Chapter 132
Back when I was just a tiny tot, Richard took me by the hand and we lined up to get some beautiful clothes. Then we headed back to our rooms to change and see if they fit.
It was the first time I ever wore a pretty pink princess dress. Struggling with the zipper, I ran out yelling, “Richard, help me with the zipper!” But Richard was nowhere to be found. Instead, I stumbled upon a boy sitting in the corner, drawing on the ground with a rock. Wearing a sharp suit, his pale, clean–shaven face was offset by slightly tousled hair, giving him a somewhat sad appearance.}
He walked over, zipped up my dress, and then returned to his spot to continue drawing with his rock.
The scene was so out of place with his expensive–looking suit.
He drew a heart, then added a scar across it.
Driven by curiosity, I approached him and asked, “Is your heart unhappy?“}
He glanced at me, perhaps amused by my childlike innocence, and merely hummed in response.
Then, I offered him a candy, saying, “Candy can make you happy.“>
He didn’t take the candy from me, so I stuffed it into his pocket instead. Then, picking up a rock, I drew a doctor holding a scalpel beside his heart and said, “One day, I want to be a heart surgeon so I can cure people with heart problems.“}
A small smile played on his lips, a rare break from his usual indifference. That smile, that slight curl of his lips, seemed strangely familiar.
He asked, “Will I see you again?“}
And then the dream shifted…
The director, whom I started calling ‘Mom‘, hugged me and cried, “From now on, I’m your mom, Claire. You’ll always be my child.“}
At not even ten years old, I didn’t fully grasp what she meant. Soon after, lots of reporters came, and then a sour–faced older boy took me by the hand, saying he’d be my guardian from now on, that my parents had died.
His mother would be my mother from that day forward.
Only later did I learn that my parents had died protecting that sour–faced boy.”
But he was always haunted by nightmares of the accident, and it was me who comforted him. Gradually, I grew accustomed to him being around, and he was good to me.
I thought it was the beginning of young love, but then his first love schemed against me.
I was betrayed and felt an indescribable pain engulf me.}
“Don’t touch me…“>
“Save me…”
“Save my child…“}
The deepest pain I’ve ever felt hammered in my head, making me cry out.”
I felt someone holding me tightly, whispering, “Wake up and I’ll give you candy, and the pain will go away.“}
I tried to open my eyes to see who it was, but my eyelids were too heavy to lift.
However, when I woke up again, there was a box of colorful candies on the bedside table, glowing in the sunlight streaming in. It felt like redemption, as if in a dream, I had somehow redeemed the boy in the suit.
I should be radiant with happiness, right? I shouldn’t dwell on the past.}
“Feeling better?” It was the voice from my dream. I looked up to see Max sitting on the edge of my bed, peeling an apple for me.
Seeing me awake, he set the apple aside and raised my bed so I could eat the apple.}
“Max, have you ever been to the orphanage on the outskirts of town? You said you had no family.“W
A flicker of emotion crossed his usually impassive face, but he didn’t answer.
