Please Forget Me - Chapter 308

‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.

I suppose he thought I was after more than just his wallet.

Well… it wouldn’t have been an unreasonable assumption. A robber driven purely by money doesn’t usually beat someone until they’re completely incapacitated.

Without a word, I pulled his wallet from his back pocket and pretended to check the cash inside. Then, as if dissatisfied with the amount, I smashed the wallet down hard against the back of his head.

He was already barely conscious, so I doubted he could chase me. But just in case, I shoved him headfirst into a trash bin before leaving.

By the way, did you notice the last time you saw him? His nose is crooked now. That was my handiwork. I can’t tell you how relieved I am that he looks less like me now.

I’m sorry. I got a little too animated talking about how I left your husband in pieces.

Truthfully, I wanted to kill him. I restrained myself only because I wasn’t brave enough back then to turn thought into action.

But please understand, disguising myself as a robber wasn’t because I lacked the courage to face him. I couldn’t risk letting the fallout reach you. I couldn’t let an innocent person be harmed.

Do you remember what happened at the golf course last time? I don’t know if you were there, but you must have heard about it.

I got locked in a storage room again. I should’ve just nodded along and pretended to listen gratefully when he lectured me. It was my fault for letting my pride get in the way.

I’d already once stepped forward clumsily for your sake and ended up causing you harm.

And you kept begging me to keep your secret, I couldn’t betray that.

In truth, I had considered reporting his affair to headquarters. We were spies, security was everything. Getting deeply involved with a local woman? What if our identities were exposed? It was practically suicidal.

He told me not to make mistakes that would inconvenience you, yet he was committing them openly. The bastard.

“You promised you’d keep it secret. Please don’t tell Rupert.”

You were adamant. And as you know, I’m a coward. Being hated by you frightens me more than anything.

I was also afraid you’d find out I had retaliated against Rupert and come to despise me for it. Thankfully, you didn’t seem to notice. Rupert certainly didn’t.

He didn’t make it home on his own. He collapsed in the alley and lay there all night, robbed of his uniform and weapons by petty thieves. The police found him, thought he was a corpse, and sent him to the hospital.

I didn’t realize how badly hurt he was. Though honestly, even if I had, I probably would’ve kept hitting him anyway.

I don’t regret it. I was glad I’d beaten him badly enough to put him in the hospital.

If he’d only needed rest at home, you would’ve been the one nursing him. And what had that bastard done to deserve your care?

Maybe you felt the same. You stopped by the hospital after work just to check on him, but you didn’t nurse him.

Perhaps you no longer loved Rupert…

No—that may just be my wishful thinking. Forget I said that.

Dana, if—

If you ever decide to go back to him, and if he knows about what happened between you and me and tries to condemn you for it, tell him this name:

Frida Schmidt.

Tell him he committed adultery. You did it unknowingly. But he knew exactly what he was doing.

And say that what happened between us was my fault. Say I forced myself on you despite your refusal. That’s fine.

…We’ll talk about that later. There’s something else I need to tell you first.

Thinking about it just makes me want to kill him all over again. Damn it. I really should have killed him in that alley. Considering what he made you endure afterward… killing him would’ve been the right thing to do.

About a month later. Rupert had been discharged from the hospital, yet even after all that, he didn’t stop cheating. He came home late every night. That evening was no different, so we sat together in the corner of the backyard, smoking and drinking.

Normally, when we heard the sound of his car engine, we’d go inside. But that night, even past his usual return time, there was no sound.

“We should go in.”

It was cold that day. Too cold to indulge my selfish desire to stay with you longer. It was November, and the first early snowfall had already blanketed the ground at our feet.

“Father… wait.”

That night, you were the one who stopped me.