CHAPTER 47

Since Iris left that day, she had not returned, since she was supposed to be one of the teacher’s appointed leaders due to her membership in the student council.

We did, however, exchange phone numbers.

I awoke at noon. Iris and I had a lengthy conversation last night, and it took me a while to wake up. I groaned sleepily while waiting for the food to be served; I was the only one at the table because mom and Sev were already done. Mom wanted to accompany me while eating but I refused. She was already finished, and hence was not required to accompany me. She was now with Auntie Nena; I had no idea where they went.

I was zoning out while eating, and despite th that I had slept for an extended period of time, I couldn’t shake the sleepy feeling. Without my plants, I was not sure I would have gotten up yet.

“You’ve already showered, but you still look drowsy; why don’t you sleep again? You look like a zombie.” I raised my eyes to Seven, who had just entered. Surprisingly, he did not have a book in his hand. He had done nothing but read since we arrived in this province. He was not even enjoying the view outside. He walked up to my seat and removed the fork from my grasp. He pierced it with bacon and proceeded to consume it.

“You’ve already eaten, but you continue to eat like a hungry kitten. Why don’t you eat again? You look like a beggar,” I responded irritably. He rolled his eyes and drank the milk beside me, seeming unconcerned about what I was saying.

“Your plants and flowers have not been watered yet; they may die if you continue to stare at your food and refuse to hurry,” he stated and walked away. As I saw him leaving the dining area, my jaw dropped. Was he here solely to annoy me?

I ate the remaining food with frowned forehead. Despite that I knew he was joking, I was nonetheless terrified. It was not impossible for my plants to perish if they were not hydrated; the majority of them were quite sensitive.

After eating, I wasted no time and immediately went to the garden, despite that I was still drowsy.

I was casually strolling around the flowers area, oblivious to the students that were staring at me. Many of them were photographing the flowers, while others were testing the horses in the adjacent field.

“Aurie!” Iris called upon seeing me. She was taking photographs near a glasshouse. I came to a halt as she neared.

“Why?” I asked. She was looking at me as if she were unfamiliar with the type of garment I was wearing. It was a long, long-sleeved dress that extended all the way to the end of my legs; it was the one I frequently wore at home.

“What a lovely lady; with that look, it’s evident that you’re the owner of this entire area. Where are you going?”

“My garden; I need to water my plants,” I indicated the garden, which was enclosed by a fence and trees. There was a small gate there; perhaps the gardener closed it yesterday.

“With that dress?” she asked, pointing to everything I was wearing from head to toe. She was staring at me as if I were some sort of criminal. Probably because she disapproved of the thought of me gardening in this. I smiled and nodded, examining my outfit as well. Maybe she was concerned that I would smear it with dirt. Personally, I disliked wearing this type of dress when gardening because it became dirty quickly and was difficult to clean. But I was not too clumsy, so I was confident it wouldn’t become dirty.

“Yes, with this clothing. I’m not going to dig the ground; I’m just going to water my plants. What are you doing, by the way? “ I simply peered behind her to see where her classmates were. The third batch was inside the glasshouses, while the remainder of the students were dispersed around.

“Uh, I’m looking after our schoolmates. Our adviser is ill; perhaps we’ll extend our stay here for one to two days if the final batch is unable to do a test.”

“Oh, I suppose you should leave then; maybe I’m already bothering you.”

“Of course not,” she replied. “But you’re right; I believe I really do need to leave. We’ll catch up later.” She kissed my cheek before running away. I even saw her tending to her scattered classmates before averting my gaze.

I looked around the area. I bit my lip when my sight latched on Pierre. When he peered at me from head to toe, it felt as if a few volts of electricity were coursing through my body. He was alone and wasn’t with Alyssa. He was staring at me so intently that I was not surprised he could see my soul.

Shouldn’t he also be looking after the students? To my knowledge, he was the student council’s president. I shook my head and entered the garden immediately. My lips immediately curled into a smile when I saw the elegance of the arrangement of my plants inside. Although I was not the one who grew the other flowers, I was glad to have them in my collection. I never imagined myself to be insane with plants like this; I had no interest in gardening before because my whole mind was purely devoted on cheering.

My father, on the other hand, was a huge plant lover; he created our lovely garden at home, which was still thriving till now. Our butler looked after it well.

I spent the next several minutes watering the plant. I was not going to dig the soil or plant anything right now due to the cloth I was wearing. Additionally, I didn’t have any seeds with me right now. I was still waiting for Jo to return; I asked her if she might buy some seeds for me that weren’t available in this house earlier. I was unaware that manang Lydia had only given me a few varieties of seeds last week. There were only three types, but there were many in each.

“Hello, Aurie!” I nearly leapt in fear when I heard a voice. I instantly looked for the source of the sound.

Alyssa was standing in front of my yard gate.

Who said she was permitted to come here? Alyssa was nice, to be sure. However, I disliked her. Was this envy? Insecurity? I was not sure. It was infuriating to think that everyone thought she was nice, but here I was, unable to like her no matter how hard I tried.

“Hello,” I said silently, almost in a whisper. Even though I didn’t like her, I still needed to be polite. She didn’t treat me badly, therefore I shouldn’t either.

“May I enter?” she asked, smiling. Despite my hesitation, I nodded. She enthusiastically opened the gate and entered my garden. She approached the first flower she saw and touched it. I suddenly wanted to kick her out of my garden. The petals of that flower were so sensitive that they might break if you were not careful.

“Wow, what a lovely flower here! Did you plant it all?” She marveled at the flowers, which appeared to be the most lovely she had ever seen in this place.

Was this her first time seeing that kind of flower? Why else would she enter this place? Everything I had here inside, they also had it outside. There were even other color of that flower outside, making it impossible for her not to have seen that one.

“Uh, no. My plants haven’t grown yet.” She remained silent and examined the plants once again. The silence was overwhelming; she was just standing right infront of me but didn’t even utter a word.

“I heard you and Pierre broke up.” I was taken aback when I finally heard her voice. I looked at her, but her gaze remained fixed on the flower. She was smiling, and if you looked closely, it appeared as though she was pleased with the news. To be honest, it was quite common for someone who likes someone to feel that. They were unhappy when the person they desired was in a relationship and delighted when the relationship ended.

Psh, even if Pierre and I had already broken up, she had no chance since if Pierre truly wanted her, they should have been together for a long time.

“Then you two crossed paths again. Were you planning this?” She regarded me with a frown. For a little while, I was unable to respond. What?

“What do you mean?” Was she saying I came here because Pierre was here as well? That even if I was the one who wished to end the relationship, I was still here, seeking for attention? To be honest, I was not even aware they were coming. If I knew, I would prefer to stay at our house in the city.

“You did plan everything, didn’t you? Whenever Pierre came close to me, you frequently came. To begin, we were close when you transferred to our school, but you flirted with him. Second was in his condo that day; we were ready to go for a walk when you came and ruin everything. Then I considered this to be our date, but you’re still here! What do you truly want? Aren’t you the one who wanted the breakup?!” Her emotions erupted in an instant. Her eyes were so red that it appeared as if she was fighting back tears with everything she had. She appeared to be hesitant to hit me, as her fist was clearly clenched for a while now.

“What are you trying to say? Are you serious?” I let go of the watering can and crossed my arms in front of my chest.

I ended my relationship with Pierre because I didn’t want him to have a reason to approach me. Nothing else.

“Isn’t that true? You purposefully went to wherever he was!” She screamed out. I was not sure if anyone heard us due to her loud voice. I wouldn’t be shocked if a few minutes more, we would finally have an audience.

“Excuse me? Were you not the ones who came here? Yes, I ended our relationship. However, that is because I no longer wish to see or speak with him! Who’s a fool to quit a relationship and then seek attention? Oh my gosh, Alyssa, it’s not my fault if we own this land. It’s not my fault that no matter how hard you try to win Pierre’s heart, he won’t accept you. Now, what are you trying to say? That I want his attention? I haven’t spoken to him since all of you arrived. What are you sobbing for?”

“You’re simply—”

“Aly.”

She came to a halt as she heard a baritone voice from the gate. I bit my lip when Pierre’s stare latched on mine. A few seconds later when he diverted his eyes and looked at the woman infront of me. It was as if something in my chest twitched when I saw how he stared at her.

Were they together? Already?

“Pierre...” Aly’s voice trembled as she stated that. She appeared to be aware that she could be scolded at any time.

“Let’s go.” Pierre said nothing further, and Alyssa quickly obliged. I forced myself to remain silent when I saw Pierre wrapping his arms around Aly as they walked away.

I should be happy, right? I should be, as Pierre had already found his girl. I should be relieved since he would be fine once I left this world.

My hands trembled as I put back the watering can I had previously used. Fortunately, I watered everything prior to Pierre’s arrival, as I doubt I wouldn’t be be able to continue doing so after what I saw.

Despite that I was aware that there were still a large number of people outside, I exited the garden. It was not that I was afraid of them; I simply didn’t want to hear their chatter.

“Ah,” I murmured when someone bumped me. My chest trembled at the possibility of it being one of the tourists. I was still not thinking clearly, and if he yelled at me for zoning out, I would just cry in front of him.

“Are you all right?” I was relieved to hear Seven speak in a calm tone. My eyes glistened as I raised my eyes and shook my head quickly.

“No, I don’t believe I am.” My knees trembled as I touched his cloth. I was not in pain, but I think I was about to pass out.

“What happened?” He asked once more. It was almost as if a trigger, as it caused my tears to flow.

“I think Aly and Pierre are together...already? I’m not sure.” I was not sure whether what I was saying right now was still right. Seven sighed deeply before wrapping his arms around my waist. I was extremely appreciative when he did that because I felt that I was gonna fall at any point.

“We can’t go back to the manor in this state, Aurie. If mama Aliana sees you this way, she may still understand, but if it’s Auntie Nena, she may immediately expel your classmates. We cannot return till you’re okay.” He spoke to me in hushed tones. I did not respond. I didn’t care where he would take me; all I wanted to do was to get out of here.

I was zoning out when Sev began walking alongside me. He was still gripping my waist, most likely because he was aware of my shaky knees.

I bowed my head as we passed Pierre. I didn’t even give him a single glance.

I only lifted my heard when Seven and I arrived at a gazebo. Because we were the only ones there, the atmosphere was serene; I was relieved.

“You should prepare yourself for this, Aurie. You can’t keep crying every time you see him with someone else. You fell in love with him even knowing that you’d be leaving soon. It’s all about choices. If you just remained away from him, you wouldn’t have this problem today,” he preached to me. My tears began to flow once more. He was right. This one was entirely my fault. Pierre was completely unaware of my condition; he was completely innocent of all of this. Given that I was the one who knew what would happen in the end, I must have avoided him.

What Seven stated was entirely accurate, but it was excruciating to listen to.

I felt Seven’s arms around me in the midst of my heavy sobbing. He drew me close so that I could cry on his chest.

“My poor princess, I apologize for arriving too late; I could’ve protected you with that fucking love.” He stroked my hair with his fingers. It made me closed my eyes because of the tickling feeling.

This was the first time I felt Seven’s sweet side; I wasn’t sure if I was dreaming or not. If this was a dream, I hoped I wouldn’t wake up that fast. It was quite comforting to have someone to lean on during times of difficulty. Seven might not be my best buddy, but I was happy to call him my only sibling. I was hurt by what I saw earlier, but I was glad for Seven’s comforting me now as if I were his biological sister.