However, after getting in the car, the car did not drive towards Camilleâs place, but went straight to his villa.
âIâll just stay at Camilleâs place!â Valda said anxiously. She was not ready to face him yet.
This unexpected visit, he went straight to Camilleâs place, so it seems that Camille let it slip.
âWhy did you go to Camilleâs place if youâre back?â Brian asked.
âWellâ¦Iâll just go back to my own apartment then. Itâs just more convenient for me to stay there,â Valda said.
âSo, staying with me is not convenient?â he asked.
âYour bedroom is on the second floor, and as you can see, my legs arenât very good at going up and down stairs,â she finally found a reason after a while.
âIâll have someone tidy up the room on the first floor, so itâll be easier for you to move around,â he said.
âThereâs no need to make it so complicated. Iâm not used to it,â
she continued to refuse, looking down.
He looked at her lowered head and her resistance, which he could see.
After hesitating for a moment, he finally asked, âValda, do youâ¦not want to see me again?â
Valdaâs body stiffened, âNoâ¦no, of course not.â
âReally?â he asked. âThen why did you come back without me knowing, when Camille knew? If Camille hadnât mentioned it today, when were you planning to show up in front of me?â
âIâ¦â She didnât know how to answer his question, so she just shrunk her shoulders and lowered her head even more.
Her appearance made his heart ache.
Even if she really doesnât want to see him, itâs his own fault. He didnât protect her well at that time, which caused her to become like this now.
When the car stopped at the entrance of his villa, Brian was about to carry her out of the car, but she held his hand and said, âI can actually walk by myself, but Iâll just be a bit slower without a cane. Brian, Iâ¦I want to walk by myself.â
He pursed his thin lips, stared at her for a moment, and finally hoarsely said, âOkay.â
Although he said those words, when she got off the car, he still insisted on holding her hand to help him walk. âIâll have someone prepare a suitable crutch for you later,â he said.
âNo need, actually Iâm quite used to my original cane,â said Valda.
Itâs just that her previous cane was left at Camilleâs house and wasnât brought out when she left.
âOkay, Iâll have someone go get it later,â said Brian.
Valda hobbled into the villa.
Everything in the villa still seemed strange to her, just as she remembered it. It was as if the past year had never happened. On the coffee table in the living room, there was still a comic book she had left there when she left Emerald City. And on the sofa, there was a pillow she had brought from her own apartment at that time.
But even though these things havenât changed, she has changed.
She is no longer the same Valda as she was a year ago!