The End of a Fake Marriage

“You… You shouldn’t just barge into a lady’s room like that!”

Alexander muttered, sighing and laughing softly as if recalling Nina’s words.

“A lady…”

‘…Someone like you?’

It was strange. Alexander hadn’t said anything like that, but Nina could have sworn she saw the question in his eyes.

‘Why is Alexander acting like this today? It’s as if he’s reverted to how he used to be.’

Before the fire, to that cold and detached Alexander.

As Nina froze in shock, Melinda rushed to her side to support her.

“Ah, there are… the lady’s undergarments scattered inside! Please, let me tidy them up first!”

Melinda felt an eerie feeling as if she had met the eyes of a corpse. The eyes had bright blue light, but they were somehow dead. Her body froze in fear as it swelled up on its own. Alexander passed by Melinda, who was shivering.

Ironically, as soon as he stepped inside, the sound of a small creature’s cries, which they had denied so much.

“Rain!”

Renee moved immediately toward the source of the sound.

The cat was hanging near the small balcony window at the far end of the bedroom, meowing pitifully.

“Meow—”

Without delay, Renee rushed over and opened the curtains. At that moment, a pained groan escaped from Renee’s lips.

“Oh, my God…”

A small cage hung on a huge tree branch extending into the balcony. However, it was not a bird, but small kittens trapped there.

‘…How could anyone do this?’

The soaked kittens huddled tightly against each other, trembling uncontrollably. The cage door was open, but the height of the tree made it impossible for them to escape.

Renee, her face distorted in pain, turned sharply toward Nina and shouted, “What, what is this…!”

“I don’t know anything! Really! Melinda, have you ever seen that?”

“N-no? This is the first time I’m seeing it too…! Wh-why is that even outside our balcony?”

Before Renee could finish speaking, Nina began denying everything. It was pure nonsense, but there was no time to confront her now.

“We’ll deal with that later.”

Renee clenched her teeth and turned quickly, ready to rescue the kittens. But before she could take another step, a firm hand grabbed her arm.

When she looked back, Alexander was pulling her back, pushing her inside.

“Stay here. You’ll get wet.”

His voice, as gentle as usual, murmured those words before he stepped past her and onto the balcony.

As the rain poured down on his white shirt, the wet fabric began to cling to his body. The bold silhouette of his figure was laid bare under the wet shirt.

‘…He hates the rain.’

His appearance getting soaked by the rain was engraved into Renee’s orange eyes like a scratch.

Renee could not understand Alexander’s attitude, which changed unpredictably every moment.

He would approach her with playful pranks, like a child, and then at another moment, push her away as if disgusted. And then, he would act like a kind, gentle person again, so casually. It was all so strange.

‘…I’m confused by you, Alexander.’

Renee blankly stared at Alexander’s back as he reached out to the cage where the cats were locked up.

The image of the boy who had made Renee fall in love flashed through his wet side profile.

Like his rain-drenched shoulders, a late, dull ache of regret began to fill her heart.

She should have tried a little harder to learn more about him.

Two years was not a short time. She wished she had made an effort to learn what had cast such a dark shadow over him.

Or at the very least, she should have asked why he pushed her away back then. Even if she was afraid of the answer, she should have tried.

“…”

Renee stared at the back of Alexander, who was holding the cage hanging on the tree branch with both hands.

‘…If it’s not too late yet, then…’

It was then.

Suddenly, a flash—lightning lit up the sky, followed almost immediately by a deafening sound that split the skies apart.

CRACK! BOOOOM!

Thunder and lightning that pierced through the sky at different speeds hit the top of the tree where the cats were hanging.

A brilliant flash of light pierced the sharp tip of the tree, painting the pitch-black sky an eerie white.

“…!”

‘This can’t be happening.’

In Renee’s eyes, filled with shock, she saw a large body falling to the ground, hugging the cage.

‘No. This can’t be real.’

‘…This can’t be happening!’

“Alexander!”

･ ｡ﾟ✧: *. ꕥ .* :✧ﾟ. ･

“Wow, this is really good.”

Renee, sitting on the white sandy beach, smiled happily as she ate a half-melted ice cream.

The clear sound of her laughter, like sun-sparkled waves, splashed against Alexander’s ears.

The boy, who had been lying down with his arms crossed behind his head, glanced to his side. The ice cream stick he had already finished was still hanging from his lips.

Golden hair that barely reached past his shoulders framed a slender face. Her vibrant orange eyes sparkled with life, and her lips, like freshly bloomed red roses, were captivating.

The girl was as lovely and beautiful as a rosebud just starting to bloom.

She was wearing suspenders over faded pants and a roughly folded old, loose shirt, but when he really paid attention, it was clear she was a girl.

He couldn’t help but chuckle.

‘…How did I ever mistake her for a boy?’

And for two whole years, no less. Well, to be fair, it wasn’t like he’d seen her all the time. They only met briefly during holidays.

‘So, it’s not my fault.’

He thought back to how she looked the first time they met.

Her white face, with freckles standing out from the heat, her messy, short hair that came to her earlobes, and the same suspender pants she wore now.

Not to mention, she’d rammed her shoulder into him without hesitation to stop him from teasing her pet. How could anyone have seen her as a lady back then?

She was a girl who surpassed Alexander’s expectations, who was used to the prim and proper girls of the city.

“What are you staring at? Want a bite?”

As he stared at her intently, Renee handed Alexander the ice cream he had eaten more than halfway through.

Because she couldn’t bite into anything cold, the melted ice cream was dripping between her white fingers.

Alexander was dumbfounded at how easily she offered him her half-eaten ice cream. Did she do this with everyone?

‘How could a girl be so careless?’

For a moment, he felt annoyed. It was a feeling of injustice for which he could not explain the cause.

Alexander put the ice cream that Renee was holding out in his mouth in one go. He bit it so hard that even his little finger was sucked into his mouth.

“…!”

Renee’s bright orange eyes widened in shock as she stared at him. Her stunned expression reflected entirely in her gaze as Alexander, smirking mischievously, deliberately licked the ice cream from her fingers.

Then Renee’s face turned bright red in an instant and he shouted in surprise.

“Sasha! That’s disgusting! What are you doing?!”

“Well, vanilla’s not bad after all.”

“What?! If you’re going to eat, just eat the ice cream! Ah, aaah! No, more importantly, my ice cream…! I said you could have one bite! How could you eat the whole thing, you pig?!”

Renee jumped up and stamped his feet, and not only that, he grabbed a handful of dirt from the sandy beach and threw it at Alexander.

“…Ugh. It’s getting in my mouth, Renee.”

“Well, since you stuffed it all in, I figured you’d eat sand too.”

She stuck her tongue out and ran off down the white sandy beach. Alexander, who had jumped up, quickly ran after her.

Two years ago, he had only been about a hand’s breadth taller than her, but now his height had surged, leaving her a full head shorter than him.

Thanks to that, Renee, who was running away at full speed, was caught by Alexander, who grabbed her by the waist after only a few steps.

Renee’s laughter, like dewdrops bouncing on grass, bounced off the white sandy beach. Alexander grabbed onto Renee, spun around in circles, and then collapsed on the beach, lying flat on his back.

Even after falling, Renee threw sand at Alexander and then crawled away on her hands and knees.

Inevitably, her ankle was grabbed and she was dragged back and pinned under Alexander, she had no choice but to get a mouthful of sand.

The laughter of the two people, who were out of breath, dried up and dispersed faintly under the sunlight.

“Ugh, sand! Ptooey, ptooey!”

“Serves you right, Renee.”

Their eyes met, and they burst out laughing again.

“You know, you’re really filthy right now, don’t you?”

“Every time I’m with you, I end up like this. It’s all your fault.”

“So what? It’s just the two of us here.”

Their laughter mixed with the sound of the waves rolling in, light and carefree. Sparkling eyes reflected one another, and the space between them was filled only with unguarded, ringing laughter.

Whitehall was that kind of place.

A place where there was little to worry about. The endless beautiful sea, the white sandy beach that seemed like it would never change, and Renee.

…The place where Renee Hazelin existed.

Like the glistening ripples of sunlight on a bright day, you, Renee, were a little wave that sparkled brilliantly every time I looked at you.

The girl was innocent and flawless, without a speck of dust, and kind to everyone, which almost made her seem indifferent.

‘That really bothered me, Renee.’

Alexander turned his head and looked at Renee. The girl was basking in the sunlight with her eyes closed, her face contented.

The face that faced the sunlight without hesitation sparkled like a jewel in Alexander’s sight. The scent of Renee riding the sea breeze and the low humming voice that seemed to feel good.

Alexander, who had been engraving it in all his senses, asked in a slightly lower voice than last year.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“…Tell you what?”

“Why didn’t you tell me you were a girl? For the past two years.”

‘You wouldn’t know.’

‘That because of that, I had quite a confusing time.’

‘How many absurd thoughts, reflections, and self-reproaches I went through because of you. ‘

‘You wouldn’t know the mornings I woke from dreams of you, startled by what I saw in my bed.’