"I have no appetite," Kevan replied."What about a little water?" She eyed his parched lips."Okay."There was an unopened bottle of mineral water in the room. Larissa twisted the cap off and handed the bottle to him, but Kevan did not take it."I don't have the strength to take it." He stared at her unblinkingly.Defeated, Larissa sat at the head of his bed. "I'll help you sit up then?"Kevan's eyes lit up. "Sure."Her arms slung around the back of his neck, holding onto it carefully as she supported his upper body.Kevan sipped the water she'd brought him, finding an unexpected hint of sweetness lingering on the tip of his tongue.When she helped him lie down after he was done, Larissa asked, "Do you still want to sleep?"Kevan was exhausted, and his eyelids were so heavy that he knew he wouldn't be able to open them again once he closed them.And yet, he didn't want to waste the precious time he got to spend with her alone, especially when he could play the patient card and have her
Larissa's eyes were tightly shut, her breaths equal and steady. She was obviously already in a deep sleep.Kevan smiled.Barely a few minutes ago, she'd been the one adamantly insisting that she wasn't tired at all.What a liar.She had promised—she'd said that she would never forget him. All those years ago—He lifted his right hand after much struggle, the urge to caress her head fiercely rising within him, and yet, his arms halted before they could approach her.His fingers curled into a fist.Forget it. He should just let her sleep peacefully.…The ringing of a phone shattered the rare harmony between the two.Larissa startled, bolting up immediately.In her daze, she groggily picked up her phone and was about to stop the alarm when she noticed the string of unknown numbers on her screen.She answered the call instinctively.The anxious voice from the other end was that of the nurse who'd been in charge of Travis' care. "Ms. Seymour, can you come to the hospital now?"Recalling he
After hanging up, Larissa realized that Kevan was staring at her.The two of them had been very close. Her conversation with the nurse earlier had been overheard by him entirely."Do you want to go?" he asked her."No." Her reply was swift with no trace of hesitation in her voice.Kevan sighed in relief.Still, he couldn't help but ask, "Because there's no cable car?""I wouldn't go even if there was." Larissa wiped away the few drops of tears leaking through the corner of her eyes as she spoke, her expression blank.She most probably wouldn't be attending his funeral either—if only to avoid encountering his family members.Seeing her tears, Kevan's heart sank."Are you sad that he's no longer alive?""A bit." Larissa's answer was frank. "We were once husband and wife after all."Kevan sneered. "What do you mean you were once husband and wife? Don't forget that good husband of yours was the one who'd gotten another woman pregnant while he cheated on you behind your back."His sarcasm d
Kevan had been accustomed to the filthiness of humanity since he was very young.He'd never trusted anyone—not even his own parents.The education he'd received told him that there were only two kinds of people in this world—those who were useful to him, and those who weren't.He'd never had deep interactions with people either, let alone go on to develop feelings for them.Joy, sorrow, anger, despair—all those emotions were nothing but distractions—luxuries he couldn't afford.A man like him… He supposed he was more of a perfect robot than a human. After all, what was he other than the machine created single-handedly by his family in order to inherit the family business?He could perfect a great many things, and none of those would be remotely flawed.Everyone he knew, and everyone else who knew him, had nothing but praise for him.And he'd never really questioned how wrong his upbringing or his life had been.That was until he met Larissa.Larissa was an unexpected presence in his li
"Hurry up and close it!" she told Kevan. His fever hadn't subsided, and if he caught another cold, the doctor would give her an earful the next day. "It's okay," Kevan said and pulled the blanket tighter around himself. "This will do. The stars look better without anything blocking the view."Starry Mountain was very high, so high that Larissa felt as if she were close enough to touch the stars. She reached out. "It's so beautiful," she said. Although she couldn't touch them, her heart swelled with happiness. The negative emotions from Travis' death were long since cast to the back of her mind. Kevan turned to look at her. Her eyes were wide open, and she was smiling from ear to ear. The look of awe on her face was unmistakable. "I need to take a picture of this," Larissa said and raised her phone to snap a few pictures swiftly. Every picture she took was so beautiful that it didn't need to be edited to be used as a screen wallpaper."I've been to Starry Mountain a few times,
Feeling as if she was sleeping right next to a raging fireplace, Larissa couldn't sleep well the entire night. Kevan stopped having nightmares, but he breathed a little heavily—maybe he had a stuffy nose. It rained on the mountain that night, but it wasn't heavy. The raindrops pattered against the transparent glass ceiling, and Larissa couldn't sleep from the noise.She stared up at the sky absent-mindedly. The stars were obscured by the rain and she could only see their faint light. Later on, the rain turned to snow. The glass slowly became covered up with a sheet of white until not a single glint of light could shine through. Enveloped in darkness, Larissa lost track of time. By the time Kevan woke up and she was finally freed, it was already 9 am. Kevan was slightly confused when the first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was Larissa's face. He stared at her blankly. However, Larissa acted as if nothing had happened and pushed his arms away calmly. She took the thermometer fr
While Kevan was showering, she went back to her own room. She found her phone that she had neglected throughout the night and was surprised to find a few missed calls. Other than one call that was from the hospital, the others were from an unknown number. She was certain that the hospital had called regarding Travis, but she also felt that the other calls had something to do with this. She did not call back and went to take a shower instead to freshen herself up.After that, she took her phone with her and went to look for Kevan. He was still in the bathroom, and Larissa could hear the faint sound of running water. She started reflecting on herself, asking herself if she was too shabby. Even a man put more time into showering than she did. Kevan only came out of the bathroom after a long time. His pajamas were dirty, so he only had a towel wrapped around his waist.Larissa was already eating her porridge in the living room. "Aren't you going to blow dry your hair?" She put down her s
Kevan ended up going with her. During the cable car ride down the mountain, Larissa was not in the mood to think about how Kevan had conjured up the money for the ticket, nor was she in the mood to appreciate the majestic and magnificent scenery surrounding her. All she cared about was …"You haven't eaten anything for a whole day. Can you take it? It's so windy on the mountain, but you're wearing very few layers. What if your fever comes back? You haven't fully recovered, so you're still weak. How are you going to drive later? How about you take the cable car back up again later? Go back to the hotel and eat, then take the whole day to rest … " "That's enough!" Kevan couldn't take it any longer and cut her off. "I know my own body." He liked her nagging and muttering, as well as her care and sweet voice, but not when she was trying to chase him away. He crossed his arms and leaned against the corner of the cable car. He shut his eyes as if he didn't want to listen to her. Larissa