When That Door Opens - Chapter 16

Cold air soon crept into the space between the blankets he had left, and Yvonne curled up into a small ball.

As he dressed and put on his shoes, the brief time felt like it was carving out her heart.

“I might not be able to come often for a while.”

“…What?”

Yvonne sprang up from where she was lying and asked.

“What do you mean?”

Her heart sank. She didn’t even realize her bare chest was fully exposed, trembling in fear. Jerome looked back at her startled face and spoke soothingly.

“It’s just for a while. Only for a while.”

“How, how long is a while?”

“I’m not sure. But I won’t let it be too long.”

But such words could not soothe her. So the question she never wanted to ask slipped out.

“Why, why?”

Oops. Yvonne regretted it the moment she spoke. But she couldn’t take back the words already spoken.

Jerome hesitated for a moment, then answered with a vague smile.

“Because of work.”

That was all.

“Ah… work.”

Yvonne realized with a pang. She’d said she didn’t care what form their love took, as long as she could be by his side, she had to endure this repetition.

Him unilaterally informing her of something, and her being too afraid of being abandoned to even ask why. The pain of being pushed outside his fence was the price she had to bear.

Jerome, quietly watching the now silent Yvonne, gently brushed her hair back.

“I’m sorry, Yvonne.”

For what?

Yvonne wondered. Was he apologizing for making her wait, or was it a cowardly self-consolation for deceiving her?

But whichever it was, she couldn’t let him go.

So Yvonne grabbed his coat as he turned away. Looking at her in surprise, she opened and closed her lips a few times before speaking.

“You must… hurry back. I’ll be waiting.”

Here, always, just for you.

Jerome looked at Yvonne with a strange expression for a moment before gently pulling his robe collar from her hand and kissing the back of it. It was an affectionate gesture, yet for some reason, Yvonne felt abandoned.

“I’ll be back, Yvonne.”

With those words, he left. As soon as she was alone, a sense of deprivation hit her, as if she had been thrown from a dream back into reality.

Yvonne hugged her knees and buried her face, avoiding the mirror where her red hair would be reflected. He had just left, but her hell was just beginning. She could feel him still between her legs.

* * *

“Ah, Yvonne, welcome! Oh… but why do you look so unwell?”

Young Countess Alpen greeted Yvonne with open arms, then asked worriedly.

“I had a severe cold a while ago… but I’m fine now, my lady.”

Yvonne answered, touching her haggard face.

Two weeks had passed since that day. Every night until dawn, Yvonne waited for him, afraid that he might return only to leave again if she were asleep.

Ironically, because she kept herself busy instead of sleeping, the dress for young Countess Alpen turned out to be the most beautiful dress Yvonne had ever made.

“Wow! I can’t believe this is just a fitting stage dress! It’s so beautiful!”

The young Countess Alpen exclaimed with wide eyes. A faint smile appeared on Yvonne’s gaunt face for the first time in a while. As she had anticipated, soft colors that highlighted her smooth skin suited the young Countess Alpen better than bright primary colors. Especially in the soft, tulip pink dress that Yvonne had imagined when she first saw her, she looked radiant, brightening up the whole drawing room.

“Ah, I knew I did the right thing by entrusting this to you, Yvonne.”

The young Countess Alpen, now dressed in a different outfit, spoke with a joyful face. Yvonne, who was carefully folding the fitting dress to prevent it from wrinkling, wanted to smile along but couldn’t. She had just experienced a bout of dizziness that made her vision blur.

“Yvonne, are you alright?”

“…Yes. I’m fine, my lady.”

Yvonne nodded, trying to appear unaffected. It wasn’t surprising since she hadn’t had a proper night’s sleep for two weeks already.

“You should go home and rest.”

“May I ask, what is the exact date that you need the dress? I was wondering if I could get an idea of the timeline…”

“There are about two weeks left, so it would be great if the dress could be completed in ten days… Oh my!”

As the young Countess Alpen was counting the days on her fingers in response to Yvonne’s question, she suddenly stood up from her chair, startled by something she saw.