Betrayal (2)

When Selene came to her senses, cheers and applause were pouring from the audience.
Hah, hah.
Selene herself didn’t really remember how she had performed.
She had just played, drawing the encounter with Theron Cox that had started with this piece that had given her so much trouble, like a revolving lantern, and the sound had flowed out on its own.
If there was anything she remembered, it was probably that the direction was completely different from what she had practiced until now.
The sound of the keyboard, which she heard intermittently, was rough, fierce, and also very emotional.
“Miss Ashcombe, congratulations. You are the winner.”
And yet, the winner’s trophy was in her hand.
That meant that even if she didn’t remember the moment of the performance, even if it was a different performance from her practice, it had been excellent to the ears of the people.
It was a cold yet calm judgment.
Selene stared blankly at the trophy in her hand.
It was a moment she had dreamed of for so long, but now that she had received it, she felt no emotion.
Is this what it’s like to reach a goal you’ve desperately wanted?
Or maybe it was because of Theron Cox.
Because the fact that the man she had opened her heart to to the point of giving up on studying abroad was a piece of trash who had approached her for her money was still quite a shock.
Either way, she didn’t want to think about it anymore.
Selene was tired and exhausted.
“The grand madam left right after the performance was over.”
Gwendolyn spoke cautiously to Selene, who had come down from the stage.
She thought it was a good thing.
On a day like today, she didn’t want to force herself to talk to anyone.
“The madam asked me to congratulate you. She said the performance was very excellent.”
Selene got into the car without any particular reply.
Gwendolyn, noticing that Selene was not in a good mood, told the driver to start instead of saying anything more.
As the wheels started to roll, the scent of the rose bouquet that Evelyn had given her spread widely in the car.
Evelyn had given her this bouquet, sniffling with what could have been tears of joy or sadness, after the performance was over.
Her uncle, who was said to have come with her, was nowhere to be seen.
Perhaps he had already left after learning of the fiasco.
Selene’s gaze turned to the bright red rose bouquet that was placed there.
Rose.
Theron Cox had once said some nonsense about her smelling like roses.
Theron Cox, Theron Cox.
Selene closed her eyes tightly as the name, which she should have erased from her mind right away, kept annoyingly coming to mind.
But the more she did, the more clearly his presence emerged in her heart.
Making her realize that this feeling, which was not just annoying but tormenting her, was perhaps love.
From the moment Theron Cox seemed cuter than a mole, from the moment she thought Theron’s voice was more pleasant to listen to than the sound of the piano, from the moment she thought that the time with him might be more enjoyable than studying abroad, perhaps this feeling was the love that Evelyn had chattered on about so much.
As she realized that fact, Selene felt an unbearable anger well up inside her.
Because if this was love, Theron would continue to pop up and touch her for a while, like grass that grows back even after being trampled.
While wondering why she had to suffer such pain because of a trash-like man like that, looking back, Selene knew that this uncontrollable thing was love and affection.
Because she knew it better than anyone, she had lived her life pushing people away and clinging only to the piano until now.
And it was Theron Cox who had finally broken that wall.
In her helpless agony, her thoughts repeated continuously, as if she had met a repeat sign engraved on a score.
If this state continued even when she was alone in her room, it would be even more painful.
Selene wanted to do nothing but sleep.
Although she had never spent a day without practicing the piano for at least an hour for over ten years, for a while.
Since she had done all sorts of things in the piano room after being tricked by Theron Cox, it was obvious that she would think of that man again if she went there.
“…”
It was then that she was barely suppressing her complicated feelings.
As soon as she got out of the car at the main gate of the ducal estate, the man who had been wandering in her mind and tormenting her was standing before her like a fantasy.
Theron had his hands in his pants pockets and was leaning against a black sedan.
Theron, who had spotted Selene, straightened up.
“Selene…”
Just as she was about to ignore him and walk away, Theron quickly approached and grabbed her shoulder.
“Just listen to me for a moment! There’s something you don’t know.”
“You must have a lot to say. Theron Cox, you’ve always had a long tongue.”
“Yes, I did. But I’ll never lie to you again! I swear.”
It was a meaningless oath.
What meaning could a belated truth have in a relationship already riddled with lies?
But on the other hand, Selene was curious what kind of excuses Theron would make.
How the man who had deceived her with that tongue would try to resolve this situation.
And if that effort was really because he liked her, or because he was still coveting the ducal family’s fortune.
Selene decided to watch that pathetic sight a little longer, as if in self-torment.
“Gwen, you go in first.”
Gwendolyn, who had been glancing around with anxious eyes, bowed her head cautiously.
“If anything happens, please call me anytime…”
At sunset, a lukewarm breeze blew through the main gate of the ducal estate.
Even as the breeze brushed past her, Selene’s cold demeanor did not change at all.
“Now, speak, Theron Cox. What is that great thing that I don’t know.”
Even though he was given a chance, Theron could not easily open his mouth.
He, who had a complicated face, ran his hand through his hair and hesitantly began to speak.
“…You may not have known, but I had a situation where I needed money urgently.”
‘Money. Yes. This all started with that damn money.’
‘That money that was so important to this man.’
“So, as I was racking my brain, your uncle, Colonel Ashcombe, proposed that I marry you, divorce you, and receive a share of the assets.”
“And you accepted that pathetic proposal.”
“Yes…! At that time, my situation was urgent, so I couldn’t think about the shock or hurt you would receive later. But… as I came to like you along the way, I realized this wasn’t right. So I decided to sincerely apologize…!”
Selene stared at the pleading Theron with emotionless eyes.
Looking back, Theron Cox’s explanations had always been just words.
And yet, she had gone along with it, for what reason she didn’t know.
Thinking about it now, it seemed that the pathetic one was not this man, but herself.
Besides, Theron was still trying to deceive her to the end, leaving out something important.
“What was the situation where you needed money urgently?”
“…”
“Were you being chased by a debt collector or something?”
“That’s…”
Theron bit his lip.
“It’s something about my past that I can’t tell you.”
Ha.
Selene’s gaze turned a shade colder.
“In the end, you’re saying you can’t even tell me the reason why you deceived me.”
“…I’m sorry.”
‘A poor family environment, a violent father.’
‘Even though he had confessed his shameful past to me just a few days ago, I couldn’t understand that there was another secret that was even more difficult to talk about. This situation was just ridiculous.’
“Selene…! I know I’m a coward. But the words that I love you now, that I can do anything for you, are real…”
“Shut up, Theron Cox.”
Selene’s patience finally reached its limit.
The anger that had been piling up inside her finally burst out with a sharp voice.
“It doesn’t matter how much you love me right now. I tried to trust you until the end. I kept persuading and brainwashing myself that you were different from other men. But what did you do? Even during that time, you were thinking about how to deceive me!”
“…”
“You have no idea how ridiculous I feel right now. I feel so pathetic for almost giving up on studying abroad after being deceived by a man like you!”
It was the first time she had ever raised her voice at someone in such an excited state.
Even when annoying men bothered her, she would shoot sharp insults at them, but she had never responded emotionally.
But looking at Theron Cox, who would have deceived her nonchalantly with that neat face, her emotions poured out on their own.
While Selene was catching her breath after finishing her words, Theron did not say a word.
However, he seemed quite surprised at her words that she had been about to give up on studying abroad.
“Selene…”
“So just go back. I can’t even trust your breathing anymore.”
Selene knew it was meaningless to spend any more time here.
Theron, who stood there as if frozen, did not hold her back.
‘He must have nothing more to say.’
‘He might have realized that he has to scrap that paltry plan he had made with my uncle.’
“Don’t ever appear in front of me again.”
Selene, who had left a short remark, walked into the main gate, leaving the dazed Theron behind.