Vroom… vroom—

 

The wine-colored Harley Davidson couldn’t muster an impressive roar, only emitting a weak engine sound.

 

Silvano, who had his foot propped on the right side of the motorcycle and was testing the kickstarter, roughly swept his hand through his hair. 

 

His lips, clenched around a cigarette, twisted stubbornly.

 

“Damn it, it’s a piece of junk now. This one too.”

 

And just when he was in a foul mood, a car pulled to a stop right behind him. 

 

The moment he heard the sharp screech of tires, Silvano’s brow furrowed.

 

“What empty-headed bastard parks here…”

 

The moment he turned his head with a menacing glare, the stream of words he’d been firing off like a machine gun abruptly stopped.

 

His fiercely narrowed eyes gradually widened. 

 

It was no wonder… This wasn’t just any car from some empty-headed bastard, it was a car he’d seen often.

 

“…Huh?”

 

And then, emerging from the open driver’s side door, was that same annoying person. With a face half-surprised and half-bewildered, Silvano took the cigarette out of his mouth.

 

“What the hell?”

 

“…”

 

“Well, look who it is. If it isn’t our Theodoro?”

 

He got off the motorcycle, his expression still clearly uncomfortable. His eyes, scanning the black sedan, were filled with puzzlement.

 

Did he ditch Paul Galliano somewhere and drive here himself?

 

“Where’s Paul? He didn’t come with you? Wait, but you said you left at dawn. You got here fast. Did you floor it the whole way?”

 

At Silvano’s questioning expression, Theodoro, who was in the middle of lighting a cigarette, flinched slightly.

 

He recalled the scene of Paul, his face pale as a sheet after they’d stopped in front of the Golden Riviera Hotel in Demercy, rushing to the flower bed and vomiting into it without any decorum.

 

“He came with me. I took over the wheel midway, and we drove diligently to get here. I dropped Paul off at the hotel as soon as we arrived in Demercy.”

 

“Wow. Nice benefits for a secretary, huh? The boss even drives for him… A hotel right after the business trip?”

 

“…”

 

Is this really welfare?

 

After driving for a full 7 hours, Paul was completely exhausted, to the point where it wouldn’t be strange if he collapsed right then. 

 

Around that time, the two were entering Kent Town.

 

Theodoro quickly handled some debt collection matters he had to take care of there, and then from there, he took the wheel himself and flew all the way to Demercy. 

 

Literally meaning he ‘flew‘ on the road.

 

Because of the business in Kent Town, they couldn’t even take a plane and had to travel 1,300 km by car. 

 

A white, slender silhouette kept flickering before his eyes, and there were still 600 km left to go.

 

Theodoro drove so fast that it was as if the wheels were on fire. Paul, sitting in the passenger seat, must have been miserable.

 

“Mr. Theodoro, please… At this rate, we’re going to take off soon. Could you slow down a bit…”

 

“Why don’t you just sleep?”

 

“How can I sleep? I’m really going to throw up-.”

 

“Do you want to drive again?”

 

“…Ah, uh… No.”

 

Anyway, covering a distance that should have taken another 6 hours in just about 3 hours was the result of Paul’s tearful sacrifice combined with Theodoro’s madness.

 

“Are you insane? Did you miss our Lilliana that much?”

 

“Stop talking nonsense…”

 

Theodoro, a cigarette slanted in his lips, rummaged through his pants pocket. He pulled out a wad of cash and handed it over roughly. 

 

Silvano’s face crumpled as if he’d seen something bizarre.

 

“What’s this? What is it?”

 

“Go fix your motorcycle.”

 

“…? Did you take some pills at Phelps?”

 

Staring at him, Silvano’s downturned eyes were tinged with deep fatigue. It seemed like he couldn’t even be bothered to give a detailed explanation.

 

“For your trouble. Since a damn unleashed mutt guarded its owner pretty well.”

 

“Oh ho…”

 

Silvano threw away the cigarette he was smoking and snatched the wad of bills. His black eyes, trying to gauge the amount, gleamed with a greasy joy. 

 

This was more than enough money to fix a motorcycle on the verge of being scrapped.

 

“Wow, damn… Of all people, you’re doing me a solid. No change?”

 

“Just go. Stop hanging around here.”

 

Theodoro gave an indifferent jerk of his chin and immediately turned, heading straight for De Lucia.

 

There was no way he gave Silvano the money because he liked him. 

 

It was solely to get rid of a bothersome nuisance, nothing more, nothing less.

 

💫

 

Early that morning. After receiving the call from Theodoro, Liliana felt unsettled all day.

 

He’s finally coming back from Phelps to Demercy…

 

Had the pasta she had for brunch gone up her nose or into her mouth? 

 

She must have spent nearly an hour in front of her closet, worrying about what to wear. She couldn’t focus on her work. While practicing the songs they were going to sing today with her colleagues, she messed up the lyrics countless times.

 

“Liliana, is something wrong? Why are you like this today? You’re like someone whose mind is somewhere else.”

 

“Ah, no. It’s not that… Sorry, I’ll do it again.”

 

Just as Liliana was shaking her head vigorously to pull herself together, Mauricio suddenly walked over and held out a mop.

 

“Stop that and go mop over there. Some simple labor might do you good.”

 

It was a pitiful situation, demoted from vocalist to cleaner… but it was a wise judgment nonetheless. 

 

As she wiped away the sticky alcohol stains, her scattered thoughts gradually began to calm down.

 

Just like that, one hour. Two hours.

 

After finishing the mopping and polishing the desk until it gleamed. 

 

Around the time, she was even dusting off the curtains hanging in front of the private table….

 

The door to De Lucia’s bar slammed open right at that moment.

 

“Huh? Mr. Theodoro?”

 

At someone’s overly dramatic voice, Liliana froze solid. When she turned her body stiffly like a wooden puppet, she could see.

 

A man staring straight at her alone, without giving a glance to any of the scattered people inside the bar.

 

She didn’t need to rack her brains over how to greet him. 

 

Or what expression to make to welcome him. The moment she saw those eyes binding her entire body from afar, all thoughts evaporated completely.

 

“Everyone, go home for the day.”

 

“Huh? Closing the shutters today?”

 

“Yeah. Go home, go drink, do whatever… Mauricio, lock the front door on your way out. I’ve got some talking to do, and I’ll leave through the back.”

 

As soon as the deep bass voice declared an unexpected closure, cheers erupted from all corners. But those noisy sounds didn’t even reach near Liliana’s ears.

 

The bar is emptying out in a rush. Theodoro crossing straight through the center, getting closer and closer to her.

 

Before long, only four or five steps remained between them. 

 

And with every step he took, her shrinking body instinctively retreated one step in fear.

 

Theodoro’s eyes narrowed thinly as he glanced up at her.

 

“What, do I look like a ghost?”

 

“N-No….”

 

“Then why are you avoiding me?”

 

“That’s… eek!”

 

Her hips hit the table, blocking any escape. There was nowhere left to retreat.

 

Theodoro placed both hands on the table behind her and began leaning his body forward.

 

“The, Theo….”

 

Trying hard to ignore the persistent gaze that offered no escape, Liliana lowered her head.

 

At that moment, the corner of Theodoro’s mouth slowly curled upward. She probably hadn’t noticed, but her flushed cheeks had already caught his eye.

 

“Liliana. Why are you avoiding me?”

 

His flat voice struck the crown of her head, but Liliana couldn’t open her mouth. 

 

Even she found it hard to explain why her feet had turned backward, why she couldn’t face head-on a face she’d seen so many times before.

 

But a hand that quietly approached lifted her chin, leaving her no room to evade him further.

 

“Ah…”

 

The face she was seeing after about two weeks felt both familiar and strange.

 

His eyes looked more hollow than before. 

 

The deep-set sockets had several folds of double eyelids, and a dark shadow—whether dark circles or mere shading—hung over them.

 

Strangely, despite all that, he looked clean. 

 

His soft, fluffy hair, as if he’d just finished getting ready, covered his forehead. 

 

A fresh soap scent even wafted from him.

 

“D-Did you… come straight here?”

 

“What?”

 

“No… It doesn’t seem like you drove here from morning—”

 

“Is that important?”

 

Theodoro let out a hollow laugh, as if he couldn’t believe his ears.

 

In truth, just as she had questioned, he had showered at the Golden Rivera Hotel before coming. He hadn’t wanted to meet her looking disheveled after being cramped in a car for half a day.

 

It sounded harsh to Paul, but… the reason he went straight to the hotel upon arriving in Demercy was solely that he urgently needed a shower to tidy up his appearance.

 

Of course, Theodoro wasn’t about to reveal all that himself.

 

He calmly brushed Liliana’s skin, his eyes following the emerald gaze that rolled in panic.

 

“Have you been well?”

 

“Ah… yes, of course…. I called every day, yesterday, and the day before, you know.”

“I’m only asking out of courtesy. I’m glad to hear you’ve been well, Miss Moretti, though your answer isn’t exactly pleasant.”

“Yes… Yes?”

His hand, resting on her chin, slid smoothly and enveloped her slender neck. 

 

Theodoro turned his head and whispered low near her ear, which was imbued with her scent.

“Since you left like that that morning, I’ve been worried until today. ‘I’ve been well’…”

His hair gently brushes against her ear, his hot breath clinging to her skin. 

 

Liliana’s white eyelashes trembled faintly.

“Ah… I was really, f-fine. You shouldn’t have… worried.”

The hand caressing her nape stopped abruptly.

“You were fine?”

“Uh, yes…”

“Fine?”

“Uhh… Well…”

If she had known he would ask repeatedly, chilling her to the bone, she wouldn’t have uttered that empty pleasantry about being fine.

 

She could feel his gaze piercing through her as he turned his head further. 

 

As Liliana trembled with anxiety, his thumb once again swept leisurely up her neckline.

“Huh, ugh…”

“Well, seeing as John Bruno is calling again, perfectly fine… I guess you’ve been too busy to even think of me. Handling all the work flawlessly by yourself. You were busy, weren’t you?”

His words sounded so sarcastic that her voice, as it left her lips, was utterly deflated, as if making an excuse.

“That’s… because I had to ensure everything ran smoothly even while you were away…”

“I’m not scolding you. You did well. I heard there was nothing to fault in how you handled it.”

At the unexpected praise, Liliana’s lips parted slightly. She shouldn’t have let her guard down there.

 

A cold light flashed across Theodoro’s dark eyes. 

 

And then, his voice, sinking even lower, grated inside her ear.

“But, Liliana. I was busy too.”

“…Yes? I know that—”

“Even while busy, I was diligent in thinking of someone.”