Male Lead, Please Dump Me Three Times - Chapter 40

“Would you like a hug?”

Ray’s pupils shivered slightly. Yet, as he surveyed every part of my face, he slightly moved his eyes to fill his vision with my image.

I silently accepted Ray’s gaze without saying a word.

“Yes.”

Soon, Ray burrowed into my embrace.

I hugged him tightly, as if to hold him completely in my heart.

Ray wrapped his arms around my waist. He hugged me tighter, as if he didn’t want to leave any space between us.

It was more of a grip than a hug, so strong it could bind.

With my cheek against Ray’s head, I closed my eyes and thought,

‘Is this okay…? Am I doing something wrong to him…? We’re not even in a relationship where I can always comfort him when he’s struggling.’

But such thoughts were fleeting.

I just wanted to hug Ray, who was fully embracing me, even deeper.

While gently stroking the back of Ray’s head, I said,

“You must have been lonely.”

He didn’t say anything. He just burrowed deeper into my embrace.

Thus, we shared each other’s warmth for a long while, closely pressed against each other.

I gently patted Ray in my arms, hoping to offer him some comfort.

* * *

“I have a place I want to show you.”

After a simple dinner, Ray took me somewhere, saying he had a place he wanted to show me.

He held my hand like a child who follows well.

I naturally did not push away his hand that came to hold mine.

“Huh? Where?”

“You’ll know when we get there.”

“Are we going outside?”

“Yes. To the garden.”

Ray lazily smiled and looked down at me.

Why does time fly so fast?

Before I knew it, the day had turned into a dusky evening.

We crossed the wide garden towards somewhere.

The outside garden was so well-maintained that not a single weed was visible. It seemed the servants took great care of it.

Led by Ray’s hand, I took in the garden filled with colorful plants as we walked.

“Here it is.”

Ray stopped walking.

In front of us was a dome-shaped building.

The front was made of glass, shining brightly under the dusky evening sky.

It seemed the interior lights were always kept on.

“Wow… There’s such a place? It’s beautiful.”

The building was breathtakingly beautiful, leaving me speechless.

The building was quite large and seemed to have high ceilings.

Ray stepped back for a moment and opened the door of the building.

“My mother used to call this ‘The Glass Garden’.”

“The Glass Garden?”

“Yes. It was a place she cherished a lot.”

Ray soon led me inside.

Upon entering, what appeared was an outdoor garden-like array of flowers and various plants.

Around the well-maintained edges, there was even a small fountain in the middle.

“How is it?”

“It’s so… pretty. It seems to shine! Sparkling!”

Filled with awe, I looked up at Ray.

Ray looked down at me with a deep gaze.

The flowers are arranged in the order of the color of the rainbow, and even the large and small trees.

Even the moonlight peeking through the night sky reflected off the glass, illuminating the interior.

It was perfect landscaping.

I moved my gaze around, taking in the scenery fully.

“Your legs must be tired. Shall we sit there for a moment?”

Ray took my hand and headed towards a bench next to a small lake.

He took out a white handkerchief from his pocket and spread it on the bench.

“Daisy, sit here.”

Following his words, I gently sat down next to Ray on the handkerchief spread wide.

“This place is really nice… I wouldn’t get tired of coming here every day.”

“Do you like it?”

“Yes! Absolutely.”

“I’m glad you like it. It was worth maintaining it well.”

We sat side by side on the bench, holding hands, looking at the fountain in front of us.

Water streams continuously sprayed from the fountain.

‘Come to think of it… The place where I first met Ray was also in front of a fountain.’

A memory from my childhood suddenly came to mind, bringing a slight smile to my lips.

“What are you thinking about?”

At his soft voice ringing in my ear, I tilted my head to look up at Ray and then spoke,

“Looking at the fountain reminded me of the past.”

“The past?”

“Um… Should I talk about this…?”

“What is it?”

“First, there’s a condition. No asking questions that will trouble me!”

I said with determination in my voice.

Ray simply nodded in agreement to my words.

“Back then. The first time I saw Ray was in front of a fountain.”

“Ah…”

“So, for a moment, I remembered Ray from that time.”

“…”

“Back then too, you were very handsome. To the extent that no one else around us caught my eye.”

“I see.”

Pretending to be nonchalant, Ray caressed the hand he was holding with his fingertips. His gentle caressing felt quite tender.

“The night sky… outdoors…”

Facing a scene similar to that time, a question that had been deeply hidden inside me surfaced.

Should I just bury it or ask?

Why do I want to ask this?

‘Do I even have the right to ask…’

But I didn’t want to ignore my curiosity outright.

Somehow…

In this moment, in this place, I wanted to be true to my feelings.

“Ray. Can I ask you one thing? Of course, you don’t have to answer if it’s difficult for you.”

“What is it?”

I quietly gazed at Ray urging me with his soft voice.

“Actually, I saw Ray that day.”

“When?”

“At the banquet hall… on the second floor.”

“…”

“On the terrace… going in.”

“…”

“You met with Delian… right?”

“Yes.”

“I thought so. That’s how it is.”

Suddenly, Ray stood up.

Then he knelt on one knee in front of me without letting go of my hand.

“I came looking for you.”

“What?”

“Because I couldn’t see you anywhere. I thought maybe you went to the terrace without knowing.”

“Really?”

Ray nodded at my question, a smile playing on one corner of his mouth.

“Then, the reason you went in there was…….”

“I knew that Lady Ruina and you are close, thanks to you.”

Suddenly, past memories came to mind.

During our academy days.

Whenever I confessed to Ray, I would invariably remind him of Delian’s existence.

“Ah…….”

“So, I thought maybe she saw you, Daisy, and she was crying.”

“Uh……. She must have felt bad.”

“It’s not about how I feel, but I was worried Daisy might care, so I intrusively stepped in. I’m sorry.”

“What? Why would you……?”

I couldn’t understand what Ray was saying.

Was it because of me?

“I want to be with you, but if you see Lady Ruina doing that…….”

“…….”

“You would leave me.”

“Ray, Delian is…….”

“I know. The reason you went to the ball with me, it wasn’t because you wanted to go to the ball with me.”

“…….”

“You went looking for Lady Ruina?”

“Of course, I had the goal of meeting Delian, but it wasn’t that I didn’t want to go with you, Ray.”

“I know. I also know what you think of that friend. And it was thanks to Lady Ruina that we met again.”

I had somewhat expected it but…….

To think that Delian and Ray had conspired together.

Why would they go that far?

“So, it really was something you two planned?”

“Yes. I thought you might have noticed.”

“I had a slight suspicion……. but with Delian’s situation being not so good lately…… I couldn’t ask again about it.”

“It was hard for me to meet you on my own. It seemed like you wouldn’t even meet me.”

“Yes…….”

“It’s just… I hate it when you pay attention to someone else. I hate it when you look at someone other than me.”

“What?”

“Are you disappointed in me? Because I seem selfish?”

Ray rubbed my hand against his cheek. Then he pleaded, asking me not to ignore him.

“No. After all, you didn’t have a bad intention. I understand.”

Logically thinking…….

If what Ray says is true, then he really is a cold person.

A fragile woman is crying and trembling alone. Even at that moment, he comforted her for reasons other than a speck of sympathy.

But…….

Strangely, I didn’t feel bad. Rather, a sense of relief washed over me.

The fact that Delian and Ray had no special relationship, and their relationship was no different from before.

‘I shouldn’t feel this way…….’

Ray once again held my hand tightly, noticing my moment of contemplation.

“Daisy.”

“Yes?”

“Thank you. For asking.”

Thank you…….

It felt like I was facing something I had unconsciously ignored.

But my body and mind were already separate.

At this moment, I just wanted to be honest in this conversation.

“Me too…… Thank you. For answering honestly.”

Ray smiled lazily at my words. Then he spoke to me in a soft voice.

“Will you make a promise with me?”

“What promise?”

“Just like now. If you’re curious about something, don’t hold back and ask me.”

“……Yes.”

“I’ll answer everything.”

I tried to lift the corners of my mouth and nodded at his words.

Then Ray smiled pleasantly and lightly kissed the back of my hand.

Still not taking his eyes off me.

It felt strange.

Ray, who obviously couldn’t know the state of my mind, captured such an image of me with his eyes full.

Soon, his lips slowly parted.

“Shall we go in now? It’s getting late.”

At that moment, when his earnest gaze intertwined with mine, I had one more question to ask Dermian.