Chapter 27
I noticed Samuel paused for a moment, his eyes flashing with a mix of pity and mockery. The pity was because I was such an easy fish to catch. The mockery? That was reserved for my supposed
delusions about him.
Beyond that, there was an emotion I couldn’t quite discern, something fleeting that he quickly
suppressed.
I repeated myself. “Can you do it, Samuel?”
“No woman around me has ever dared to make such a request. My last girlfriend? She made it her mission to win over everyone around me, including Yvie.”
I smirked Then, by all means, go chase her back. Let her charm Yvette to her heart’s content.”
With that, I tapped my cane lightly and tilted my head to determine the direction. I started. heading toward the dormitory. Along the way, I stumbled a few times, nearly tripping over uneven
tiles. The road leading back to the dorm wasn’t easy to navigate, and I had to maintain the appearance of a blind person. Falling just short of actually hitting the ground was part of the act.
When I reached the dorm entrance, I glanced back through the glass door. Samuel wasn’t standing
where I had left him. Instead, he had moved closer to the dormitory and was staring coldly at me.
His gaze was icy.
I frowned and quickly headed inside, not daring to Linger. I couldn’t let him suspect anything.
Thankfully, once I entered the dorm, he made no further moves and eventually turned to leave.
Samuel was right, though. Anyone–man or woman–hoping to get close to him had to curry favor
with Yvette.
In my past life, I had done the same. I had learned early on how much Samuel valued Yvette as a
friend. I had genuinely tried to be kind to her too.
For example, I once spent days struggling to learn how to cook and bake. When I brought Samuel a
cake I made, I always gave Yvette a share as well.
But after Yvette ate one of the desserts, she ended up in the hospital with severe food poisoning. Samuel threw an opened tub of cream at me, claiming it had expired.
But the cream was fresh. I had bought it that very day after the shopkeeper assured me it was new. But Yvetee had been there when I was baking, and she offered to open the–tub of cream for me, saying it would be easier since I couldn’t see.
Samuel then slapped me in front of Yvette. It was the first time I had ever been hit. He told me a blind person had no business cooking and ordered me out of his house.
よう
It was cold that day, and I stood outside in my thin clothes, unable to see a thing and too afraid to
leave because my ID was still in his apartment. I was terrified that if I left, I might not survive out
there. I waited there for over ten hours.
When Samuel finally came back from the hospital, he let me back in–but not without making a comment. “You didn’t even call me,” he said, his tone sharp. “Standing outside, covered in cream like that–who were you trying to seduce?”
He didn’t give me a phone when he kicked me out. I explained this, and only then did he let the matter drop.
Back in my dorm, I applied ointment to my arm and started reading. When my roommates returned, I wouldn’t be able to read freely–I would have to switch to Braille.
I had grown proficient in Braille, but converting university textbooks into Braille was still an expensive process.
That evening, Amelia brought back two meals. She placed one in front of me cautiously.
“Juliet, have you eaten? I bought an extra meal. You can have it if you’d like. Don’t overthink it–I just couldn’t decide what to eat since the cafeteria was serving all my favorites today, so I got two.”
I blinked, momentarily stunned.
Amelia was truly kind. Even though I always kept my distance, she was thoughtful enough to preserve my dignity, framing it as an indulgent purchase rather than charity.
“Thank you.”
She handed me a pair of cutlery, carefully placing it in my hands.
I couldn’t help but smile at her attentiveness.
Amelia scooped up a piece of eggplant and placed it on my spoon. “This is sauteed eggplant. Try it and see if it suits your taste.”
