Edward somehow felt he couldn’t let her go, not even for a moment, so he came up with an excuse. “I—I’m a customer.”

He was practically begging her to let him in.

Cheshire decided it was easier to deny reality than to comprehend what was going on and what had happened to Edward.

Unlike Cheshire, Shea appeared almost frighteningly calm as she eyed Edward. Her lips turned up into a soft smile as she slowly placed a hand on Edward’s cheek. “You know, there are three men who I never want to come across, not even in my dreams.”

“…?”

Edward’s eyes widened in confusion.

But Shea ignored him and smiled bewitchingly as she continued. “Number one is the current prime minister, that damn old man, Marquess Halbert Zestia. Number two is Eid Roux Vencroft, and number three is…”

Cheshire, who had been trying to pretend none of this was happening, was sincerely curious about this strange woman rattling off prominent names. But Edward seemed too distracted to listen. He was staring at her in awe, like a well-trained dog helplessly following his master’s commands.

Finally, the last name emerged from Shea’s lips—a very familiar name. “…Edward van Griffith. So go away, Ed.”

For your sake. And for mine. With that, Shea gently pushed Edward away. It was far too soft a push to turn him away, but he staggered back helplessly. She gave a rather sad smile and closed the door again.

It was only a door. Edward could have entered the café if he had tried. But he stood there, rooted to the spot, as if the door had become an impenetrable wall.

As she sensed Edward still outside the door, Shea was reminded of her old friend who had died a long time ago—she was foolish and naïve. Only then did she begin to see why her friend had entrusted her with her son.

You must’ve left me the boy for my own sake. You knew I’d be fine on my own, but you were worried about me being alone. Because you were always so nosy and foolish. You must’ve wanted me to have someone to support me, to give me a reason to keep going. Stupid Sina—Sistina, my foolish, nosy friend. Your worries may not be unfounded, but I do want to correct you on one thing.

“What an idiot.”

I can be alarmingly cold toward anyone, except one person… but even to that one person… if I need to. I wonder if that’s why you left me with your lovely child, because you knew me and you wanted me to change.

“Excuse me? Hello?” Cheshire called out. “Mister Lapdog? Do I know you? Are you begging for death?”

Edward finally snapped back to his senses at Cheshire’s teasing. He turned to look at his subordinate with an irritated expression.

But Cheshire, who was used to it, wasn’t impressed. “Oh, you’re back.”

Edward seemed more harmless than usual, probably because Cheshire had witnessed him acting like a dog.

“Do you know her?” Cheshire asked.

“I don’t.”

“Then why did you act like that?”

“I don’t know that, either.”

Cheshire frowned. Have you actually turned into a dog? A dog that loves people and follows them around instinctively? “What do you know, then?”

The question sounded a bit desperate because he had witnessed Edward acting so out of character. He was beginning to wonder if Edward had actually turned into a lapdog.

But Edward ignored his question and kept his mouth shut.

Cheshire watched him for a moment and sighed, apparently giving up on an answer. “Are you sure you don’t know her? That woman called you by your nickname.”

“My nickname?”

“Have you gone deaf, too? She called you Ed, your nickname.”

Ed, the nickname that no one but his parents used. Edward, Eddy. Due to Edward’s cold personality, the only people who ever called him by any sort of nickname were his parents, the marquess and marchioness. Since that woman had called him by a nickname, it was hard to imagine they had never met before.

“Oh.” Edward covered his face with his hands, as if he’d just remembered this fact.

Cheshire was baffled when he glimpsed Edward’s slightly flushed face between his fingers. Umm, what? “Have you fallen in love or something? What…”

Edward looked up with a dazed expression at the mention of a word that had never had anything to do with him.

“…”

“Are you serious? My lord?”

“I don’t know.”

Cheshire went into hard denial as he rubbed his eyes. What? Wow. Has hell frozen over or something? Or maybe he’s acting strange because he’s going to die soon. But it seemed to be the hard truth. “That’s not it. It can’t be.”

“How can you be so sure?”

Has he already sorted out his feelings? I’m pretty sure that’s stubborn denial.

Edward said something logical and characteristic—but also very stupid. “It doesn’t suit me.”

“I see,” Cheshire responded halfheartedly. He gave up on talking to Edward. He didn’t have the ability or motivation to stop him from digging his own grave. After all, he was doing this to himself. “Are we leaving?”

“I’ll come back tomorrow.”

“…”

Idiot.

***

“Hey, Hayeon, this is insane. Listen!”

“Yup, you really are insane.”

“Hey!”

I didn’t realize it was a dream at first. My annoying friend was being loud as usual.

“Hayeon. Hey, Hayeon.” His smile was so endearing that I beamed back at him.

Only then did I realize this was a dream—because it could only happen in a dream. It never had and would never happen in Shea Grande’s life.

“Gwonhyeok.”

And yet your face still seems to make my heart flutter. I’m as dumb and foolish as I ever was. I wonder why you still make me feel like this, even though I was reborn into a world where you don’t exist and have lived there for over twenty years now. I should’ve forgotten your face already. Maybe this is proof that I really am stupid.

“Wow, what a complete idiot.” Me, I mean. But still. It’s true that I’m an idiot, but even if it’s in an idiotic dream…

“It’s nice to see you.” I’m happy that I’m able to see your face in my dreams—because it’s one I can never see again in real life.

His face turned into a grimace—a desperate, pitiful expression I had never seen before. The sudden change affected me deeply, even though I knew it was a dream.

Suddenly, he spoke. “Why? Why did you leave me? Why did you leave me behind? You should have taken me with you. Why did you go by yourself?”

“Ha. It’s not like I wanted to leave.”

You really shouldn’t be saying such things to a girl who was murdered, though it would be a lie to say that I don’t feel bad for you.

Just as I was thinking this, his chest grew drenched with blood.

“What?” I cried.

“Take me with you. Take me too.”

You idiot! I couldn’t hold back my emotions even though I knew it was a dream. “You’re insane! You’re completely mad!”

Why would you die just because I’m dead?

***

I gasped.

“Mom!”

My body was drenched in cold sweat. As I tried to get my bearings, I looked down at my lap. Elias stared up with teary eyes, his arms wrapped tightly around me as if he realized I was having a nightmare.

I felt myself calm down at the sight of him. Right. This is now my reality. The small boy’s warmth made it even more real.

As I hugged him tightly, he hugged me back. I could feel my lips curving into a soft smile at the way he held onto me so desperately. I never would’ve thought I could smile after a nightmare like that.

It was like magic. Children were magical like that. Especially this lovable creature, who I’d raised since he was an infant yet took after his foolish mother.

“I’m fine, Eli.”

“Didn’t you have a bad dream?”

“It was a stupid dream.” A dream about a damn lapdog who wanted to follow me even in death. Ugh, just thinking about it makes me furious.

“A stupid dream?” Thankfully, the boy had grown up innocent despite the things he overheard me say.

“Eli, would you go downstairs and ask Lucy to bring me a cup of water? Tell her iced tea is good, too.”

“Okay!” He smiled brightly, hopped off the bed, and ran out the door.

I watched him with a smile on my face that only dropped when he was out of sight. “Ugh. It’s been a while since I’ve been so angry.”

I, Shea Grande, was reborn—like one of those girls in romance fantasy novels who die in their world and get reborn into another with their memories intact. Unlike most of those characters, my death was a case of murder, which made me somewhat special. Suicide, heart attacks from a weak constitution, car accidents, so on and so forth—there were plenty of ways these characters tended to die, but few had been victims of murder.

But I was.

And it was awful.

The worst part? I’d been stabbed by a psycho I’d never met, a psycho who claimed to love me. It happened just when I was beginning to date and discover what love was—even though I’d never truly felt it before—that damn bastard ended my life.

I still remember everything all too clearly, the memory of that psycho stabbing me over and over while he wailed about why I hadn’t chosen him.

And yet… I don’t remember his face.