Chapter 8
After Jarvis left, Adrian’s presence suddenly seemed to shrink, and he stammered, offering to walk me home.
He was like an open book, his emotions as transparent as a child’s. I could see it plainly -he was starting to like me, and if this were before, I wouldn’t have hesitated to reject him and make my feelings unmistakably
clear.
But for some reason, today, I didn’t turn him down.
My place wasn’t far–it was within walking distance.
Honestly, Jarvis‘ actions had left me irritated, a knot of frustration tightening in my chest,
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desperate for release.
And Adrian became that perfect outlet.
At that moment, I completely forgot about the broken window effect. Maybe it was his innocent nature that made me open up to him.
When I finished speaking, the street was quiet, the stillness broken only by the sound of our footsteps.
I thought he’d tell me I shouldn’t have pursued him in the first place, maybe scold me for being involved with Jarvis, but he didn’t.
Instead, he smiled, stopped walking, and looked at me seriously, saying, “Congratulations, Ellie. You’ve escaped the scum and are starting a new life.”
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He was congratulating me. For the first time, someone was congratulating me. And yet, I felt this rush of emotion–I realized I longed to hear someone say “congratulations,” not pity me for what had happened.
After that night, Jarvis seemed determined to prove his words true, showing up at the bar every night.
I didn’t acknowledge him. If he wanted to come, he could. But I didn’t believe he’d last long.
When we were first dating, he’d often say that bars were seedy places, and that the day we met, if his friend hadn’t dragged him there, he’d never have stepped foot in such a smoky, chaotic spot.
But now, it had been half a month, and he
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edures
5 Points
still showed up every day.
When he came to the bar, I didn’t react -treating him just like any other regular customer. He didn’t say much either, just quietly sitting there, sipping his fruit wine.
He came every night around 8 PM, which I knew was when his work ended. That meant he came straight here after clocking out.
He stayed until after closing, leaving around 3 AM. Over the past few days, it was clear he was getting less sleep, his exhaustion showing more each time.
I turned down Adrian’s offer to walk me home and walked over to Jarvis, who was sitting alone at the bar.
When he saw me approach, he suddenly straightened up, his eyes lighting up with
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a joyful expression, his voice laced with excitement. “Ellie…”
I ignored his excitement and coldly issued my dismissal. “Don’t come back here again. If you die here, it’s not my responsibility.”
To my surprise, he wasn’t disappointed but even more excited. “Ellie, are you worried about me? It’s okay, I’m fine…”
I couldn’t believe his line of thinking. I wasn’t worried about him; I was genuinely concerned he might drop dead here and cause trouble for my bar, and yet he mistook it for me caring.
Where did his confidence come from?
To avoid him saying something even more ridiculous, I interrupted. “You’re overthinking it. I just want you to leave.”
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Ignoring his gradually fading expression, I packed up and left the bar.
The next day, he didn’t show up, and I wasn’t disappointed–on the contrary, I felt a sense of relief.
The bar was quiet at the start of the day, with only a few customers trickling in. I stood with my back to the bar, polishing glasses while Adrian helped me.
Suddenly, I heard Jarvis’s voice from behind. “Ellie.”
I turned around to see him holding a bright bouquet of red roses, a soft smile on his face.
His aura was calm, almost out of place in the bar. It was the same aura that had made me
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fall for him back then.
But now, seeing him like this, I felt nothing.
“What do you want now?”
I thought he had given
up when he didn’t show up yesterday, but to my surprise, he was back today. I felt a headache coming on.
His expression didn’t change, but his gaze softened with longing. “Ellie, I didn’t come yesterday because I got a tattoo. You said you wanted us to leave marks on each other, and now I have your mark on me.”
Honestly, I didn’t believe he actually got a tattoo.
When we were dating, I secretly got his name tattooed above my heart. When I showed it to him, there was no trace of happiness in
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his eyes.
Instead, his gaze was full of confusion and reproach. “We’re not kids anymore. Don’t you think about the consequences before you do things?”
So, I never dared to suggest he get one too, only saying I wanted us to leave marks on each other.
Jarvis must have noticed my disbelief because he started to pull at his shirt. I quickly stopped him.
Holding the bouquet, he reached for his shirt again, drawing attention from people nearby. I shot Adrian a reassuring glance before pulling Jarvis into the quieter hallway.
“This bouquet–when I passed the flower shop on my way here, I saw it and thought it
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was perfect for you.”
He held the flowers up to me.
I didn’t take them, stepping back a little, my expression distant.
He reached again to pull at his shirt, and this time, I didn’t stop him.
I saw my name, placed exactly where my tattoo was.
How did it make me feel?
The same as when I showed him my tattoo- there was no joy, only disgust in his heart.
“Doing all this won’t make me feel touched. It’ll only make me hate you more.”
“Gianna isn’t bad. Like your friends said, you
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two are a good match. You should go and live your life with her”
