He started complaining about his waist again, looking more pitiful than someone who’d actually been stabbed there.
The elevator descended steadily—until suddenly, with a loud boom, it came to an abrupt stop.
The lights went out.
“Ah!” Zelda let out a startled cry.
She was afraid of the dark. She had claustrophobia.
My heart clenched. I called out instinctively, “Zelda! Zelda, are you okay?”
She trembled and gave a soft “Mm.”
In the darkness, I heard the rustling of fabric.
“Zee, hold me tight. Don’t be scared.”
“Luigi…”
A man’s gentle voice comforting her.
I couldn’t help but laugh bitterly.
There had been another time, long ago, when Zelda and I got stuck in an elevator together.
The lights had suddenly gone out, and the elevator had stalled between floors.
She had trembled uncontrollably, her body drenched in cold sweat.
Zelda rarely lost composure in public, but that time—she had buried herself in my arms and refused to let go, clinging to me like a needy kitten.
But now, she didn’t need me anymore. She trusted Eugene without hesitation.
I could still remember the softness of her in my arms.
But she shattered that memory with her own hands.