My Former Lover Didn't Die And Came Back - Chapter 54

“……”

Meanwhile, Cedric was frozen in the same posture he had been in when he handed over the child. He understood that Blair focusing on the child was natural, but he felt a pang in his heart that she didn’t even have the presence of mind to greet him. He sighed and scanned Blair’s entire body, shocked to see her completely drenched from the heavy rain.

“……Blair.”

“Hm?”

Blair lifted her head, which had been fixed in place, at Cedric’s call.

“Were you out in this rain the whole time? You should have stayed inside.”

“……Ah.”

Only then did Blair acknowledge Cedric’s presence and realize she hadn’t even thanked him.

“Thank you for finding the child, Cedric.”

“……”

Cedric silently watched Blair speak calmly and then shifted his gaze. Like her, Cedric’s entire body was soaked; he looked almost as if he had been submerged in water. Blair’s gaze stopped on one of Cedric’s arms, where blood had spread.

“Oh my.”

“Mom, Uncle got hurt. He hit a rock while carrying me down.”

“My goodness. Are you badly hurt?”

Blair lifted Cedric’s injured arm. It was dark, and the rain mixed with blood made it impossible to assess the extent of the injury.

“It’s not serious.”

Cedric answered.

It was true. It was just a scrape. But part of him hoped she would make a big deal out of his injury.

“Do you want to come in and get treated before you go?”

Cedric didn’t respond, but she knew he wouldn’t refuse.

* * *

It seemed he had a tough day because Alvin fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. After closing the bedroom door, Blair fetched some basic first aid supplies. Cedric was sitting at the dining table, his long legs awkwardly folded, making Blair think that all the furniture in this house was too small for him.

“Give me your arm.”

As Cedric extended his injured arm, Blair began cleaning the wound with a dry towel and applied medicine. The blood seemed to spread a lot, but once cleaned, it wasn’t a severe wound. She silently treated the cut and wrapped it in bandages. The only sound in the quiet room was the rustling of fabric.

This moment reminded both of them of a similar memory. Three years ago, at the Cavendish mansion, Cedric had bandaged Blair’s injured hand. This time, their roles were reversed. An old guilt resurfaced in Cedric’s heart.

“……Sorry.”

“For what?”

Blair asked softly as Cedric muttered.

“For when you hurt your hand.”

“……”

Blair paused her bandaging hands for a moment before continuing.

“……It was an accident. I was the one who grabbed your knife.”

“Not that.”

“……”

Blair lifted her gaze from his arm to his face.

“I left you alone after that, you know.”

“……”

There was no response this time. She lowered her gaze and continued wrapping the bandage.

“I should have assigned a maid to you.”

“Yes, you said that back then. You thought it was just a minor injury.”

Blair said with a light laugh.

“It’s all in the past,”

“That’s not it, Blair.”

Cedric closed his eyes and sighed deeply.

“……When I started taking you.”

He paused before continuing.

“After I began doing that every night, a few months in.”

“……”

“I hoped it was really you who had betrayed me.”

“Why……?”

Blair’s brows furrowed, and she asked. Cedric couldn’t immediately respond.

“……So that what I did to you would be justified.”

He swallowed the rising shame as he spoke.

“……”

In the silence, where neither of them breathed, only the sound of the rolling bandage could be heard. Blair didn’t even realize when it had fallen from her hands.

“I was scared by your confession that it was your parents who committed those acts.”

“……”

“I forced myself on you, treated you so harshly, and if what you said was true, I was afraid you would hate me.”

Blair parted her lips.

“……So that’s why you avoided me afterward? Cedric, I was dying then. I had a cold and injuries during Eleanor’s coldest winter.”

“I know. It was cowardly.”

A self-deprecating laugh escaped from Cedric’s lips.

Thump! Blair punched Cedric in the chest.

“You bastard. I nearly died back then, you know?”

She initially hit him with one hand, and Blair soon used both hands and her whole body to beat his chest.

“I know. Not going to see you then is something I’ll regret till I die.”

“You bastard……”

Her resentful actions didn’t last long. Soon, she was breathing heavily, lying on his chest as Cedric hugged her tightly and whispered apologies in her ear.

* * *

Cedric visited the store again the next afternoon.

“Did you sleep well?”

Behind him, holding a large box, were his men. It seemed their target today was Alvin.

“……Hah.”

Blair opened her mouth in surprise. After finishing his wound treatment yesterday, he left her house without any hesitation, but she didn’t expect him to come back so soon with tribute.

“The store will be looked after by us.”

Kay said with a bright smile. Alvin, who was clinging to Blair’s skirt, got excited at the sight of a box that seemed to contain toys.

“Wow! Are these toys for Alvin?!”

“Yes.”

Cedric answered. Blair sighed and opened the door to the second floor. There was no helping it now that the child had seen the toys. Cedric’s men left the toys on the second floor and exited the store.

Alvin didn’t know what to do with himself amidst the toys spread out all over the living room.

“Our house is too small to even place these.”

Blair said, arms crossed, looking on.

“I’ll buy you a house.”

Cedric offered a solution as if it were nothing, causing Blair to sigh.

“Uncle, what is this and what is that?”

Alvin asked, and Cedric approached him. Blair watched the two from a distance.

“Ma’am, could you come down for a moment?”

Just then, the door to the second floor opened slightly and Kay called out, prompting Blair to go down to the store. Cedric briefly looked at the closed second-floor door before turning his attention back to Alvin to ask what he was curious about.

“Alvin, can I ask when your birthday is?”

“My birthday…?”

As Cedric nodded, Alvin opened his small lips to answer.

“I was born in autumn.”

As expected. He suspected as much but he wanted a confirmation. A smile formed on Cedric’s lips.

This child was conceived that night, after all. The night he took advantage of a woman who was wandering in her dreams after losing her parents, late in winter. Ten months later, he was born in autumn.

……Anyway, he did a good job. Now he could tie her to his side.

“But who are you, Uncle?”

Cedric momentarily lost his words. ……How should he answer?

“Could it be… Uncle, are you Alvin’s dad?”

He realized at that moment. He had always wanted Alvin to ask him this question. Cedric’s lips trembled with thrill.

“……Alvin, are you curious who your dad is?”

Cedric asked with a smile on his lips. The most dramatic moment of a father and son reunion was about to happen.

“Yes, I’m curious.”

“Have you always been curious?”

“……Yes.”

“It seems you’ve had a lot you wanted to do with your dad.”

The child hesitated for a moment before answering.

“There’s not a lot. There’s one thing.”

“Can I ask what it is?”

Alvin lowered his bright blue eyes for a moment before lifting his head again.

“…….”

Cedric leaned in closer to the child, to focus better. His heart was pounding as if it would burst. It was only after encountering this little one that he realized he had always been looking forward to this moment. His small lips parted.

“……I want to ask why you hurt mom.”

“…….”

A deathly silence filled the room. Cedric clenched his teeth hard.

“The sisters told me. When mom gave birth to Alvin, she had ‘difficult labor’.”

“…….”

Cedric felt like he was choking. He remembered the conversation he had with Blair yesterday. She was dying on the cold stone floor while he had abandoned her. Why had he overlooked her weakened state?

“Mom bled a lot. So she hurts when it rains or gets cold.”

It felt as if someone was strangling him; he couldn’t breathe. The bird-like voice coming from the child’s mouth pierced his heart with every syllable.

Cedric, who had been frozen like a statue, opened his tightly shut mouth to ask.

“……Did Blair, did Alvin’s mom say… it was hard because of dad?”

With each word he uttered, it felt as if a sharp knife was carving each letter into his heart. The child stared at the man in front of him for a moment before shaking his head.

“……The sisters told me. If a man did well, a woman wouldn’t have left him.”

“…….”

Cedric couldn’t respond. He just leaned closer to the child. As he did, his upper body reflected in the child’s blue pupils. Wrapped in a black cloak, he looked like a dark monster. That monster whispered in his ear.

So that’s how it is. You think you can tie Blair down? With your capabilities? If you had such ability, she wouldn’t have left the capital three years ago.

Cedric remained silent, he just kept looking at the child.

“Uncle? Why aren’t you answering? Could it be that Uncle is Alvin’s dad?”

The child asked with innocent eyes, clear and bright blue. They resembled the color of the sea where he had first proposed to Blair. Like the color of the diamond ring she ultimately refused.

Ah. This is punishment.

Cedric realized.

“Hm? Uncle? Who are you?”

Cedric’s lips parted. But he couldn’t bring himself to say that he was his father. He wasn’t that shameless.

“…….”

When he reunited with Blair and saw a child who looked just like him, he secretly rejoiced. Heaven hadn’t abandoned him, he thought. He had done well to plant his seed in the belly of a woman who was out of her senses from alcohol intoxication. The child would serve as a bond to reconnect them both.

But looking into the child’s eyes, that thought vanished like ash.