My Beloved, Whom I Desire to Kill - 247
His feigned smile vanished, and his eyes widened. As expected, the scoundrel wouldn’t take a beating lying down. He snatched Giselle’s swinging hand, wrapped his other arm around her waist, and pulled her close.
—We should finish our dance.
—What dance? The waltz you interrupted a long time ago?
—Ah… So you were thinking about our first meeting, too?
He answered with a shameless grin, but a crack in his thick skin revealed his true feelings. He had brought up Giselle’s past mistake of slapping him in a fit of rage and then regretting it—I thought he was looking for a fight, but Lorenz immediately backed down.
—The girl who used to get tangled in her own dress and fall after getting caught up in a man’s pace is all grown up now and bosses me around. I’m so proud.
You must be joking. I haven’t even started yet.
—Oh my, are those two fighting?
—Don’t make eye contact, darling.
The couples around them, who had no idea the partners had switched, glanced over and whispered, having sensed the sudden change in atmosphere. Giselle grabbed the hand Lorenz was holding and, instead of pulling away, pulled him toward her and led him off the dance floor. As soon as they sat down at a table, she ordered the man who had pulled his chair up next to hers.
—Order a drink.
He was all smiles, not being told to give her date back or that she was going home, and he called for a waiter.
—Whiskey?
—No, beer.
I need to stay sober. I’ll wait and see what this guy does. My next move will depend on him.
To be honest, I had been waiting for the moment Lorenz would appear. People become more anxious the quieter things are, especially when the situation should be anything but quiet. I couldn’t tell what kind of sinister scheme he had up his sleeve.
The reason I couldn’t trust Edwin Eccleston’s love was partly because Lorenz had been suspiciously quiet. Before Sunday, the man had come over every other day with the excuse of needing a cigarette, but since that day, he had only called. And those calls were nothing but pointless small talk and a simple ‘good night’ before he hung up. It wasn’t like Lorenz at all.
Could it be that he finally figured out how to mimic the true owner’s gaze and was now so mentally drained from pretending to be Edwin Eccleston in love with me that he couldn’t show up?
Such a suspicion was unavoidable.
But now that I was facing him again, the doubt vanished like a fog in the sun. If Lorenz was truly good at courtship and could already control Giselle’s heart, he would have done so in his own name a long time ago. Why would he give all the credit to another man, a fierce rival and lifelong enemy whom he hated to death?
The fact that he had only managed to provoke Giselle’s anger as soon as he appeared showed that he was terrible at seducing women.
Like the impulsive person he was, he had acted on a whim. The way he immediately backed down and started acting coy when Giselle retaliated made his calculations clear. Lorenz knew that if he broke Giselle’s heart again, he wouldn’t get the love he wanted. So why would he repeat his past transgressions?
Which means…
Edwin Eccleston really does love me.
Lorenz, in the middle of ordering, looked at Giselle with a puzzled expression as she smiled to herself, having confirmed his love through another man. He was quick to realize that her smile wasn’t for him, and annoyance was evident in his eyes. As soon as the waiter left, he, as expected, demanded to know.
—What made you so happy you smiled like that?
—Your stupidity brings me joy.
He drooped his eyebrows like a sad puppy. He pulled Giselle into an embrace from behind as if begging and started nuzzling her neck as if he were a dog.
—I’m sorry, pretty girl. I was just jealous.
I wondered why Lorenz had finally broken his resolve after days of patience, and why he was so quick to dig his own grave and attempt suicide as soon as he showed up. The answer was jealousy.
He must have been burning with jealousy on Sunday as he watched from afar. But his interests were aligned with the body’s owner, so he must have held back, not wanting to mess things up. His polite ‘good night’ calls were surely a result of him trying to remind her of his existence while also trying to give the impression of being a generous man.
He was probably jealous on Monday as well, but had no choice but to remain silent because the conversation had turned to a topic that put him at a disadvantage. If he had shown up then, Giselle would have only accused him of being an impostor, and his score would have been lowered.
So he waited for a day when he wouldn’t be on the chopping block to appear.
And in the middle of a date, no less. If he had shown up from the beginning, it was obvious that Giselle would have protested and refused to leave the house until her real date was returned.
So how twisted must he have felt, watching Giselle smile at another man while he had been holding back and holding back? He couldn’t stand her smiling at his rival more than he could stand her cursing at him, so he burst out and ruined days of effort.
—You’re so foolish.
—You are, too.
—…Say that again.
—Natalia Rudnik, you’re foolish. Why are you so quick to love the bastard who hurt you again?
—I don’t love him, you know?
After I drew a firm line, he laughed, his breath tickling my neck.
—You’re doing great. Date him, but don’t love him.
Giselle pushed Lorenz away with her elbow and glared at him. He had started to brush his lips against her skin even though her words—that she didn’t love Edwin Eccleston yet—didn’t mean she loved him either.
—Who are you to tell me what to do?
—Because I’m the only man who truly loves you.
—Excuse me. Do they hire clowns at clubs these days? You’re not funny at all. Will you please go away?
—Cutie, it might sound like a sophism, but think about it carefully. I’ve loved you consistently since you were that clumsy and flawed person.
‘Who do you think made me clumsy and flawed?’ I turned from the waiter, whom I’d been smiling at, to glare at the man next to me, but the shameless jerk shooed the waiter away and poured the beer himself, continuing his specious argument that only he truly cared for Giselle.
—On the other hand, Edwin Eccleston didn’t even treat the naive and flawed you like a woman. Then, you came back as a cool and charming adult, and all the other guys started to rave about you, so he’s suddenly like, ‘I’ll take her.’ Giselle, ‘I love you.’ Isn’t he fickle?
—Well… it’s true I wasn’t very womanly back then, but he does seem a little fickle.
Lorenz’s lips curled upward. He was going to show this memory to the body’s owner. I was actually being honest for that very reason. I was curious to see how Edwin Eccleston would explain himself. The idiot, who had no idea of my true intentions, got excited and continued to slander his rival relentlessly.
—That bastard doesn’t actually love you like a woman.
—Then what?
—He’s just afraid of losing the child he raised forever. Your old man still hasn’t learned to stand on his own two feet. He was so lonely without you, who was as close to him as a daughter, that he even deceived himself into thinking he loved you like a woman.
He claimed that the core of Edwin Eccleston’s love hadn’t changed at all from the time he proposed without love, and that Giselle was being deceived.
—Do you have any evidence?
—I can watch all of his thoughts.
—Oh, yeah? Then when did you first realize that man saw me as a woman?
—From the beginning.
—And when was that?
Lorenz’s eyes narrowed.
—Why would I help that bastard’s love life?
He was too sharp for his own good, immediately catching on that I was trying to pry information about Edwin Eccleston out of him.
—My dear Natalia, you know I only help you, right? Your old man is a con man who even deceives himself, so trust me and be careful.
—Like you?
—No, even more cunning and shameless than me.
Pfft. Giselle laughed, stopping mid-sip of her beer.
—Lorenz, if you want me to believe a word you’re saying, shouldn’t you have built up my trust in you first?
—Have I lost your trust recently? I’ve only been doing things to earn it, so why haven’t you built up your trust here?
The hand that was stroking her back slid up along her spine and then tapped the spot where her heart would be. Giselle rested her chin on her hand and leaned her face toward him.
—You finally confessed.
—Confessed what?
—That all the times you’ve been so helpful and kind to me were not from the heart, but a calculated move to put me in your debt, thinking ahead.
He had shown a changed side of himself and had even done her a kindness by personally recruiting a spy for her. I thought he had finally grown up, but it was nothing more than the sinister charity of a loan shark.
—Now is it your turn to demand my heart and body, with interest?
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