Erin had stayed in bed all day. Then, the next evening, she finally opened her eyes. It seemed as if nothing had happened, and she returned to her usual self.
“Erin, are you feEring better now?”
“Yeah. I feel better after a good long sleep.”
Erin was smiling at Aiden, but there was still a lingering discomfort on her face that Aiden couldn’t overlook.
He didn’t want to push Erin to talk or make her more tired for no reason. He trusted that if something was really bothering her, she would tell him later.
So Aiden gave Erin a faint smile.
“You didn’t eat anything and stayed in bed all day.”
Instead, he asked about the thing that was currently worrying him the most.
“Would you like to have something to eat now?”
Erin nodded lightly.
A simple late dinner was prepared in Erin’s room. However, Erin didn’t even look at the food throughout the meal.
Instead, she gazed intently at Aiden. He hadn’t expected her to hold his gaze so firmly.
“Your gaze seems particularly intense today.”
“I just miss you. Even though you’re always in front of me, I still miss you.”
Erin spoke without changing her expression. Aiden’s lips curled deeply at Erin’s words, and they locked eyes.
Erin was different from her usual self. Whatever the reason, Aiden found it quite enjoyable that Erin was solely focused on him.
As they continued their meal, Erin’s hand slipped, catching Aiden’s attention. Eventually, the fork fell to the ground with a loud clatter, and a piece of steak that had been on the fork landed on Erin’s dress.
“Erin, are you okay?”
A shocked Aiden quickly cleared away the steak.
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
Erin didn’t even glance in that direction as the servant laid a new fork on the table and cleaned up the mess on the floor.
“….”
Aiden, gazing at Erin in such a manner, suddenly pulled his chair closer and expertly cut the steak before bringing it to Erin’s lips. With her gaze still fixed on Aiden, Erin’s lips parted as the meat slipped into her mouth.
“Does it taste good?”
Instead of answering, Erin simply widened her eyes. Aiden, sporting a pleased expression, added another piece of steak to Erin’s mouth with a twinkle in his eyes.
Throughout the meal, Erin gazed at Aiden, while Aiden kept feeding her.
After dinner, they smoothly transitioned to light wine. Erin, who had not taken her eyes off Aiden, finally spoke up.
“Aiden.”
Erin called out softly.
“Smile for me once.”
She demanded abruptly. Since seeing Aiden holding hands with Julia, Erin had not been able to sort out her thoughts.
Her thoughts were not just stuck on that day’s events, but also delving into the past. Not long ago, she had clearly seen such a scene.
Aiden smiling at Julia. That was now bothering her.
“…?”
Aiden looked puzzled, but Erin’s expression was serious. Aiden momentarily pondered why Erin was making such a demand and obediently followed suit, raising the corners of his mouth while looking at Erin with eyes that crinkled, a smile that made her heart flutter just by looking at it, knowing it was the kind of smile Erin always liked.
As expected, Erin’s face seemed like it could blur and crumble at any moment.
“….”
But Erin did not crumble. She collected herself, staring at Aiden with determination in her eyes, trying to see through him.
‘How was Aiden looking at Julia? What did that smile mean at that time?’ Erin kept recalling the image of Aiden and Julia holding hands.
Even though she knew it would only torment her to dwell on it, Erin couldn’t help but retrace and compare.
She wanted to be sure. ‘Even if we’re holding hands… Aiden’s smile when he looks at me can’t be replicated.’
Holding herself together in this manner, Erin wanted to see it with her own eyes.
So, throughout the meal, she stared directly at Aiden’s face. But just doing that wasn’t enough, so she asked him for more.
‘It’s nice… but it’s not enough.’ It was the smile she wanted to see, but it was subtly different from what she had in mind.
“Smile wider for me.” So she demanded with a different feEring. As she stared intently at Aiden, Erin slowly moved closer.
Aiden smiled brightly enough to show his teeth. But it felt like he was drifting further away.
Erin’s narrowed brow furrowed even more as she spoke seriously, “…Can you just give me a little smile?” Erin continued to make different requests.
Aiden sensed there was something behind her continued requests, but for now, he followed Erin’s wishes.
This time, he showed a light, cool smile. But seeing his expression, Erin’s face became even more serious.
“Aiden.”
“Yeah, how should I smile this time?”
Aiden spoke before Erin could ask. Despite the perplexing situation, Aiden complied with Erin’s requests, enjoying it even, despite her looking somewhat uneasy.
Unaware of Erin’s intentions, Aiden wanted to satisfy her unease in some way.
So, he slightly and leisurely raised the corners of his mouth.
“Erin, what kind of face do you want to see?”
Aiden gently smiled as he cupped Erin’s face. It was a face that only appeared when looking at Erin.
And this was exactly the face Erin wanted to see.
‘Yes, this is it.’ Erin gazed at Aiden’s smile with delight.
“Aiden, that face should only be shown to me.”
“Of course. Everything I have is Erin’s.”
As Erin heard Aiden’s unwavering response, she smiled widely.
Despite feEring good about Aiden’s answer, her oddly raised corners of her mouth began to quiver as if convulsing.
At that moment, her eyes became warm, and tears seemed to be on the verge of bursting forth.
Erin held Aiden tightly, preventing him from seeing her face, and buried her face in Aiden’s chest.
“Aiden, let’s take a walk before we go in.”
Still holding Aiden tightly, Erin spoke quietly. “Sure.” Aiden’s response was already decided.
***
It was when Erin returned to the room after taking a walk.
Felix urgently sought out Aiden, leaving his seat momentarily vacant.
Alone in the room, Erin put on her coat and found Henry waiting outside.
She had something to ask him quietly.
“Henry, can I ask you something?”
“Are you asking me, ma’am?”
“I have something I want to ask.”
Henry briefly glanced at Aiden’s study before walking with Erin.
Since Aiden would finish his urgent matter soon, Erin didn’t delay and spoke up.
“I have some questions about Aiden.”
“If you ask the master, he will answer anything.”
“That’s true, but I was curious about what it’s like for someone who watches Aiden up close.”
“What do you mean?”
Erin’s mouth felt suddenly dry.
“Is Aiden still finding it difficult to connect with other people?”
She asked because she knew Henry was aware of Aiden’s condition.
“Ah… yes, a little.”
It seemed like an unexpected question as Henry’s eyes shook before he cautiously answered.
Before answering, he seemed to be contemplating something.
“I see.”
Lately, Aiden hadn’t been demanding compensation from Erin due to his distance from others, so she had been curious.
But it seemed like he still wasn’t completely okay.
Between Aiden and Julia, Aiden’s trauma was the most decisive factor.
Just that one thing meant the possibility of their relationship always being on shaky ground.
“Thank you. I haven’t been able to hear about how things have been lately, so I just wanted to ask.”
“…Ma’am, I only observe from the side, so I don’t know the master’s heart. It might be good to ask him directly.”
“Yeah, I suppose you’re right. Shall we go back then?”
As Erin started to walk again, she nodded slightly.
Then her head slowly lowered.
***
Erin and Aiden were walking through the gardens, taking an evening stroll.
The time seemed to pass unusually slowly under the moonlight. Erin released her arm from Aiden’s and held his hand.
Aiden responded by gripping her hand as if it were natural.
Erin’s gaze fell on the hand Aiden was holding.
At first, Aiden used to feel discomfort even with a slight touch, but he had opened up to Erin and found comfort in holding her hand later.
But the truth was, when Erin held Aiden’s hand, she felt at ease and relieved.
It meant a lot to Erin as well. That’s why she felt even more scared to speak up, but she knew she had to make sure.
Erin looked at Aiden and cautiously spoke, “Aiden, are you still uncomfortable being close to other people?” Erin asked calmly.
Aiden looked at Erin at the sudden question. They had discussed these matters before, so it wasn’t entirely out of the blue.
“Seems like we haven’t talked much lately,” Erin said as if she was just asking out of curiosity, but in fact, she was extremely nervous.
She was even concerned about sweating from the hand she was holding.
Moreover, when Aiden didn’t respond immediately and seemed to be thinking, her heart raced even faster.
“No, I’m okay now,” Aiden said calmly after a moment of contemplation.
