Only you in my love

After they had left the coffee shop, Michelle was absent-minded as though her soul had left her body. Her eyes were empty, and at night, she stared blankly at her ceiling.

Every day, she would think long and hard to the point she barely noticed time passing by. It took a lot of soul-searching for her to truly know what she wanted. She went to her manager and handed her notice of resignation. Upon receiving it, the manager sighed and shook his head.

She asked if ever she had to pay for something before she left, but the manager told her not to worry about it.

Michelle was able to terminate her contract without paying anything.

During the early days of winter, Michelle came to her parents and showed them a document. "Dad, Mom, I want to go abroad and study photography."

When they heard what Michelle had said, Adams and Elaine were dumbfounded. At first, they were hesitant and confused why Michelle was suddenly interested in photography. They thought their daughter liked e-sports the most and wanted to pursue it as a career. Michelle had been thinking about this for a long time. She had even asked her friends for advice on how to deceive her parents. They told her that the most effective way was to mix her deception with a little bit of truth.

So when Michelle faced the scrutiny of her parents, she knew already knew what to tell them. "I'll be retiring from the e-sports club sooner or later. After all, I can't play games my whole life."

She continued to beg her parents and acted like a spoiled child just so that they'd approve her request. In the end, despite their reservations, they had no choice but to give in to Michelle.

Before she left, Michelle went to the coffee shop and sat outside where there was a clear view of the LC Hotel. In the morning, she saw Leon wearing a suit come out of the revolving door. Valerie was beside him.

And in the evening, she saw him tightening his necktie as he was walking back to the hotel. Even from a far, she could see her tired expression.

The photos that Michelle had taken were both blurry even though she was only across the road and the quality of her phone's camera was top-notch. Perhaps it was because of her trembling hands. Or maybe it was her eyes slightly marred with tears. At night, she went to the apartment and stayed there for a while.

Even though it wasn't that late yet when she returned home, both her parents had already gone to bed since they want to wake up early in the morning and see her off.

Michelle took out the writing papers she had bought back in high school and wrote her first long letter. She thought of how to start her letter and decided by making fun of the fact that the writing papers she had bought finally became useful. Once she was done writing her letter, she left with her luggage.

Her flight was supposed to be tomorrow morning. However, she didn't think she could handle saying goodbye to her parents, so she decided to leave in secret. Aside from that, what she had told her parents wasn't the same with where she was actually going. Since all of her friends knew Leon, she didn't want anyone to know where she was, nor did she want anyone to contact her.

She wanted to forget about Leon. She was afraid that if people knew, they might tell her something related to him.

Michelle boarded the plane at night. Upon entering the cabin door, she wasn't feeling dejected. But rather, she was excited about the future ahead of her. She imagined what studying abroad would look like and all the possibilities it might hold.

It was the first time she had been away from home ever since she was a child.

However, this was different since she was alone and going to a faraway place.

While on the place, Michelle had been very quiet. She sat there like a lifeless porcelain doll. Her eyes looked droopy, and she hadn't eaten anything ever since boarding.

The passenger beside her couldn't help but ask, "Aren't you hungry? I haven't seen you eat anything."

Michelle looked down and avoided the passenger's eyes. "I want to eat strawberries. They don't have any here."

The plane flew across the sky and left Lexingport City. This was the farthest she had even been away from Leon. But she was glad. Now, she wouldn't be disturbing his life, and she would no longer grow upset from thinking about him. It was a pity that she hadn't eaten the strawberries that he had planted for her.

Although it wasn't Leon who personally planted those strawberries, it was still something he thought of for her.

Three years had passed. Michelle looked up at Leon's handsome yet familiar face, and all of a sudden, the words from three years ago echoed in her ears. Just like that, she was in a trance again.

Now, she was standing before Leon, whom she hadn't seen for a long time. He was asking her to take him in again.

Michelle opened her mouth and almost agreed.

However, the low-key and luxurious environment of the room stopped her from speaking.

They were not under her apartment building. They were inside the castle John had built for Nina.

Three years had already gone by.

Although she hadn't heard the news yet that Leon and Valerie got married, she had witnessed the two of them being together.

If she let Leon stay in her place, that would cause some unwanted rumors.

'But what if Leon doesn't have a place to rest?'

While Michelle was deep in thought, Leon looked at her with pleading eyes and repeated, "Michelle, can't you let me stay here even for just one night?"

Michelle felt conflicted. Her heart said one thing while her mind said the opposite.

She gritted her teeth and clenched his fist. Finally, Michelle was able to shake her head. "No, I'm sorry."

"Why?" Leon bent down, their noses just a few inches away from touching. A small smile formed at the corners of his mouth. "I think it's okay. You've let me stay at your place before, right?"

Leon's words and the way he looked at her made Michelle hold her breath. She suddenly felt hot, and her face turned red as she averted her eyes away from him.

Up close, she was able to smell that faint perfume unique to Leon. The aroma took her back three years ago.

Although she had used the perfume he gave to her, it didn't smell the same. It was only when it was sprayed on Leon's body could it elicit such a pleasant and dreamlike aroma.

Michelle took a step back and widened the distance between them. If she hadn't done that, she would've drowned in Leon's scent.

She thought she had finally moved on from Leon after leaving for three years. But only now she learned that love was like a wine kept hidden in the cellar. The longer she hid it, the deeper her love became.

It wasn't like what other people experienced wherein they would forget about their feelings after a considerable amount of time.

However, in her case, she never forgot. All she managed to do was hide her love. But as soon as she saw Leon, those feelings came rushing back as though the last three years never happened. It was annoying for her.

Michelle crossed her arms and sulked. "No way!"

Leon was taken aback. Even though she was sulking, this was the first time she had seen her lose her temper.

Leon kept quiet and didn't say anything else. He was afraid that she was really angry. Even though she was docile and obedient most of the time, she would fight back and show no mercy after getting irritated. Playing it too fast wouldn't work.

He had to take his time.

'What if I scare her away again?'

Three years ago, she escaped from him. Now, he didn't want to repeat the same mistakes he had done.

Leon sighed in defeat. "Alright, Michelle. Go to bed early."

"Okay." Michelle kept her head down and nodded. She heard the footsteps grow fainter, then followed by the sound of the door closing.

Once the door was closed, the sound of footsteps completely disappeared.

She pinched her fingers and moved slowly towards the door. Then, she quietly pulled the door and peeked at the crack.

There was no one outside.

'Leon's bed is occupied. How would he sleep tonight?' Michelle leaned against the door and exhaled a deep, long sigh. 'Should I go outside and look for him?' she wondered.

She struggled in her heart, but deep down, she knew she did the right thing.

All night, Michelle tossed and turned, worried about Leon.

When she woke up, she went to the dining room. She looked around to see if Leon was there, but she didn't see him.

After a while, everyone, except for John, Nina, and Leon, came to the dining room to have breakfast. Even Van and Don, who had just finished their morning exercises, had already changed into clean clothes. Michelle wanted to ask about Leon, but she didn't dare to since the elders were still there.

Don also noticed Leon's absence and asked for her instead. "Where's Uncle Leon?" Won't he be eating breakfast with us?"

Van was always the first one to answer his brother. "Maybe he was too tired and is still asleep."

"Oh, okay." Don stopped asking.

Van's words made Michelle even more worried. Last night, Leon told her that he had no place to sleep.

When she noticed that no one else wanted to talk about Leon, Michelle lost her appetite. Before she could stand up, she heard Helen, the maid, say, "Mr. Lu has caught a cold. He had just taken his medicine and is fast asleep."0000☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐