Chapter 5

For two full days, I was locked in my room.

The household staff followed Arthur's order strictly. I didn't get a single drop of water or a bite of food. Thirst and hunger kept me from sleeping. I stayed awake through two miserable nights, fully conscious for every second of them.

On the third day, the door finally opened, and a tall figure stepped inside.

Arthur looked down at me and asked calmly, "Clara, do you know what you did wrong?"

I looked at him quietly and didn't answer.

I'd spent those two days thinking about that question, too. Was it wrong for me to fall in love with Arthur?

I finally understood.

It wasn't wrong of me to love someone. The only thing I'd done wrong was choosing someone who wasn't worth it, and that was on Arthur.

Still, I didn't say any of that. I braced myself against the bed, stood up, and walked past him in silence, leaving the room.

For the next two days, I stayed in my room, packing and sorting what I would take with me.

I planned to donate the clothes and books I no longer needed. I hoped they might help someone, even a little.

When the charity workers came to pick up the donations, Arthur came home.

"What is all this?" he asked.

I signed my name on the donation form, then gestured for the workers to take everything and leave first.

"There's too much stuff in the room, so I'm clearing some of it out," I said.

My voice was flat, almost emotionless. He frowned slightly, as if he couldn't quite place why that bothered him.

Just then, his phone rang. It was Elsa calling.

"Stop buying useless things," he said with faint impatience, tugging at his tie as he turned away to take the call.

His tone softened immediately. "Elsa, I received the gift you bought. I really like it. What? You want to look at roses. Alright, I'll go with you to pick them out. Let me get changed first."

With that, he hung up and went back to his room, moving as if I'd never existed.

I returned to my room out of habit, then paused when I thought of the roses he'd mentioned.

Right. I almost forgot about that plant.

I went back to my room and picked up the jasmine plant on the windowsill. I had taken good care of it, and the buds were just starting to form. Then, I hurried after Arthur as he was about to leave.

He lifted his wrist to check his watch and looked at me with a hint of impatience. "What is it? Make it quick."

"The jasmine's doing well. You like jasmine, don't you? Can you keep it in your room from now on?" I asked, my voice soft.

I was leaving soon. It would be a long journey, and I couldn't take the plant with me. Besides, it had originally been meant for him as a birthday gift. Returning it to him felt appropriate.

Arthur took the pot from me, turned, and strode down the hall.

Then, he tossed it into the trash.

I stood there, stunned.

"Why bring it home if you're not going to keep it?" he said, glancing at me with displeasure. "Didn't I tell you to stop buying useless things? And Elsa is allergic to jasmine pollen. Are you trying to kill her?"

He remembered Elsa's allergy, but he'd forgotten that mushrooms could've killed me, too.

I blinked quickly, forcing my eyes to stay dry, then nodded quietly. "I'm sorry. I didn't know Luna Elsa was allergic to jasmine pollen. If that's the case, throwing it away is fine."

I turned and went back to my room.

Later, as I stared at the faint ring left on the windowsill where the pot had been sitting, his earlier words surfaced again. "Why bring it home if you're not going to keep it?"

I couldn't help whispering into the empty room, "If you didn't want me, why did you bring me home in the first place?"

No one answered, but I didn't need an answer anymore.