My Cold-Hearted Husband Wants Me Back
Chapter 186: Easy Thing To Miss

Chapter 186: Easy Thing To Miss

The name echoed in her mind.

Of course she knew Seraphine.

They’d met twice, once when she was taking her place as a model for the campaign of Eryx’s company and once again when she was waiting at the lobby for Eryx, the same day of her mother’s death.

She had been polite, lovely even, with a soft voice and an elegance Lunara couldn’t quite match. But Lunara had never felt threatened. Not really. Not until now.

Because Eryx had denied it.

He had told her that he only agreed to the idea of marriage once, out of desperation when his mother threatened to block his custody over Mila. He had said it wasn’t love, that it wasn’t real. Just a solution. Lunara had believed him.

She looked down at the letter still in her hand. Her grip on the paper had tightened without realizing. Her chest felt hot and hollow at the same time.

A sound from downstairs broke through the fog.

Footsteps. Slow and unhurried.

Eryx stepped into the room, rolling his sleeves up casually as he leaned against the doorway. "What are you doing?" he asked, his voice gentle, unaware of what she held.

Lunara didn’t answer right away. Perhaps she didn’t even hear it, too occupied to hear anything at that moment.

Eryx’s steps were soft against the wooden floor as he crossed the room toward her. He looked tired but calm, as if nothing in the world had shifted. As if everything was still just the same.

But Lunara wasn’t the same.

Not anymore.

She stood perfectly still, the letter held just behind her thigh now, fingers still wrapped around the fragile paper like it might burn through her skin.

Eryx came to stand behind her and, with a quiet hum, slid his arms around her waist. He rested his head gently on her shoulder, the weight familiar, comforting. "You looked deep in thought," he murmured, his lips brushing just behind her ear. "Did something happen?"

Still, she said nothing. Her heart was thudding too loudly in her chest, her mind spinning too fast. The paper in her hand trembled slightly.

"Hey...what happened? Are you okay?" Eryx, who started getting the bad feeling, gently turned Lunara to face him.

Lunara’s eyes were red as she met him. Her lips slightly pale as they were trembling.

Eryx’s brows drew together instantly, the calmness draining from his face. "Lunara..." His voice softened, careful now, but edged with worry. His hand cupped her cheek, thumb brushing just beneath her eye.

She didn’t pull away.

She didn’t move at all.

Slowly, her fingers uncurled, and the letter slipped forward between them. Eryx followed the motion, and his gaze dropped.

He froze.

For a second, he said nothing. Just stared at the familiar handwriting. At his own words staring back at him from the page.

Then his eyes lifted, meeting hers again. "Where did you find this?"

She blinked, once. Her voice was barely audible. "Drawer. It wasn’t closed properly."

He looked away for a heartbeat, jaw tightening. "Lunara, that letter...it’s old. I didn’t even know it was still in there."

Her throat bobbed. "You were going to marry her?"

His silence stretched too long.

"I thought you said—" Her voice cracked before she could finish.

"I know," Eryx cut in, regret beginning to flood his expression. "I told you it was only desperation. And that’s true. But I wrote that letter before any of that. Before I realized..."

He stepped closer, voice quiet, sincere. "...before I realized it wasn’t her I wanted a life with."

Lunara didn’t speak. Her expression remained unreadable, as if she was still trying to catch up with her own thoughts.

Eryx exhaled slowly, pressing his palm to his forehead for a brief moment. "Lunara... I wrote that letter years ago. Back when I didn’t understand myself. Back when I thought needing someone meant I loved them."

Her silence stretched between them like a canyon.

Lunara suddenly turned, walking past him without a word. Her steps were uneven, aimless, like she wasn’t even sure where she was going, only that she couldn’t stay still.

Eryx reached out, stopping her gently with a hand on her arm. "Hey..." His voice dropped, quiet and steady. "Listen, I know what’s on your mind at this moment, but please... hear me first."

She didn’t pull away. But she didn’t look at him either. Her eyes were fixed somewhere on the floor, her brows knit, her breathing shallow.

"I should have told you," he said. "There’s no excuse for hiding it. I just... I never thought it would matter anymore. That part of my life... It’s like dust. Forgotten, even by me."

She turned to him slowly, her voice hushed, almost numb. "Then why did you keep it?"

He hesitated, guilt flashing across his face. "Just... when it happened, I threw it there and forgot. I swear." His voice cracked slightly, more from the weight of the moment than anything else.

"It didn’t feel like something you forgot," Lunara said quietly, her fingers tightening around the edge of her sleeve. "It felt kept."

"I wasn’t trying to keep secrets," Eryx said, stepping a little closer. "That letter... it wasn’t meant to survive this long. I never mailed it, never gave it to her. Because even back then, some part of me knew it wasn’t right. I confused needing someone with loving them. I was falling apart and Seraphine... she was just there."

Lunara bit her lip, her voice barely a whisper. "But you wrote those words for her. A life. A forever."

He reached out, not touching her yet, just letting his hand hover beside hers. "I did. And I meant them. Back then. But I didn’t even understand what those words meant until I met you."

She blinked, her eyes glossy. "Don’t say that just to fix this."

"I’m not," he said, his voice firm now. "You know me better than that. I don’t do sweet talk. I mess up. I’m blunt. But I’m not a liar."

Silence stretched again, heavy with all the words they didn’t know how to say.

Then Lunara broke it with a scoff. "Yeah, you didn’t lie." Her words dripped with sarcasm, her smile twisted and sharp. "You just forgot to mention the part where you wrote a proposal letter to someone else. Easy thing to miss, I guess."