Chapter 9
until the next day that Louis returned|||
He pushed open the door, and the silence of the villa struck him as odd. He didn’t think much of it, assuming Cersei was still upset. Il
I upset. Die went straight upstates|||
“Cersei, are you still upset? I really hand to deal with something at the office last night. To make it up to you, how about dedicate the entire day in you today?”
He pushed open the bedroom door, his explanation hanging in the air.]
The
silence was his only answer.
se only sound was his own breath echoing in the empty space. The bird was neatly made–she wasn’t in 10||
Walking further in, the bathroom was silent inn. Clearly, the wasnt there||
Louis frowned, muttering to himself, “She must be really angry this time if she’s sleeping in another room. ||
He turned and walked out, never noticing what had been placed on the nightstand||
Opening the guest bedroom door, he called tentatively: “Cersei?” ||
No response. She wasp there either.[]
This scene
ne repeated many times. For the first time, Louis fell how enormous the mansion was, with so many rooms.
Violet arrived just as he was pushing open the door to the last room
After yet another disappointment, uneasiness finally began to stir within him.
If Cersei wasn’t home, where could she be?]
He took out his phone and dialed her number. The phone rang for a long time, but until it disconnected mutomatically, there was no answer.
Her avoidance was obvious, but he refused to give up
Until he tried calling again and discovered, to his shock, that she had blocked him
A sense of foreboding rose within him, confirmed when he found himself blocked on every possible contact method.
He burried back to the master bedroom and pulled open the closet. The wardrobe that once held both their clothes now contained only his suits, suggesting the final possibility
Cersel had truly lef
In
n that moment, be could no longer control his panic. Even his hands began to tremble as he mattered. “Impossible, how could this happen. She promised me that und the forgiveness cards were gone, she would never leave me. She can’t break her word
He turned to find the box containing the forgiveness cards, wanting to prove her betrayal.]
But as he turned, he saw it in an unexpected place
The dark wooden box sat quietly on the nightstand, with a document beneath it
His heart told him not to look. It might be something he’d regret sering. But his legs moved on their own, carrying him closer
Getting doser, Louis noticed a sticky note attached to the box. He peeled it off and the words burning into his vision
All one hundred forgiveness cards have been used up. Louis Harris, I once promised that as long as the cards remained, I would stay with you forever. But now, I’m leaving
All our hundred forgiveness cards used up?||
Impossible![]
He stared wide–eyed at the first sentence, instinctively ready to object
He remembered dearly. There were still over sixty cards left. There was no way they could have been used up so quickly||
In disbelief, he opened the wooden box. The once neatly stacked hundred forgiveness cards had all been redured to fragments, confirming the note’s message.
Still, Louis refused to believe it
She must have regretted it and for them up herself. That couldn’t cont
He started counting–calculating how many cards br’d actually used
His memories turned inside out as he started counting from the most recent card
