Chapter 270: He Saw It

Chapter 270: He Saw It

(Daniel POV)

I stood behind a pillar next to the side door in the hall. The position was just right—I could see the lights and figures in the center of the dance floor through the crack in the door, and if I turned my head, I could also see the garden outside through the glass window.

I'd been standing all evening. My legs were already stiff, and even bending my knees made them ache. My fingernails had scratched several shallow marks into the wood grain of the doorframe without me even noticing.

In the garden, light spilled out from the floor-to-ceiling windows, making the stone path look almost white. Chloe stood on her tiptoes, clasped both hands behind Noah's head, and kissed him.

The movement was quick.

I'd seen her many times—in Sophia's hospital room, at cocktail parties, at the mall. She was always that cheerful, sharp-tongued Chloe.

But the moment she stood on her tiptoes, I saw her shoulders trembling. Not from cold, but from nervousness.

Noah didn't dodge, but he didn't respond either. He just stood there, arms hanging at his sides, like someone had hit pause on him.

About three seconds. Chloe let go and stepped back. Her lips were moving, saying something I couldn't make out, but Noah turned and walked toward the hall. Didn't look back, didn't pause, his steps as steady as always.

Chloe stood in the garden, her hand still suspended in mid-air. She shouted something at his retreating figure, her voice loud. Through the glass, I vaguely caught words like "emotionless" and "robot."

Noah's steps slowed for half a beat, but he still didn't turn around.

Chloe's voice rose another notch as she shouted something else. I couldn't hear the content, but her voice was shaking. Not crying, but angry, and hurt too.

I knew that sound too well.

Sophia never shouted at me when she was with the Cooper family, but had she shouted at others? I didn't know. I only knew that when someone is pushed to the point of shouting, it's because nothing else has worked.

Noah's figure disappeared around the garden corner. Chloe's hand slowly lowered, clenched into a fist.

Then she froze completely—Noah was standing at the garden entrance, reaching out his hand.

I didn't know how long he'd been standing there. Chloe crouched down, burying her face in her hands.

Noah bent down, put his arm around her shoulder, and led her toward the hall.

I looked away, back toward the dance floor. My eyes felt a bit sore, not because of that scene, but because I'd been standing too long.

William stood in front of Sophia, extending his right hand. Sophia placed her hand in his, and the two began to move.

William's steps were steady, his lead gentle. Her skirt swayed softly in the light, her hair draped over both shoulders, and the pearl hairpin tucked behind her ear caught the warm yellow light for a moment.

She smiled.

Very soft, very faint, but a real smile.

In three years of marriage, she never smiled at me like that. She only had one expression for me—head down, speaking softly, like a rabbit ready to run at any moment. It wasn't that she couldn't smile, it was that she didn't dare smile around me.

I'd tried many times to remember what her smile looked like. In the kitchen, with her back to me cutting vegetables, I didn't know if she was smiling. Across the dinner table, head down eating, I didn't know if she was smiling. In the bedroom, lying with her back to me, I didn't know if she was crying.

Now I knew. When she smiled, there was a very faint dimple in her left cheek. No one told me this—I saw it myself. Through a crack in the door, across an entire evening, I saw it.

The song ended. People in the dance floor began to disperse. Sophia released William's hand and stepped back. She turned, preparing to walk toward Noah.

The instant she turned, her gaze swept across the edge of the hall. Swept past the crowd, past the lights, past the side door where I stood.

Her steps stopped for less than a second.

Her gaze landed on my face, very briefly—so brief that if I hadn't been watching her the whole time, I wouldn't have noticed at all.

But her expression didn't change, and her eyes didn't linger. Just that one second—she saw me.

Something inside me turned over.

Not pain, but that kind of panic when something is turned over before you can close it back up. I wanted to hide, but my body didn't move. Not that I didn't want to move—I couldn't. I'd been standing too long. My legs were numb.

William followed her line of sight toward me.

I stepped back into the shadows.

Sophia looked away, turned to William, and shook her head. William looked into her eyes, his lips moving slightly. She answered him, her expression calm. William nodded.

They stopped looking this way. Sophia walked toward Noah, William toward the dessert table.

A new couple entered the dance floor, and the music started again. No one looked at the side door anymore.

No one.

On the other side of the hall, Henry slowly stood up, supporting himself on the armrest. Luke quickly moved to help him. He walked in my direction, not fast, but each step planted firmly.

When he reached me, I was still watching the dance floor. Sophia had already reached Chloe's side, and the two were talking and laughing.

"Daniel."

I snapped back to attention and saw Grandpa. My body stiffened.

"Grandpa."