Chapter 46

Enoch was supposed to leave the mansion when he turned nineteen.

“The Duke of Seymour wished for him to stay longer, but Enoch had no intention of doing so.”

When Enoch expressed his desire to leave, Blake persistently tried to convince him to stay. After brushing Blake off and withholding his answer, Enoch suddenly thought of Florence.

“Confession: More than half of it was impulsive.”

Before saying it out loud, Enoch had never once considered leaving the mansion with Florence. But when he saw her face contort as if his words were a joke, he realized.

“He had always wanted to take her out of the mansion with him.”

Of course, Florence immediately rejected him with a scoff, saying she wouldn’t go with him.

“Why would I go with you? With Linus left behind?”
“She wouldn’t even look at her fiancé, let alone listen to him.”

Enoch understood the look of disbelief on her face—it wasn’t funny at all. Despite the cold words he spoke, his frustration was real.

“Enoch didn’t expect himself to feel this way.”

He thought he was only trying to get away from someone so frustrating. He didn’t want to continue dealing with someone who acted like Florence. He thought it was just a matter of doing his duty without crossing any lines, and maybe that’s what helped him realize something.

“He was doing the same thing with his unrequited love.”

He had been mocking others for their unrequited love, yet here he was, trapped in the same situation.

“Pathetic,” Enoch sneered at himself.

“He had laughed at others for their unrequited love, but now he was drowning in it himself.”

Enoch decided not to leave the mansion.

Florence would never love him. To her, Enoch was nothing more than an object of jealousy. So, there was no point in trying to kill him. Even if he didn’t disappear, it wouldn’t matter. He would be forced to live with it alone, without bothering anyone else.

“I’ll just wait a little longer.”

At least until Florence could ask someone else for help, until she could receive a simple gesture like a flower on her birthday.

Even though it was a painful form of unrequited love, the jealousy was hard to endure. He knew he meant nothing to her, but when Florence cried because of Linus, Enoch could not stop himself from imagining the man’s death.

“But even if Linus was someone he could easily kill, Enoch knew he wouldn’t actually do it.”

It wasn’t because Florence would be sad if Linus died. It wasn’t a moral reason, either.

Enoch had to swallow his rising rage because he knew that Florence was likely feeling the same jealousy toward him that he felt toward Linus. If she felt the same ugly emotions, how could he justify acting on them?

“If you hate me, I’m sure you felt just as terrible about yourself when you saw me.”
“I must have been just as horrifying to you.”

And that was why Enoch welcomed Florence’s decision.

“It seems like she’s sleeping.”

Keith whispered, leaning close to the door. He seemed nervous that the two inside might wake up. It was an uncharacteristic moment of consideration for Keith, who usually lacked such thoughtfulness.

“They must have gotten pretty close during the time.”

Enoch had a cynical thought, but quickly dismissed it. He opened the door abruptly. Keith let out a small, absurd exclamation, but Enoch barely acknowledged it.

The breathing sounds of the sleeping girl were the only ones in the room. As Enoch opened the door, he found himself locking eyes with the girl lying on the bed.

“Who are you?”

The frail girl glared at him with suspicion and caution. It was an appropriate response to a man who barged in without knocking. Instead of answering, Enoch gestured to Keith. Once Keith nodded, Marie finally seemed to relax. It was clear how much she trusted Keith.

Florence lay beside Marie, holding her hand tightly as she slept. Her cheek against the bed seemed uncomfortable, but any attempt to adjust would surely wake her.

“I tried calling her a few times, but she didn’t move. She must be in a deep sleep.”
“She didn’t sleep when I told her to.”

Keith clicked his tongue. Florence had been trembling with anxiety before falling asleep, as though something terrible might happen if she closed her eyes.

“She must have been worried.”
“Not knowing when her body might be taken again.”

While Keith and Marie whispered, Florence’s expression softened, her face becoming more relaxed with each passing second. Enoch moved closer to the bed. Marie, clearly uneasy about the unknown man approaching, kept glancing at Keith, but he just shrugged in response.

Enoch knelt by Florence’s feet. He wanted to see her face a little longer. But when she was awake, she never allowed him to gaze at her for long. Now, though, it felt like his only chance, even if it was cowardly.

“Such a coward I am,” Enoch thought, twisting his lips.

The emotions inside him were tangled—grief, joy, and a bittersweet longing. He stretched out his hand and touched Florence’s nose. A shallow breath. Florence was alive, fully and entirely as she was.

“Who are you? You still haven’t answered my question.”

“Enoch. Enoch Haines.”

Marie was not asking just to learn his name. She frowned, but Enoch had nothing more to say—at least, not yet.

“Looking at my face reflected in her brown eyes, I smiled wryly.”

“If I said this girl, whom I’d never met before, was the one I envied more than anyone else in the world, who would believe it?”

But Enoch was sincere. The fact that this small girl had given Florence the peace she so desperately needed made Enoch feel as though a miracle had happened.

“Florence still had someone now. Someone who had done in a few days what Enoch couldn’t do in ten years.”

“Despite the five years that had passed, Enoch Haines had not grown at all. Even before he realized his feelings for Florence, he had always disliked her fiancé, Linus, and had envied him just as much. If I were you, I would never act like that. If I were you…”

Enoch silently made a vow. This time, it would be different.

“I will help you hold on to whatever you have in your empty hands, without jealousy toward the one who receives your love, and I will make sure you never lose it again.”