Chapter 42
Rosalie was stunned. She didn’t expect the place where she first met him would actually be where Jonathan’s father died.
“I’m sorry,” Rosalie voiced.
“You don’t have to apologize. My father brought his death upon himself,” Jonathan said in a low voice.
“He brought it upon himself?” Rosalie was surprised. At least she didn’t expect him to describe his father’s death in such a manner.
“Yes, he brought it upon himself. He fell in love with a person he shouldn’t have fallen in love with, and the other party found him useless. Even if he knelt and pleaded bitterly, it did nothing to salvage their relationship. In the end, he was so depressed that he froze to death in the snow.” Jonathan’s expression was calm, and his voice sounded normal, like any other day as if he was talking about something ordinary.
Even so, he seemed to emit an aura of loneliness.
It reminded Rosalie of the first time she saw Jonathan.
“Jon,” she called out to him.
He raised his eyes, and her face was reflected in his dark pupils. think he asked for it?”
“Do
you
Rosalie’s throat was dry. After a while, she questioned, “Is that woman your mother?”
He was silent, with no expression, but there was a trace of pain in his
eyes.
At that moment, she knew the answer.
She didn’t know how to comfort Jonathan. It was as if at this moment, any language would fail to relieve his pain. After all, only those who had experienced these things would know the pain.
She stood up and hugged Jonathan, who was sitting on a chair.
He leaned his head against her chest, inhaling her scent as her warmth spread to his cheek.
Her steady heartbeat came to his ears through the clothes.
It made him want to listen to her heartbeat in this manner forever.
“Mom, don’t go…”
The skinny figure knelt straight, begging the woman who had packed her luggage not to leave.
But it was to no avail. The woman still insisted on leaving without even looking at him.
The boy was anxious and wanted to reach out to hold his mother as he saw her leaving.
But the next moment, his mother waved him off as an excruciating pain struck the boy in the chest.
He mused, “It hurts! Oh my. Who can save me and stop this excruciating pain?”
The pain suffocated him, threatening to end his life.
“Jon! Jon!”
There was a voice calling him!
Jonathan thought, “Who is that? Who is calling my name?”
“Jon, it’s not hurting you anymore. It won’t hurt you. I’m here. I’m here for you. You won’t be in pain anymore…” There was anxiety and concern in the gentle voice talking to him.
The feeling of suffocation and pain faded like a tide as Jonathan listened to her words. He struggled to open his eyes, looked at the delicate and quiet woman before him, and opened his thin lips with difficulty.
“Rosie…”
Rosalie breathed a sigh of relief. “Great. You’re finally awake!”
Jonathan sat up. Just now, he dreamed of his childhood and how he knelt before the woman, begging pitifully. He wondered if the dream was a result of him mentioning her story.
“It was just a dream.” He breathed a sigh of relief and lowered his head, only to find that the buttons on his pajamas had been unbuttoned, revealing his chest. “My clothes are…”
Seeing this, Rosalie seemed slightly embarrassed as she explained, “It’s because… you keep saying you are in pain, so I worried you hurt yourself… Hmm, that’s why… I unbuttoned your clothes… wanting to take a look.”
He stared at her. A crimson shade slowly crept onto Rosalie’s face.
“But I can promise that… you woke up before I took a look, so I didn’t actually see anything,” Rosalie explained hurriedly. However, the more
she explained, the more amorous she made the situation sound.
Jonathan spoke. “It’s okay, even if you see what’s on my body. You are allowed to.”
Rosalie’s face suddenly turned red, and she almost choked on her saliva. She wondered, “Please! Does he know his words would give people the wrong idea?”
“Are you… still in pain?” After a while, she stammered out.
“Yes, it doesn’t hurt anymore.” He lowered his head and began to button his pajamas.
She tried hard to keep her eyes above his neck but accidentally looked at his chest before Rosalie abruptly pulled Jonathan’s pajamas open again. “What happened…” She looked at his chest in a daze. There was a scar on the position of his heart. Although the scar had faded, it still looked horrible. It could be imagined that this injury was definitely not minor back then.
“It was just a minor injury,” Jonathan said nonchalantly.
She bit her lower lip and raised her hand to touch his scar. Rosalie wondered whether Jonathan was crying out in pain in his dream earlier as he grabbed his chest because of this wound.
Rosalie thought, “How is it possible that this was a minor injury if Jonathan would still cry out in pain while sleeping even after so many years? Was he hurt badly back then?” Rosalie felt like her heart had been twisted.
“How did this happen? When did you get injured?” she murmured.
His body stiffened slightly. For many years, his injury here had never been touched by anyone except the doctors. Now, only Rosalie touched his wound.
As if his body’s blood rushed towards his heart, Jonathan’s heart thumped faster underneath Rosalie’s touch.
“It’s been a long time, and it doesn’t hurt anymore,” Jonathan stated.
Rosalie was slightly relieved to hear his words, only to realize that it looked like she was trying to do something naughty to Jonathan with her
current posture.
“That’s… That’s great! Button up your shirt, or you will catch a cold.” She blushed and quickly moved her hand away.
The warmth on Jonathan’s chest disappeared suddenly, making his heart feel somewhat empty.
He buttoned his pajamas one by one. “By the way, what else did I say other than cry out in pain while dreaming?”
Rosalie hesitated momentarily before replying, “You… You kept shouting for your mom to stay.”
Jonathan’s body suddenly stiffened, and he gradually clenched his fists, letting his fingernails dig into his palm.
While gazing at him, Rosalie couldn’t help but touch Jonathan’s cheek as a coolness seeped into her fingers.
“Jon,” she called out to him.
He slowly raised his head, his eyelashes fluttering. Jonathan fixed his gaze on Rosalie through his bangs.
His eyes were as hollow as when he talked about his parents before.
Somehow, Rosalie felt an ache in her heart.
