Wife of The Demon Prince
Chapter 332: Another goodbye

Chapter 332: Another goodbye

After Anne and Merek finished eating dinner they headed to their respective rooms, unfortunately, the two were headed in the same direction, so they walked side-by-side in the corridors. Meanwhile, Anne inwardly thanked the universe for this small accident.

The pair’s footsteps echoed in the hall, she listened to the sound and slowed down a little more. She wished that this path was longer.

Pitter patter!

A soft patter echoed against the window and Anne turned towards the sound. Little drops of rain was starting to fall outside, and she unintentionally let out a murmur as she witnessed the scene,

"Oh, it’s raining."

Merek, who was walking next to her paused and looked towards the window. The rain fell down steadily from the sky, hitting the huge window as well, "Yes, it is raining."

There was a note of melancholy in his tone, and Anne gave a faint smile. Merek was the same as he ever was. He was like that when they went on a picnic together on the mountainside, he showed little interest in nature’s landscape.

But Anne was greedy to show him what she liked, she believed that scenes from nature made people feel relieved from all their sadness, and she wanted to crack Merek’s shell a bit. Of course, her feelings for him had not changed.

Merek muttered softly, "it’s spring again."

Anne nodded her head and began to walk forward again. However, Merek shagged off his coat and dropped it over her slender shoulder.

Anne’s footsteps suddenly came to a halt as she felt the warmth over her shoulders, his jacket was so warm, his body heat soaked deep into her skin as well as her pounding heart...

She slowly looked up at Merek, and he spoke in his neutral low voice, "The weather is getting cold, you might catch a cold in your thin clothing. So be careful."

Why? Anne felt like tears would burst from her at any moment. This wasn’t a new feeling, but she rediscovered it all over again. Merek was a man who could make any moment special. His act of meaningless kindness made her as happy as if she was on top of the world. She was so happy at this moment and sad at the same time.

Anne managed to force a weak smile, "...Thank you."

A complex expression crossed her face, and Merek looked at her with a tender expression she’d never noticed on his face before, but she missed the chance to ask him when he started walking forward again.

The pair continued their silent stroll, until they finally reached the guests room where Merek would stay overnight. However, as they approached, Anne noticed one of Merek’s men pacing impatiently outside the guests room door, on seeing them, he exclaimed,

"You’re finally here, my Lord!" He quickly approached them halfway.

"Why are you here?" Merek asked.

"We have to return to Findara immediately. Sire Olivier just sent this." He held out a letter, then said, "I think it’s about princess Hara again. She only listens to you and her majesty, they need you to tame her behavior again."

Merek took the letter and skimmed through the contents before he gave a nod of his head, "Very well, tell everyone to pack immediately, we will leave right now."

"...!" Anne’s eyes rounded at Merek’s unexpected decision, she’d thought he would stay at least one night. He was supposed to sleep in the mansion, and then tomorrow she would make him some chicken soup. But her wish was shattered.

"Do you really have to leave right now?" She asked.

"Yes, I need to return as soon as possible. It’s an order from the queen."

"Oh..." Her blue eyes turned down cast.

In the meantime, the man who’d reported the news had already disappeared from their sight to inform the rest to pack. Merek opened the door to the room assigned to him, where his luggage still remained unopened. He didn’t need to pack like everyone else.

Merek walked back out of the room with his luggage in hand, and turned to Anne who was standing by the door with a blank expression, he then said, "Let me see you to your room first before I leave."

Anne’s mouth was bursting with so many things to say, she wanted to stay with him a little longer, she wanted to keep him here with her if she could. But in the end, the word that left her mouth was a simple, "All right."

The road that Anne hoped was long, soon came to an end. It almost made her angry when they arrived at her room’s door. Merek gave a small polite bow, "Thank you for accommodating us, and also thanks for the wonderful dinner."

"You’re welcome..." She trailed off, then called when Merek turned to leave, "Merek, take care of yourself."

"You too, lady Anne. Goodnight." Merek said before he turned and started to walk away from her.

Anne had yet to decide how to say goodbye to him. She was at a loss at what to do at the sudden separation, and Merek had already sharply turned from her. As she looked at his cold back, she pressed her lips together to hold back the tears and sob that threatened to escape her mouth.

’When will I ever see you again?’ This was what she wanted to ask, ’Have you already forgotten about my love for you?’

She was still in love with him despite the time that had passed, she was still waiting for him. There were so many words that she wanted to say, but they all jammed at her mouth that in the end, she could not say a single one.

She was afraid of his rejection again, she was afraid she’d come as a burden to him... And, like before she was afraid to hold on to him in fear of holding him back. As a woman who was in love with him, she didn’t want to bring any more harm nor burdens upon him.

However, she could not suppress the desire to want to be with him.

"Merek..." She called softly as eventually a cry broke out from her lips. But that was only after Merek had completely disappeared did Anne finally call and slipped down on the cold floor and cried as much as she wanted.

The feeling of a broken heart was the same as before, even after all the years it hurt to the point of desiring death. "Ahh, I don’t want to feel this way anymore." She couldn’t even wipe the tears that flowed shamelessly from her eyes.

However, She suddenly heard a voice from above her head, "Here, take this."

Anne’s heart leapt at the sudden voice, then through her blurry vision, she saw a neat handkerchief in front of her. She looked up and saw the person who was handing her the handkerchief. As soon as she identified who it was, her eyes slightly widened in astonishment to the extent she could not remember the reason she was crying in the first place.

The person was none other than Merek, who had just left a minute ago. She’d thought he had gone completely, so she could not understand why he was in front of her again all of a sudden.

Did he perhaps forget something in the room? She thought as she stared at the handkerchief he handed her blankly, with tears smudged on her face.

Merek crouched down as he said, "Lady Anne, I want to ask a question." His black orbs bored into her blue ones, he then asked, "Are you crying because of me?"

A final tear slipped from Anne’s eyes as they widened in wonderment.

"Why are you...?" Despite Anne’s puzzled expression, Merek only repeated his words, "Please answer me, were you crying because of me?"

Of course it was because of him, she was crying because she despaired to see him leave her again. But Anne could not bring herself to answer honestly. Merek might move further away from her if he knew her real feelings, so she slowly shook her head,

"No, I am not crying because of you. I remember a memory of my pet cat who died here in this corridor last year, so it made me cry..." She lied between her front teeth.

"You can curse at me or even hit me, lady Anne, but please be honest with me." Merek said softly.

"That’s the truth, why should I even cry because of you?"

Merek scoffed, "You want me to believe that you’re crying because of your pet?"

"I don’t care if you believe it or not. Please don’t mind me, you may leave."

Anne knew she was making a ridiculous excuse, but she couldn’t step back, if he discovered the foolish feelings she had harbored towards him for four years, he really might not want to even see her again and avoid her like he used to do before.

But that too made her sad. Nothing hurts more than never being able to see the person you love. Even if her heart was shredded into a thousand or ten thousand pieces...she would still love him.

Merek gazed at Anne for a moment before he sighed deeply, "Come here." Since she wasn’t taking the handkerchief he offered her, he raised his hand and wiped away the tears on her face. Although Merek’s touch was meant to console her, Anne’s eyes overflowed again, but she bit hard on her lips to swallow them back. No matter what happened, she could not cry in front of him. Her efforts was so hard that her lip started to bleed.

Merek spoke again in a soft voice, "The Anne I knew before used to be honest with her feelings...why are you hiding them now?"

"People change." She said sternly.

"Very well then, I’ll let myself hold on to the memories of the Anne I used to know in the past. The honest Anne." He muttered.

It was as if he was implying that the Anne of the past was better than the one now. A sense of unfairness bubbled up inside her. Was that true? It was as if her heart was being squeezed, she felt bitter as she cowardly tried to understood what changed about her.

"If I were still the same Anne you used to know, and I was being honest and told you that I was crying because of you, what are you going to do about it?" She asked softly, and the hand that was wiping away her tears with the handkerchief suddenly stopped. Merek seemed to find it difficult to look into her eyes now, so she smiled vaguely and said,

"You see, that’s why you shouldn’t have asked me to be honest." She spoke firmly in conclusion, and Merek lifted his gaze to meet hers, he then said, "You’re mistaken, that’s not the point."

"That’s the point, Merek. I Know you never liked me in the past, I was that senseless naive girl who followed you around and burdened you. I’ll understand if you don’t like me up till now, I_"

"Who said I don’t like you?"