try begging
***[S.D] The blood in Leon's veins turned cold as he opened the door to the suite's bedroom. She wasn't there. Neither Ellie nor Grace was there. Standing there, staring blankly at the empty bedroom, he suddenly chuckled. Even though he knew it couldn't be, he momentarily thought that Grace might have run away again. Leon moved. The closer he got to the bathroom inside the bedroom, the stronger the scent of soap became, and he heard Grace's voice calling out to him.
"Leon? Are you here?" When he opened the closed door, he saw a mother and daughter sitting in the bathtub in the middle of the bathroom.
"I fell asleep while taking a bath." Ellie, her eyes closed, was nestled in her mother's arms. Looking down at the child, Grace smiled bitterly yet with relief.
"She must have been so tired, she wouldn't wake up even when I called her." It was risky to get out of the bathtub with the heavy child. And the bathtub was quite high to put the child down on the rug. It seemed she had been trapped there until he came.
"How long have you been waiting?"
"About an hour since I got in the bathtub?" Leon approached, taking a towel from the shelf and spreading it out. As he wrapped her up in the towel and wiped away the foam and water, the child didn't open her eyes once. Even though he knew she was alive, he placed his finger on her neck.
When Grace got out of the bathtub, Leon handed her a bathrobe hanging on the wall. The woman, who had looked as pale as a corpse just this morning, seemed full of life.
He watched her put on the robe with a smile on her face and wipe the water off her legs before asking, "Have you eaten?"
"Yes. She must have been very hungry. Ellie ate a steak as big as your palm all by herself. And dessert too..."
"I asked you, not Ellie." Grace, who was wrapping her hair in a towel, hesitated at his words, then looked away and smiled coyly.
"I ate. And you?" Leon bit his lip to hide his smile and nodded.
Having shed the stench of revenge, Leon left the bathroom. As he put on his nightclothes, exited the dressing room, and was about to enter the bedroom, Grace, who was sitting on the bed drying Ellie's hair, turned to him.
"Give me something for Ellie to wear."
He went back to the dressing room and rummaged through the cheap hotel suitcase she'd brought from the train station, but there were no clothes.
"I can't find Ellie's clothes..."
"They smelled like the basement, so I sent them all to the cleaners. Just give her any of ours."
Leon took one of his silk pajama shirts from the closet and handed it to Grace, asking, "No fever?" Her cheeks had felt a bit warm when they pressed their foreheads together at the train station.
"No, I think the cold is gone."
"Have you checked her body?"
"There are no obvious injuries."
"No obvious injuries?" Grace made a sour face at his sharp question and pointed to Ellie's hand sticking out from under the towel wrapped around her body. Leon's eyes turned cold as he examined her hand.
Her wrist was bruised. When a child gets a small bruise, it leaves a deep bruise on a parent's heart. Of course, the person who caused the bruise would have an indelible bruise on their body and mind. While he went to the bathroom to get some ointment and applied it to the child's wrist, Grace combed her hair.
"At least Uncle Bobby seems to have been as we expected. He was good to Ellie. He even bought her some delicious food."
Robert Fisher was recovering from surgery at the hospital. The fate of his barely saved life depended on Ellie's assessment.
"Ellie said he had an argument with Nancy, and she accused Uncle of chasing Nancy out, so she's going to sue," Grace said.
"An argument? With a kidnapper?" It was a very dangerous thing to do.
"I guess she didn't realize how serious the situation was. At first, she just waited because Mom said she'd left her with you..."
Both of them grimaced with sympathy, but they couldn't help but burst out laughing at what came next.
"Then she thought Nancy stole her favorite Ellie because they had a fight."
"Well, that's not entirely wrong..."
Seen from Ellie's perspective, who lived in a colorful fairy tale rather than a bloody revenge drama, the terrifying kidnapping seemed almost cute.
But life isn't a fairy tale where the protagonist never dies.
"We should make sure this kind of thing never happens again, but we should teach her how to respond to a kidnapping."
"Ellie's first kidnapper is saying such things."
"Unfortunately, I wasn't the first. With someone who's officially wanted by the police right in front of me, how dare I."
Leon grinned mischievously at Grace, who gave him a playful glare. Finally, they both burst out laughing briefly and began to dress the sleeping child together.
"By the way, I thought my heart was going to stop when I looked inside the train earlier." It was an uncharacteristically soft tone for a man who hadn't shed a single tear when his child was kidnapped right in front of him. Grace paused unbuttoning her nightgown and stared at him.
"Why?"
"With the kidnapper fast asleep, it was the perfect chance to escape, but the child was sitting quietly in front of her. Do you know what she was doing? She was eating a muffin."
A sudden memory made Grace burst out laughing, despite the man's serious concern.
"She was eating a scone even when there were gunshots. She's a fearless child." But even a fearless child has their limits. Especially after the circus incident, she had become afraid of gunshots.
"Bang! And the uncle fell down, going 'ugh!' Ellie was so scared, she wanted to cry. But did the uncle go to heaven?" Grace recalled the conversation she had with Ellie on the way to the hotel.
"The milk was so, so bitter. So Ellie drank Nancy's milk. Was Ellie bad?"
"No, Ellie wasn't bad."
"Hee, right? But Nancy was going to be so mad, so Ellie gave her milk. Did I do well?"
"Yes, you did very well." In this world teeming with vile rats and greedy pigs, the child, alone and unstained, had defeated evil with her purity. As always, she found hope in the child.
"I was curious too, so I asked her. I asked why she didn't run away after Nancy fell asleep. Ellie said she wanted to, but her dad told her to wait, so she sat back down."
Leon, who was holding his child's head up to put on her pajamas, stiffened. The child had followed her father's words to the letter. The thought that she might have been hurt because of that made his head spin.
Why does she trust me unconditionally, despite what I've done?
Humans create children for selfish reasons. The difference between a good parent and a bad parent is whether they take responsibility until the end. But how many people know about the weight of responsibility that inevitably follows that selfish act?
I didn't know.
The responsibility that fell on Leon's shoulders was as heavy as a child's. As the child grew older, his shoulders would become that much heavier.
He held the sleeping child in his arms and kissed her forehead, vowing not to betray that absolute trust.
"It's too big."
Grace burst out laughing as she put on the pajama shirt while Leon held the child. The shirt was so long that it covered the child's hands and feet.
"Your clothes are too big for me too. Why did you get yours out instead of mine?"
After laying the child down, they buttoned up the shirt and rolled up the sleeves. It took a long time to see her hands. Despite Grace's constant scolding, he just smiled faintly.
They lay side by side with Ellie between them. As only the child's steady breathing could be heard, Grace suddenly reached out and patted Leon's shoulder over the child.
"You did well."
Leon chuckled. "Do you think I'm a child?"
"At least children are cute." Grace muttered grumpily.
This time, he reached out and patted her shoulder. "You did well too."
"Am I your subordinate?"
"If you were my subordinate, you'd have been fired already." As soon as he replied gruffly, his expression turned worried. The hand on her shoulder moved up to caress her face. It seemed like he was remembering the moment she fainted today.
"I'm fine." Ellie had returned safely. What better medicine could there be for the sickness that had been plaguing her body and mind? Moreover, she was secretly proud of herself. If she could find out about Mrs. Hattie's hospital, she could find out Ellie's location. Mr. Bobby would feel sorry for Ellie. Because of that, he would betray Nancy.
And Nancy will abandon her car and take a train. She'll follow a detour and only arrive at the border late at night. She won't cross the border prematurely."
She had almost accurately predicted the kidnappers' psychology and behavior.
Her past had put her child in danger, but in the end, it had helped save her child. A weight had been lifted from her heart.
"Now that it's all over, I just want to sleep like a log."
Grace pulled Ellie close and smiled wearily. This was probably the first time she had smiled a purely happy smile in front of him, without being intoxicated by pleasure or alcohol.
Someday, I hope you'll smile at me like this, not at Ellie.
Leon had learned to give up greed, but in the end, he betrayed that learning. What he had newly learned was how to hide his greed.
"Sleep well."
As he buttoned up Grace's gown, revealing her cleavage, and pulled up the covers, she looked at him intently and spoke again.
"Leon."
"Yes?"
"Thank you."
Leon furrowed his brow at the sudden remark.
"I didn't save your daughter expecting thanks."
"It's not that..." Grace placed her hand over his, which had retreated towards Ellie. Unlike when she'd grabbed his hand, she couldn't find the right words to say.
How should she say this? What expression should she use? Her contemplation was futile. The moment he clasped her hand in return, the words swirling around in her mouth burst out like a dam breaking.
"Thank you for being my support all this time." The man looked at her as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"That's not something you should thank me for either. No matter the reason, you should never say thank you to me."
"That's really unlike you, Leon Winston." This time, it was Grace's turn to look at him as if she couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"Leon." When she called his name again, the man who had been resting his chin on his hand and looking down at Ellie tilted his head and narrowed his eyes. It seemed strange to him that she kept calling his name.
"Why?"
"Do you still love me?" She asked a question that she should only be able to ask when she was at peace.
Ever since he confessed his love for me, no matter what I did, last Monday, Grace had revealed the very bottom of herself, a part she didn't even want to show herself.
She was cowardly, foolish, weak, and ugly. In short, she was a mess. Even if he said he was sick of her now, she couldn't blame him.
"Tell me honestly," she asked, sounding composed as if any answer would be fine. But he left the answer up to her.
"How do you see it?"
Well.
The man standing before her now was not wearing a mask. His eyes were so clear, almost transparent, but the thoughts that went on behind them were sometimes difficult to read. Grace stared at him, and instead of revealing his inner thoughts, she revealed her own weakness.
"I want you to love me."
It was the same words she had said when she only wanted him to love her for revenge, but the meaning was different.
As you walk, you inevitably stumble. Until now, she had always had to get up on her own. This was the first time someone had been there to catch her when she fell. Looking back now, she realized that she had fallen as much as she wanted during the past week because she had someone to rely on. And he hadn't abandoned her.
I want it.
An unexpected desire arose.
To desire the love of someone who had caused me pain, of all people.
A bitter smile crept across my lips. But in Grace's life, there were few who hadn't caused her pain. Even fewer had regretted hurting her and apologized. So this contradiction began to feel like just one of the many contradictions of life.
"I thought that if you had someone who loved you, things would have been different now."
"Then, if there was someone who loved me, would things be different now?"
Grace ended up asking the same question.
It wasn't unsettling to reveal her vulnerable side, like prey before a predator, because the man before her was genuinely happy. He stared at Grace with surprised eyes, then buried his face in his hands. A muffled laugh occasionally escaped through his fingers.
"Do you know what that sounds like?"
"What does it sound like?"
"It sounds like a confession of love. It's as pleasing to hear as someone saying 'I love you'."
Although, I've never actually heard those words before. He added that, then looked at Grace through his straight fingers and asked. "So, do you think I still love you?"
"I don't think I'll need to ask you again if you love me."
"I'm glad you realized that."
Funny, really. Strictly speaking, he was the one begging for Grace's love, yet he became so brazen as soon as she sought his love
"Well, I actually prefer you arrogant like this." Grace burst into laughter, then straightened her face and warned him. "Ah, don't even dream of love in this lifetime."
"Hmm..."
"Ellie, keep sleeping. Sorry. Was Mommy too loud?"
The man patted the child who was starting to stir and muttered to himself.
"You'll regret those words."
Grace asked as the child fell back into a deep sleep. "I know it's a silly question, but I have to ask.
Why do you want my love?"
The man looked at her with truly silly and obvious eyes. "Other than the cliché reason that because you love me, you want to be loved by me too." Then he finally gave his answer.
"You're the only one who's seen my ugly side. And if you still love me after seeing that, I can believe that you'll love me no matter what."
It was exactly the same reason why Grace was so greedy for his love. "Of course, I don't mean to hurt you again."
He turned around and turned off the lamp on the nightstand. In the sudden darkness, Grace stared at the man lying down with his head on the pillow.
Hero, nobleman, tycoon, handsome man. A beautiful outer shell is easy to love. Everyone wants to be loved, even for their ugly side hidden beneath that.
Suddenly, she felt like a selfish greedy person. She couldn't easily love him, yet she wanted him to love her.
But no matter how much she thought about it, she didn't know.
She had come to understand so well the feeling of loving a child she thought she couldn't love. But what does it mean to love you?
As she stared into space, lost in thought, a large hand suddenly came up and covered her face.
"Grace, don't strain yourself. This isn't a transaction. I don't intend to force you."
I don't want to be a debt you have to repay.
Whatever scheme he was up to, this was sincere. Love given as if paying off a debt he owed her. She didn't need love that was cheaper than pity.
"I've defined the close feelings you have for me as a kind of camaraderie. That's enough for me. For now."
"...For now?"
"For now, I'm just pretending to be asleep."
He closed Grace's eyes. As she leaned her head against Ellie and peacefully fell asleep, he patted her back. Grace giggled and whispered coquettishly, "I'm not a baby."
But she didn't reject his touch.
Outside the window, the evening twilight deepened. It was too early to sleep, but it was certainly not too early to make up for the sleepless nights.
Soon, there were three peaceful breaths.