It was a gift chosen with love for me.
Now that she knew his feelings, she wondered what he was thinking when he gave it to her. Back then, he had said he wasn’t trying to court her.
‘Honestly, if I had known it was a gift to win over a woman, I wouldn’t have accepted it’
When she put on the necklace with its warm glow, the cold, silver earrings and bracelet felt mismatched. As she was about to change them, the doorbell rang.
—Already?
It was probably only a difference of a few minutes, but Giselle had gotten home from work first, and in that time, he had gone home, changed, and came to pick her up.
‘Why is he so fast? Is my house on fire?’
Giselle swept her things into her handbag and went downstairs to open the door, then stopped.
Asure: Hello readers, I hope this is understandable (let me know if not), enjoy, have a nice Sunday.
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Kindly yours, Ananas
Yeah the translation is accurate!
Thank you so much, dear Asure! ❤️