Theron raised an eyebrow.
“What call?”
“From Hadley Hospital.”
At the mention of Hadley Hospital, Theron’s expression subtly hardened.
“The operator took the call as you were out, sir. She said your wife’s seizures have been getting worse lately. Shall I tell them when you’ll be visiting?”
Theron felt the bitter aftertaste of the cigar belatedly travel down his throat and linger at the tip of his nose again.
Theron, who had kept his lips shut, finally parted them and spoke with an expressionless face.
“When I have time, then. Tell them I’ll go then.”

The days until the weekend passed in a flash for Theron.
Although he had told Gary he would drop by the hospital when he had time, he ended up calling a caregiver and getting a progress report on the patient separately.
‘Honestly, she never leaves me alone.’
Theron thought of the middle-aged woman lying in the hospital bed, unable to do anything, and then erased the faint irritation that had gathered in his eyes at the approaching sight of the ducal estate.
It wasn’t as if anything would change just because he was stewing in his own thoughts, and to stop receiving calls from that hospital as soon as possible, he had to advance his relationship with Selene Ashcombe.
Click.
A bouquet of flowers was in Theron’s hand as he got out of the car.
Unlike the one he had prepared last time, it was a much smaller and more modest bouquet.
The flowers in the last bouquet were ridiculously large and flamboyant for a vase, so this time he chose something that wouldn’t clash with the traditional interior of the ducal estate.
At first, he had thought of preparing a trendy necklace or earrings as a gift, but the duke’s daughter would already have more than enough expensive things.
So, Theron decided to stick with the concept he had initially decided on.
A man of pure love who could kneel on one knee and kiss her instep if she asked.
‘That’s the classic way, after all.’
“The young lady is on the second-floor balcony. I will guide you.”
Following the footman, whose face was slowly becoming familiar, Theron passed the fountain that had drenched him on his last visit and entered the building.
Theron looked around the interior.
From the entrance, an elegance and refinement that no riff-raff could imitate overflowed.
From the nonchalantly hung paintings to the old ornaments whose origins were unknown.
He was once again reminded of how big the gap was between this woman and himself.
He had lived his life thinking that such expensive and old ornaments only existed in museums and art galleries.
In fact, he had even considered the people who bought such useless ornaments to be lucky lazybones who had never achieved anything with their own hands.
In that sense, Selene Ashcombe didn’t deviate much from his prejudice.
She seemed to be making a moderate effort to live up to her family’s name, but even if she was a pianist or a university student, she wouldn’t be as desperate as others.
Just consuming enough to make herself shine, that’s all.
The silk gloves she never took off, even when playing the piano, were a case in point.
He wondered if she took off those expensive gloves when she played the piano.
When he thought of the piano and Selene together, his impression invariably ended on a skeptical note.
However, as soon as he went up the stairs to the second floor and entered the balcony, Theron forgot his cynicism and was completely captivated by the sight of Selene that filled his vision.
Selene, standing near the balcony railing, was wearing a dress that came down to her calves and a thin cardigan.
Her gaze was fixed far away, and cigarette smoke billowed from a slender pipe in her hand.
The scene was strangely alluring and decadent, and Theron unconsciously swallowed dryly.
To be able to create such a strange atmosphere just by standing still was a talent if there ever was one.
Theron, ignoring his rapidly beating heart, approached Selene as if nothing was wrong.
“I was a little puzzled when the footman guided me to the second floor instead of the dining room, but it was to show me this wonderful view.”
The view of the grand mansion from the second floor was quite artistic.
It was a natural remark, considering he had just managed to tear his eyes away from Selene.
“It wasn’t particularly for that reason that I called you…”
“A gift.”
Just as Selene’s excessive honesty was about to ruin the reunion-like atmosphere, Theron quickly held out the bouquet.
“This is…”
“Because you said the flowers in the bouquet I gave you before had all withered.”
Selene, looking down at the fragrant flowers, accepted the bouquet.
“Thank you.”
He was worried she might say she hated flowers or had a pollen allergy, or something else that would shatter the atmosphere again, but fortunately, Selene accepted the bouquet without a word.
His gaze was drawn again to Selene’s face as she looked down at the bouquet with her lush eyelashes lowered.
Theron silently gazed at the small face filled with those harmonious features.
Selene, who was silently looking down at the unremarkable flowers, suddenly seemed cute.
He had a similar thought last time.
That she was like a cat.
At the time, he thought he was just going crazy for a moment, but this time he didn’t particularly want to deny it.
Undeniably, Selene, who couldn’t take her eyes off the bouquet he had given her, was quite cute.
“The leaves are very small.”
“…”
“Do you like flowers, Mr. Cox?”
At the calm voice, Theron was brought back to his senses.
“I don’t particularly like them, like other men.”
“But you know a lot about flowers.”
Theron belatedly remembered what he had scribbled on the card.
‘Didn’t I say I’d teach her how to care for the flowers…?’
“…It’s not difficult. Just changing the water in the vase often, and placing it where the sun rises… that sort of thing.”
Theron urgently wracked his brain and recited common knowledge that even a child would know.
“That’s right. But the maids take care of the flowers, not me, so it’s fine even if you don’t teach me how to care for them, Mr. Cox.”
“…I see.”
“And when they start to wilt, you’ll buy new flowers like this, so there’s no need to struggle to keep them alive for a long time.”
Just as he was relieved that his lie had passed, Theron’s throat bobbed at Selene’s subsequent words.
‘It doesn’t matter since I’ll buy new flowers when they start to wilt.’
Didn’t that sound like she was planning to invite him here regularly?
“You must be hungry, right? Let’s go down now. The food should be ready by now.”
But just like the cigarette she had nonchalantly stubbed out, Selene moved on from what she had said as if it were nothing, and Theron missed the timing to ask her what she had meant.
Theron’s heart pounded.
He wanted to grab her slender wrist right now, stop her, and ask if he could visit every day with a bouquet of flowers.
But Theron, wearing the mask of a gentleman, had to maintain this distance.
‘Still, she won’t just say a few words and send me away like before.’
They hadn’t even had the promised lunch yet.
It meant there was still a lot of time to spend together.
Realizing that, his rapidly beating heart calmed down a bit.
Theron, sitting across from Selene in the dining room, picked up his cutlery as if nothing was wrong.
‘Yes, there’s no need to rush.’
First, he had to confirm that she no longer saw him as a human scumbag.
Amidst the sound of the knife cutting the tender meat, Theron’s voice flowed out.
“Coming to this mansion reminds me of what happened that day.”
Selene’s eyes turned to Theron.
“You misunderstood me and pushed me into the fountain, Miss Selene.”
“…”
“So, may I ask if my confession has cleared up the misunderstanding? The misunderstanding that I’m a piece of trash who goes around making this woman and that woman cry.”
Theron was inwardly confident.
He believed that Selene had invited him again because the misunderstanding had been cleared up.
Selene, who had taken a sip of water, slowly put down her glass.
“I’m still not sure.”
At the unexpected answer, Theron lost control of his strength and scraped the plate hard with his knife.
It was only after quite some time that he could speak.
“…May I ask the reason for that?”
“I’m a very suspicious person by nature. I don’t particularly like men either.”
“Then why did you call me here again… no, invite me?”
Theron was a little angry inside.
Every time he thought they were getting closer, this woman would hit him from behind.
At this point, he even wondered if this was her hobby.
It was for the same reason that he was trying not to take off the mask of a polite, pure-hearted man, but it kept trying to come off.
“That’s because.”
Just as Theron was wondering if the steam was coming from the freshly grilled meat on this plate or from his own head, Selene replied nonchalantly.
“I want to use you, Mr. Cox.”