This Villain Is Mine Now - Chapter 33

Diane was sitting halfway up the tower stairs, curled into a ball with her head buried between her knees. Elaina hesitated, unsure of how to offer comfort. What could she possibly say to ease her friend’s pain?

“Diane…”

“I’m sorry, Elaina. I’m sorry you have to see me like this, looking so foolish.”

Diane was crying. Elaina, unsure of what to do, cautiously sat beside her and gently patted her shoulder. Diane’s body shook even more under the gentle touch.

“It was all just my imagination,” Diane mumbled, her voice heavy with sorrow. “I thought… I really thought he liked me too.”

Diane began to recount her experiences with Nathan—how they met, the letters they exchanged through the carrier pigeon, Gugu. The letters, filled with warmth and kindness, had become Diane’s most treasured possession. But when she finally confronted Nathan face to face, all she received was an apology.

“How foolish of me… As if someone like him would ever like someone like me.”

At those words, Elaina suddenly grasped Diane’s shoulders firmly.

“What are you talking about?” Elaina couldn’t hold back her frustration any longer and revealed the truth she knew. “Nathan Hennet does like you, Diane. He really, truly likes you.”

She was certain of it. In the future she knew from the “Moonshadow,” Nathan would end his life after hearing the news of Diane’s death. It wasn’t a lack of feelings that held him back; it was a lack of courage.

But… what does it matter now?

In the end, Nathan had chosen to ignore his feelings rather than embrace them. He had chosen to let Diane go.

“Diane, let’s go back now.”

Time had passed without them realizing it. The stairs of the tower were frigid, and Elaina worried that Diane might catch a cold. But Diane shook her head.

“I don’t want to go back. If I leave now… it will really be over.”

Elaina sighed deeply, seeing that Diane still couldn’t accept Nathan’s rejection.

“Diane, you can’t stay here like this. You have to get up.” Elaina firmly grasped Diane’s arm and pulled her to her feet. Diane stumbled but eventually stood up, swaying unsteadily.

Elaina cupped Diane’s tear-streaked face, forcing her to look directly at her. The sticky trails of tears marred Diane’s cheeks. Elaina’s expression was resolute as she met Diane’s gaze.

“Crying won’t change anything. So stop crying.”

Elaina understood how painful and shocking this must be for Diane, but she couldn’t let her friend sit on the cold stone floor, wallowing in despair forever.

“Look up,” Elaina said, gently turning Diane’s head to look up the stone steps.

“And now, look down.”

Elaina turned Diane’s head the other way, making her look down the stairs. She then carefully released Diane’s face.

“You have two choices, Diane. You can go up, or you can go down. Either you face Nathan again, no matter how hard it is, or you come down with me and return home. Sitting in the middle of the stairs doing nothing isn’t an option.”

“I…”

“If you can’t decide, then I’ll decide for you. Let’s go back. If we stay here any longer, you’ll catch a cold.” Elaina began to pull Diane’s hand, urging her to leave. But suddenly, Diane yanked her hand away.

“Oh! I-I’m sorry, Elaina. I didn’t mean to—” Diane quickly apologized, startled by her own reaction. But Elaina looked at her with a gentle, approving gaze.

“That’s your answer, Diane. Now, let’s go up.”

If there’s anything left unsaid, go and say it. Don’t leave any regrets behind.

Encouraged by Elaina’s support, the gloom in Diane’s eyes began to fade, replaced by a newfound resolve.

***

Diane pushed open the door without knocking. Nathan was in the middle of sorting through the disarray of papers scattered around the room. When he turned to see Diane standing there, his face went pale.

“Why… why are you here again?”

He quickly averted his gaze, fumbling for words as if expecting she had forgotten something. His evasive actions made Diane clench her fists tightly.

She took a step forward, trying to calm herself.

Don’t get emotional. You came back so you wouldn’t have any regrets, so speak clearly about what you want to say. Thank him for the good memories. Wish him health and happiness in the future.

But when Diane finally stood in front of Nathan, the words that came out of her mouth were entirely different.

“Why did you do it?”

Nathan blinked in confusion at the accusation in her voice. “What do you mean…?”

“Why did you do it that day? That handkerchief—you could have just thrown it away. Why did you return it?”

Diane knew how pathetic she sounded, demanding answers like this. It was a humiliating way to leave her final impression on him. She was only giving him more reasons to feel relieved that he hadn’t gotten involved with her.

No, she was asking the wrong person why.

If blame was to be assigned, most of it fell on her. The problem was her foolish heart, which had fallen in love with a man whose face she barely knew. Even after hearing everything, after seeing him declare himself unworthy of the Marquis’s daughter, she still couldn’t let go of this stubborn attachment.

Tears welled up in Diane’s eyes, but she forced herself not to let them fall.

Gripping her dress, she shouted at Nathan, “You shouldn’t have done it. If you didn’t care for me, if you didn’t feel the same, you shouldn’t have done it! Did you think… did you think it was amusing to toy with me?”

She raised her voice, something she had never done in front of anyone before. Her face flushed a deep red from the effort, and the pigeon, Gugu, startled by her shouting, flapped its wings and flew out the window.

Nathan’s face grew even paler at the sight of her.

“Lady Redwood! It wasn’t like that. I didn’t—”

“Are you telling me that all those letters we exchanged meant nothing to you? Am I supposed to believe that? How can you be so heartless? If I give up now, is that just it? Is it really over?”

As she poured out her heart, Diane remembered someone else who had said similar words to her—not so long ago. Elaina had been furious, insisting that she couldn’t just give up on her future because her father had decided it.

So this is what it feels like, Diane thought. The frustration and the anger… this is what it feels like.

She bit her lip and glared at Nathan. “Just once. Just one more time, I’m asking you. Is it true? Do you really have no feelings for me?”

“…What do you want from me? Feelings? If I have them… if I have them, they’re feelings I shouldn’t have. Why… why do you keep torturing me?”

Nathan rubbed his face in frustration and continued, “I know the names of the families your father proposed to. They are prestigious, far beyond anything the Hennet family could compare to. My family is just a minor noble house from the countryside, nowhere near your status. How could I possibly confess to loving you?”

“That’s not what I’m asking.”

Diane took another step closer to him. “Nathan Hennet, I want to know your heart.”

Nathan couldn’t hold back any longer.

“Damn it.” The curse slipped out like a whispered confession.

“I like you. I care for you deeply. I’ve cherished you in my heart, and because of that, I’ve dared to dream beyond my station. But dreams are meant to be woken from, and the letters we exchanged were all my mistake. A second son of a viscount and the daughter of a marquis—this is impossible—”

Before he could finish, Diane flung herself into his arms.

Caught off guard, Nathan instinctively wrapped his arms around her to keep her from falling. As he held her, the scent of flowers from her filled his senses, and he found himself unable to say another word.