6

Helena could feel the coldness of Louis while they ate. He was serious in his own chair, and he didn’t even lift his eyes to look at her, as if he didn’t exist at all.

As much as she wanted to talk, she didn’t want to cause awkwardness as well. It seems like they are both on the same page that was only after the arrangement to help with the family business and nothing more.

Helena was actually having fun with the food being offered because it tasted good, but she could not help but get annoyed at why the maids weren’t eating. Anna would just gesture at her that it was okay and she should stop being worried about it.

She then looked at Louis, who was just eating. She is now wondering how her days would look under the roof of the man who has zero interest in her.

After eating, Louis stood up first, while Helena was hesitating on what to do as well. Anna smiled and gestured to just follow Louis, who was now heading somewhere.

Can’t he talk? What am I, his dog? He should be communicating at least whatever he wants with me instead of giving me this cold treatment.

Do we have a problem? Why is he rude? Is he like this to everyone?

It was running through her mind while she was following him, who was now heading outside. As much as she wanted to talk to him, she had felt an urge that Louis was the type of person who didn’t want to get approached, or it was also the intimidating part about him that she could not even say a word about.

As soon as they went outside, Louis went to the garden with a glass house that had a fountain in the center that seemed so captivating. Her lips curled for a smile when she noticed some butterflies flying throughout the place while some were landing on the flowers too.

She was so amused to see that kind of part in his place, knowing that it was so out of his style.

“My favorite insect is a butterfly,” Helena blurted out of nowhere out of fascination. “This might be my favorite place in your territory.”

Louis glanced at him interestingly. “Why?”

Helena blinked twice, and she didn’t expect he would converse with her. He removed his coat, put it at the back of the chair he pulled to occupy, uncuffed his sleeves and even the buttons of his white dress shirt, and took a seat while brushing his fingers against his hair.

“Well, I think the butterflies are the most beautiful insects out there. It’s just that they started first being a caterpillar, which some would look at as very hideous, but through the process, as it would transform into a butterfly, it was like a reminder that you will always have your own journey of transformation, that there is something good in you. That one day, if it was your time to shine, you could finally be the best version of yourself, and you will reach your dreams.”

Louis’ expression turned into something interesting. He stared at her, his lips parting and his brows knitting a bit.

“And where did you get that narrative?” He asked.

Helena shrugged. “Well, when I was a kid, I wanted to become a butterfly so bad. It was because they looked so beautiful and I wanted to fly. I wanted to reach the best version of myself despite having a short lifespan.”

Louis stared at her even more, like he had seen a ghost, but at the same time, he couldn’t believe that he was hearing it from her.

Helena then walked to the flowers, lifted her hand, and the butterfly just landed on her finger comfortably, as if it wasn’t afraid that Helena would hurt it.

“But right now, I realized I had already become one. I had now been given a chance to become a butterfly after being a caterpillar for a long time. Finally, I am now a butterfly,” she chuckled giddily, like a kid, but there was something about her voice that sounded sad.

Louis stared at her in his unreadable expression while Helena carefully looked at the flowers, her lips curving, happy that she was able to witness the other side of life that was full of beauty.

“How come? Because you are paired with a Montville? You got this power?” Louis asked.

Helena’s expression soured. It doesn’t sound right to her. It felt like Louis thought that she would take advantage of the position he has in society, in the whole town, which is not her intention.

Her only main goal is to bring justice to her old self for the life she had lost because of those people who deserved to be exposed and punished.

“Power? I want to achieve my own kind of power. Even if you were not in my life, I’d remain powerful,” she answered intelligently.

Louis blinks twice. And he can’t deny to himself that he was impressed by the way she answered him, as if she were trying to put him in a place, and he cannot just easily mock her because she knows how to fight back.

He crossed his arms as he continued watching Helena roam around; her eyes were just too focused on the butterflies that she was walking from one position to another.

“And how would you achieve that on your own?” He asked.

“I’ll start from scratch, of course. I still couldn’t remember my memories since I’ve been in a coma for five years, and I feel like I would only waste my time figuring out what I missed instead of making another memory to keep up.”

Louis was listening to her interestingly. He might not say it, but Louis looked amused at how she talked.

“I will make a new me—something that is the best version of myself, something that would make me powerful.”

“In terms of power, how do you view someone who is powerful?” Louis asked curiously.

She looked at Louis. “Like you.”

“Literally. Cuz I am.”

“Yes. You are. But the powerful thing about you is that I could see that you don’t let other people hurt you or have a chance to even reach you. You built your empire so high that no one could even dare to betray you.”

“That’s how powerful people are for you?” Louis looked at her intensely.

Helena nodded. “Yes. Despite being powerful, the human is emotional by nature. We would always feel these different kinds of emotions, and it just showed that anyone could hurt us if we let them.”

“So maybe you’ve let them?” he insinuated.

Helena shook her head. “No. It’s just that it was already our nature to trust our loved ones, expecting they would not hurt us in return, that those they made us feel were genuine, and that we could trust them. But it turns out that they were just waiting for the right moment to stab you in the back.”

Louis remained silent as he let Helena continue her words because he could feel their heaviness, like it was coming from her own experience and she was speaking on behalf of herself.

“That is the most painful thing, actually. And when they hurt us, it makes us powerless—that we couldn’t fight back because they were our weakness in the first place. And that’s the saddest part: that we are defeated not by our enemies but by someone whom we loved.” She smiled weakly and shook her finger to shoo the butterfly away as if freeing it.

“So in order to be powerful, I need to set aside those emotions that would only use me as a weapon to hurt me. If you have no weakness, maybe they would not be able to…defeat and hurt you.”

Louis didn’t say anything as the maid entered and arranged the round table for them while preparing the tea and placing some snacks they could eat while they were there.

“Thank you,” Helena said, to which the maid was shocked for a bit, but then she smiled at Helena before leaving.

Helena’s brows knitted for a while curiously, as she noticed that the maids are always shocked when they talk to them or compliment them, and even thanked them.

“Your maids are quite weird,” Helena pointed out as she was now walking toward the round table. “Can I sit?” she asked before pulling the chair for her.

Louis nodded uninterestingly and sipped on his tea.

“Don’t you talk to them? They always overreacted when they were given attention. It’s normal, you know,” she said while her eyes were glued to the pastries and macaroons that were served.

She actually loves them so much that she was so happy to see them. She pointed at it and looked at Louis, and he gestured that it was fine.

“I love sweets,” she mumbled happily like it was her own monologue, and she didn’t care if Louis was with him and he wouldn’t talk.

“What sweets do you like?” He asked boredly.

“Almond chocolates…” She smiled beamly.

Louis’ brows knitted even more. He stared at her like there was something about her face, trying to memorize every inch of it, while Helena was a bit curious as to why he was suddenly staring at her.

“W-What?” She asked.

Louis blinked twice and leaned against his seat. “Nothing. It’s just weird that you remind me of someone.”

“Who?” She asked interestingly.

Louis shrugged and looked away snobbishly. “None of your business.”