Chapter 119: Don’t Pretend
When the scent of their champagne dissipated, the two went to the chapel located in the lavender field.
Vince obediently knelt in front of the icon, praying in a good manner, “May the Lord forgive my sins.” Arianna suspected that he was reading it to her, and she let out a soft sneer.
Later, when the pastor left and when they walked out of the church together, Vince said, “Sneering in the church is disrespectful.”
Arianna said that she didn’t believe in religion, and she thought of his look of a pure saint a while ago and asked, “Since you can’t remember anything, and your soul is pure like a baby, what sins do you have that need the Lord to forgive?”
“Life is sinful. It hurts the mother, worries the family, grabs food, and takes up resources.” Vince added, “And, for those important people, I have forgotten.”
Arianna couldn’t help but laugh when she saw the man put on a saint’s look. But when she was maliciously laughing at him, the resentment hidden in her heart toward this man disappeared.
Arianna asked, “The painting of the white-dressed woman on the wall of your mansion, is the lady one of your family members?”
Vince silenced for a few seconds and said, “I don’t know. Nobody told me. But they said that the painting was painted by me. I think she might be a person who is important to me.”
Their one-day trip ended in a small accident.
At that time, they were in a place with mountains and water. Mountains covered in green waterfalls, green grass, birds, and flowers were more natural and beautiful than the artificial beauty of the manor and the town.
“This is my favorite place every time I used to come here.” Vince said, then added, “At least that’s what they told me.”
“Oh.”
“I think it’s especially funny. A person, about everything he has done in the past, is pieced together through the records, and the mouths of others, including favorite color and food, as well as habits.”
“Not everyone has a chance to forget everything and start over. Many people want to experience that in the world.”
“Including you?”NôvelDrama.Org: text © owner.
“Yes, including me.”
“Missing pessimism. If I can choose on my own, I would rather lose one arm, one leg, or one less eye in exchange for my memory.”
“Didn’t you say that the feeling of amnesia is not bad previously?”
“That’s because I have no choice but to face it. And said that as self-comfort.”
The waterfall came down from the mountain and merged into a stream at the foot of the mountain. The water was clear, and the stones in the stream were grounded to round and smooth. Arianna washed her face on the shore and then slowly walked into the stream. The cool water refreshed her entire body and erased her uneasiness. She walked further and further.
Vince called her, “You will get arthritis if you stand in this water for too long.” She shook her head at him.
After a few minutes, Vince said, “You have to be careful with the water snake.”
Arianna ignored him and walked a few steps deeper. Then she suddenly screamed and quickly jumped to the boulders on her sideways, but she did not standstill. She slipped into the water and fell. Before she made any move, Vince had rushed into the water and pulled her up and dragged and hugged her to the shore.
Arianna’s body was softened all over. Something had bitten her toe. She really thought it was a water snake when she was shocked by the bite. But when she checked after she went on shore, it was just a small mussel.
Vince couldn’t help but laugh out loud. They were both wet.
The two followers who had been standing in the distance just rushed over. Vince signaled to let them give Arianna a big towel and let them walk away. And Vince took Arianna’s right foot to check her wound.
He held her ankle in his right hand. In fact, his expressions and movements were very natural rather than erotic.
Arianna almost kicked him in a conditional reflex way and asked, “What do you want to do?”
Vince asked back, “What do you think I want to do?”
Arianna stood up and wanted to leave. Vince said, “Put on your shoes so you won’t get tetanus.”
“That’s because of you. Who just lied to me about the water snake?” Arianna kept on walking. The grass on the shore of the stream was as thin as a blanket, touching her injured heel and making her painful and itchy.
“I didn’t lie to you. There are really water snakes and grass snakes, and they like to bite little girls on their bare feet.” Vince stood up and pulled her, “You change your face faster than a little girl.”
Arianna got rid of his hand and said, “We are still strangers!”
“That’s why we should try to get to know each other better.”
Arianna covered her ears with both hands and continued to walk, hearing him yelling “Hey” from behind. Suddenly she heard that someone took a deep breath like an endangered cat and then he didn’t make a sound. Arianna quickly turned back and saw Vince squatted on the ground with a painful look.
Arianna stood still.
“Hey, help me, please pull me up.” Vince pleaded.
“Don’t pretend. You can’t just try to scare me again like the last time.”
“Hey, I just saved you back there, right? And saved you the first time we met, right? How can you be so ruthless even if you are not grateful? I’m suffering now because of you, right?”
Such a dialogue was vaguely familiar to Arianna, as if it had happened on a certain date of a month in a certain year. Arianna continued to stand in the same place for a while. Then she used her hands to press on her pulsing temples, walked back, and slowly helped him to stand up.
Vince did not look like he was acting, his lips white, his forehead and palms sweating.
The two followers who were standing in the distance quickly came over again, and Vince was taken to the car. His look was restored to indifference, no longer as rogue as he was, just lying in the back seat, looking calm and pale. In stark contrast, his two followers were in a panic.
Arianna sat silently in the passenger seat. Only when they got Vince into the car, took off the soaked socks, rolled up the wet trousers, and covered him with a blanket did Arianna clearly find out a secret while helping them. Vince’s right foot was nothing special at first glance. But when she looked at it closely, his little toe bent slightly inward into a small arc.