My Fiancée Hates Me
Chapter 54: My Pace

I saw Garett at the front entrance of the Library.

We were the first to arrive. I sat across from him and opened my notes from my earlier classes.

"Was class alright?" Garett asked.

"Yes..."

He must be worried about me...

"How about some tea?" Garett asked as he lifted up a tea canister.

I slapped the canister out of his hands-on reflex.

"...I'm sorry," I said as I tried to pick up the tea canister.

"No, I am...I am sorry for being inconsiderate," Garett said as he picked up the canister.

It was a batch of my favorite tea again.

"No, I am sorry. I just have had time to be able to adjust yet," I said.

"We will go by your pace then..."

Garett took out some silverware as he continued making tea.

"Silverware?"

My pace? You liar...

He handed me a cup of freshly brewed tea. The silver did not change color. The only color reflected was its beautiful pink iridescent color.

"It's not poisonous. That day, I drank your favorite tea, but I do not regret it one bit. It was intended for you, but I am glad that I drank it first. I would have blamed myself if I could not have saved you then. Rather than keep feeling guilty, I would rather see you smile from enjoying the things you like again. It is fine to not give up the things you love just from one bad incident," Garett said with a gentle smile.

I took a sip from the teacup.

"It is delicious," I said as I began crying again.

Garett had come over to my side and held my face in his hands. His lips had touched my eyes and my cheeks.

"...Thanks for the meal," Garett said as he licked his lips.

Meal? Do not look at me with such hungry eyes. I do not know how to react if you do.

Charlotte soon walked in with Grace.

"Were you crying again, Arielle? Your eyes are a bit red," Charlotte said as she inspected my face.

"...Just a little dust in my eyes," I said as I looked back towards Garett who stuck his nose back into his books.

"It took a while, but I found some witnesses that saw Lady Kaya Ouchi come into the Library and this restricted section. I checked with all of the other tea canisters, but only one was tampered with. Someone was clearly after Lady Arielle," Grace said.

"Why would she go so far?" Charlotte asked as she held my shoulders.

"Witnesses only saw her going in the Library...That can be the same for hundreds of students every day. She could easily just say that she was here to do homework or research. This does not serve as proof," I said.

"Unless she acts with bolder moves, we cannot catch her in the act," Garett said.

"We wait..." I said dejectedly.

"We cannot have that! The last time was an attempt. What if she succeeds the next time?" Charlotte asked.

Charlotte had suddenly burst into tears. I quickly wrapped my arms around her and hugged her tightly. It was the first time I had ever seen her in so much distress. Charlotte was a perfect lady. One could even call her the favorite for a Queen Candidate. She had practiced hiding her emotions ever since she was young, so it was not easy for her to cry especially for someone else either.

"Char..."

"Garett is my friend too...I hate knowing that there is someone aiming to hurt the people I love without being able to do anything," Charlotte said.

I had asked everyone to let me walk around alone. Surely, if I am seen alone, Kaya Ouchi will be bolder with her movements.

Those that act to boldly are often met at the hands of their mistakes along the way...

I am counting on that....

It was a bit difficult for me to avoid Charlotte's worried glances at me for the next three days. From how things had been quiet, I thought that it was only a matter of time before Kaya Ouchi would seize the chance to take advantage of the situation.

A girl had handed me a note during class saying that a boy with glasses and black hair handed it to her.

Garett?

When I opened the note, I saw neat handwriting resembling Garett's handwriting.

"Come to the clocktower after school ends. There is new information."

Short and straight to the point just like his usual self...

After classes ended, I made sure that I was not being followed and went up the clocktower. There were several rooms in the clocktower, so it was a bit difficult to know which one it was that I was supposed to go to. I ended up going to the highest room in the tower and entered.

There was only one window, a few small bookcases with five books on each one and a laid-out pile of hay in the center.

No sign of life or Garett...

Near the bed of hay, there were a pair of glasses. I quickly went to inspect them closely. The color of the rims was slightly off. These do not belong to Garett...

I gave off a sigh of relief.

I was suddenly hit behind my neck and felt my consciousness fading.☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐