I turned my head away, my voice calm, indifferent. "It’s fine. You don’t have to explain your business trips to me anymore. Whether you come back or not—it doesn’t matter to me."
Because in ten days, I would be gone.
Gone from this house.
Gone from his life.
Whatever happened to him after that was none of my concern.
In the past, when he brought me gifts like this, I would have given him a sweet kiss in return.
But today, I didn’t.
And for the first time, he looked at me with a trace of dull confusion—like he couldn’t understand what had changed.
Marcus' heart clenched with unease.
He knew I had always been clingy, always longing for his presence. I must be upset, he thought—angry that he hadn’t been by my side these past few days.
"Lila, I'm sorry," he said, his voice soft, coaxing. "Please don’t be mad at me, okay? I swear I’ll never do this again. I’ve been working non-stop just so I could come back to you as soon as possible."
He smiled as he apologized, as if my unhappiness was a burden on his conscience.
Love?
Love.
At least, I had truly loved him once.