Dumped at the Cliffhanger Moment - Chapter 9

Being with Silas feels completely different from being with Kaele.

He’s not one to speak sweet words; a straightforward man, yet his actions always show his care.

When I encounter problems at work, his first reaction is never to comfort me but to offer solutions. Often, the issues I’ve discussed with him disappear by the next day.

He doesn’t constantly say he misses me, but even if I take the latest flight back at night, I always find him waiting at the airport.

I’ve experienced a kind of steady happiness I’ve never felt before.

Yet, the happier I am, the more anxious I become.

It’s like standing on a cliff; beneath my feet is solid rock, but when I turn around, it transforms into a bottomless abyss.

I start fearing that Silas will discover my true self, that every side I present to him is meticulously disguised.

I’m afraid he won’t like the real me.

After several snowfalls, the temperature plummeted. Coupled with heavy thoughts and busy work, I finally fell ill.

After taking leave from work, I stayed home alone.

I haven’t moved in with Silas; I’m afraid that being too close will reveal the side of me that isn’t expected.

In a feverish haze, I seemed to hear the doorbell ring.

I thought I was dreaming until it rang several more times, prompting me to open my eyes.

When I staggered to open the door, I found Silas standing outside.

He held a thermos box in his left hand and a bag of medicine in his right. It seemed to be snowing outside; his black wool coat was dusted with unmelted snowflakes, and his long eyelashes blinked, intertwining with moisture.

“I heard you were sick.” He walked to the dining table and set down the food container.

“You shouldn’t take medicine on an empty stomach. Have some porridge first. I didn’t know what you like, so I bought a variety.”

Before I could react, he reached out to feel my forehead, then pressed his forehead against mine, frowning slightly before sitting on the sofa and taking out each medicine.

“What symptoms do you have now? Is it a cold or a viral infection?”

“Chilled, probably a cold.”

Silas took out a box of medicine and carefully read the instructions.

I stared at him, dazed.

I remember when I first met him; he was the same, frowning over a report in a meeting.

Back then, I sat furthest from him, with many people between us.

He seemed so high and distant.

So… cold.

But now, the man who only looked at projects worth eight figures or more is frowning over a tiny medicine instruction sheet.

Alive, right in front of me.

The orange light in the living room draped over Silas, his coat on the sofa, shirt sleeves rolled up to his forearms. The light softened his chiseled features, giving him a unique warmth.

Suddenly, I felt my heart skip a beat, the echo bouncing around in my mind.

I thought, I’m done for.

I walked over and nestled beside Silas.

He wrapped an arm around me, covering me with a towel blanket.

“What’s wrong? Are you uncomfortable?”

I buried my head in him, muffled:

“What should I do, Silas? I think I’m starting to like you more and more.”

He raised an eyebrow: “Didn’t you like me before?!”

“No, it’s just–”

I couldn’t articulate the feeling. I’ve always been terrified of emotions, afraid of that loss of control.

I’m scared I’ll become like my mother.

But now, the feeling doesn’t seem so bad.

…

After taking the medicine, I fell into a deep sleep, dreamless. When I woke again, I was sweating, and the congestion in my head seemed to have suddenly cleared.

I got out of bed, happily going to find Silas, wanting to tell him I seemed to be better.

“Silas–”

The next moment, I stood at the study door, facing Silas’s expressionless gaze.

In his hand was the notebook where I recorded information about him.

He had already flipped through half of it.