No one cared who the other person was for all that mattered was to have fun.
However, Niamh and Kendrick were different as they knew who each other was. They only attended to enjoy the atmosphere and had no plans to converse with strangers, let alone rave on the dance floor.
The music started and Kendrick pulled Niamh to the center of the dance floor.
Niamh used to be clueless, but she was now skilled in basic ballroom dances.
However, Kendrick did not only plan to dance ballroom with Niamh. Holding her in his arms, the two danced freely in the center of the dance floor. At this moment, they only had each other in their eyes.
After a while, Niamh felt hungry, so they both went to grab some food by the bar table.
They had only sat down for a while when one masked man after another came over to ask Niamh for a dance.
Despite the fantastical lights and the mask on Kendrick’s face, Niamh could easily imagine what expression the man was wearing at the moment.
After merely seeing the frost that was pouring out of the man’s icy gaze, Niamh could already guess how pissed the man was. Not even drinking something cold would quell his anger.
Now that she thought about it, it was weird that no women had come to ask Kendrick for a dance despite the man’s outstanding appearance.
Niamh reached for the cold drink and was about to tease the pissed man in front of her when a young woman in a witch outfit walked over to Kendrick.
The party was loud, but Niamh could easily hear the woman greeting Kendrick.
“I didn’t think I’d see you here, Kendrick. What a coincidence!”
Kendrick did not realize she was there at all until he heard her speak.
She had a large pumpkin mask on her face and Kendrick could not recognize who she was.
Seeing Kendrick’s confusion, the woman took off her mask coolly.
Bright lights swept past the woman’s face and Niamh was met with an ethereal appearance. The woman had flirty and energetic almond eyes.
A sour tinge of jealousy spread in Niamh’s chest at that moment.
She finally understood how Kendrick must have felt all this while. Perhaps, the jealousy she was feeling at this moment was worse.
It was because she did not recognize any of the men who were asking her for a dance.
Yet this woman managed to recognize Kendrick despite the mask he wore and called his name so intimately.
She was about to ask Kendrick who the woman was when she looked up to catch a look of shock and desire to escape in Kendrick’s expression.
Niamh’s heartstrings tightened. ‘Why would Kendrick make such an expression?
‘Or did I imagine it?’
She wondered internally when she heard Kendrick make a confused sound. “What a coincidence. What are you doing here?”
“I’ve been too busy with work lately, so I decided to come over and take a vacation. What about you? How are you doing lately?” the woman asked with a smile when she realized Niamh sitting next to Kendrick. “This is…”
“This is my wife. I brought my wife here for a vacation,” Kendrick explained as he wrapped an arm around Niamh’s shoulder affectionately.
Out of respect, Niamh smiled softly at the woman.
The woman returned her smile with a polite one before her gaze fell back on Kendrick. “The fact that you can bring your wife here means that you should be alright now, then. Keep it up, alright? Don’t waste all the hard work I’ve put on you over those six months.”
Those six months?
The woman’s words awoke some of Niamh’s memories.
Indeed.
How could she have forgotten that the man had been refusing to tell her what happened during those six months he disappeared?
This woman was part of Kendrick’s disappearance, then.
Niamh’s suspicion grew and she wanted to quickly understand the issue. Just then, the woman excused herself as she had something to tend to.
After the woman left, Niamh gave Kendrick a deep look. “I have something to ask you. Outside.”
“…” Kendrick had a bad hunch and went after her without a moment’s pause. “Nia!”
Kendrick chased after her. He could already feel that Niamh was not in a great mood.
Looking back at those six months, it was not a memory he wanted to revisit.
Niamh sat on the beach by the hotel and took off her mask. She faced the night breeze head-on as she walked forward with no destination in mind.
“Nia.”
Kendrick’s voice sounded from behind and Niamh’s footsteps slowly came to a halt.
She did not want to fight with him, but it would not change the fact that she was upset.
Kendrick strolled over to stand in front of Niamh. The sea breeze blew and ruffled her short hair. Under the yellow street lamps, the melancholic look on Niamh’s small face was clear for Kendrick to see.
His sharp brows furrowed in apology as he opened his arms to pull Niamh into a tight embrace.
“It’s not what you think, Nia.” He held her tightly, his slow and gentle voice sounding by her ear. “We’re just friends.“
Niamh stared into the boundless sea quietly and parted her pink lips. “She could recognize you despite the mask you wore. She even called you Kendrick so intimately.”
“Nia.” Kendrick loosened his grip to cup Niamh’s cheeks with both his hands. His lips were pulled into a small smile in an attempt to recover the atmosphere. “Is Nia being jealous?”
Niamh remained silent and did not deny it.
Kendrick quirked a corner of his thin lips, and his attractive features were tinted with a few extra shades of glee.
“Nia looks cute when she’s jealous. It makes me very happy.”
“But I’m not.“ Niamh looked at the mirthful man seriously. “When you finally returned after disappearing for six months, I asked you before where you had been and what you did, Kendrick. Yet you refused to tell me, or you would just brush me off with a few simple sentences. I really want to know and it matters a lot to me.”
The smile on Kendrick‘s face vanished at Niamh’s words.
“We’ve been through so much, Kendrick. What more do we have to hide from each other? I love you and I care about everything that involves you. Even if these aren’t good things, I’m willing to listen and accept. As long as you’re alright and as long as we can be together, I’m willing to accept all of it.”
Kendrick’s brows furrowed with regret.
He wrapped his arms around Niamh’s shoulders again and pulled her into his chest. This time, he cherished her more and was more protective of her.
“I’ve made you sad again, Nia.” Kendrick sighed and placed a peck on Niamh’s forehead. “You’re right, I’m running away from the half a year that I spent without you in my life. That was one of the lowest moments in my life, to the point that I would rather die than suffer the pain I went through.”
‘I would rather die than suffer the pain I went through.’
Niamh felt her heart tighten immediately at Kendrick’s description.
She pushed herself away from the man’s embrace lightly and lifted her beautiful eyes that were filled with heartache. “Can you tell me what happened, Kendrick?”
Kendrick knew that Niamh was concerned about him and her heart was aching as well. He did not plan for this woman to worry anymore about him.
He smiled and took Niamh’s hand as they walked along the beach.
“After I secretly saw you one last time that day, I decided that I had to leave. I thought that at least with me leaving, I would leave with you thinking I’m still alive. I would take that over me decaying and dying in front of you one day when the poison decides to attack.”
At that, Niamh’s footsteps came to a sudden halt.
Her chest felt like it had been stabbed by a sharp knife. Despite knowing that Kendrick was recovering, she could not ignore the ache that was slowly spreading from her heart to every part of her body at the thought of Kendrick’s mental and physical state back then.
Kendrick stopped walking as well. He could tell what Niamh was thinking from her expression, and he gave a reassuring smile as he comforted her. “As long as I can return to you, Nia, enduring a worse pain would’ve been worth it.”
Niamh’s vision slowly blurred as she stared at the peaceful expression on the man’s face.
“Do you know why the color of my hair and irises have changed?” Kendrick asked with a smile. “It does have something to do with the slow-acting poison Lana gave me, but there’s more to it.”
As he spoke, his handsome brows suddenly furrowed.
“It has more to do with how I tried all sorts of unknown medication just so that I could live longer. That woman just now was the doctor who invented the medication that would prevent the spread of the slow-acting poison. I spent half a year struggling in despair as I tried to survive.
“She told me that there was no way to completely dispel the poison from my body and I would only have two more years at most. That was why when I returned to you and the kids, I found myself in a very conflicting position.”
Kendrick chuckled despondently.
“I wanted to be with you and reciprocate your love with everything I had, yet I was afraid of being too passionate. I didn’t want to end up leaving you with more pain in the end. The same went with Lillian. I was afraid that she would lose her dad right after she finally recognized him, so I decided to just be cold to her and let her hate me. It was only after that I realized I was wrong.”
Niamh felt something piercing her heart when she heard that. “Kendrick…”
“Nia,” Kendrick interrupted, meeting her glistening gaze. “It was a grave mistake. I should never have been cold to you and our children. Every extra day I have with you should be met with optimism instead.”
The man shot her a gentle smile.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.