Sunlight was shining through the glass window. The yellow-feathered, white-eyed bird was hiding in the peach blossoms, looking around in fascination.
Erina sat with her chin in her hands, dreamily looking at the mountains in the distance. Today was the last day of the year, the freezing winter had officially ended and the warm spring was slowly returning.
Although the university gave students a break during the last days of the year, Clement had to follow Charles to carry gifts to wish Happy New Year to business partners from one province to another, so she and he didn't have a minute to meet.
Today was the same. His schedule was to return home at 5 p.m., so she could only look forward to tomorrow. In the evening, she had to have a family reunion dinner with Hubert and Henry, so she couldn't run to the farm to meet him.
Sitting in the room for too long made Erina feel bored, so she decided to go for a walk around the villa grounds to relax.
If it were a normal day, she would have asked Fayre to take her out. Because New Year's Eve was coming, Fayre had to be busy cleaning, decorating the house, and cooking and making offerings, so she didn't dare to bother her friend.
At Hubert's house, there were servants so Erina didn't have to do anything, but Fayre was different, her mother died early, she lived with her uncle and aunt, studied all year, and in the summer she signed up for volunteer work, only having free time at the end of the year to help her family.
Although Fayre had a strong financial source from her mysterious father and a luxury apartment, she still liked to live with her relatives.
Erina only knew that Fayre was the daughter of a very powerful figure in country B and that until now, their relationship was still quite bad, the reason being that the hatred she had for her father had not yet subsided after the death of her mother.
Sitting down under the peach trees that were just beginning to bloom, Erina closed her eyes, enjoying the fresh scent of the early spring flowers.
“Erina, my dear.”
The soft call made Erina startled and look up. Seeing Henry looking at her, she quickly stood up.
“Young master.”
“Let's prepare to go to the cemetery. The flowers I ordered have been delivered.” He smiled gently.
“Oh, okay, wait for me a moment.”
After saying that, Erina quickly ran into the house. Every year, on the last day of the year, Hubert would go with her, Henry, and Clement to the cemetery to visit the graves. However, this year, because the work was not finished, Clement could not go with them.
The cemetery on the last day of the year was quite crowded. The three of them quietly placed flowers on the rows of graves next to each other. The spring weather is warm, and there are flocks of birds flying across the dark blue sky in a V-shape.
Erina's face suddenly turned sad. In the next two years, she won't be able to visit her parents' graves.
“Erina, don't worry, I will often visit your parents' graves.” Henry said softly.
Turning to look at him, she smiled and nodded, trying to look normal even though her nose was stinging. She didn't want him to visit them at all. She chose to leave because she hoped he would forget her so that when she returned, they could go their separate ways.
But how could he read her mind? She hadn't complained at all. Could it be that she and he had a spiritual connection like Orson said?
Leaving the cemetery, the car quickly took them home. Seeing a fried corn cake stall on the side of the road, Erina suddenly craved it, but because Hubert was here, she had to suppress her craving.
The day gradually faded, and the spring sunset was always brighter and warmer than any other season. Erina leaned against the door, looking into the distance until the last ray of sunlight faded, then she turned back to get the phone and called Clement.
“I'm listening, Erina.”
The slightly tired voice echoed softly on the other end of the phone, making Erina's heart ache even more. Just now, she was still sulking because she thought he had returned home but didn't contact her. Now hearing his voice, she started to turn into a tabby cat, tears welling up in her eyes.
“Are you tired?”
“Yes, but hearing your voice, I'm fine, my heart medicine.”
As soon as Clement finished speaking, Erina burst into laughter. This love affair in the dark had made her suffer once and made him suffer ten times.
Afraid that he would find out she was crying and sad, she hastily said goodbye and made an appointment to see him tomorrow morning before hanging up.
At exactly seven o'clock in the evening, the New Year's Eve dinner was served with extremely eye-catching traditional dishes. Erina enjoyed watching to remember this moment. This is her last New Year's Eve before going abroad.
“Erina, eat a little more. Next year, you will celebrate New Year's Eve in a foreign land. It must be very sad.” Hubert looked at her and said.
“If she's gone, our family won't be happy, Dad.” Henry spoke.
Hubert didn't say anything more, cleared his throat, and urged them both to eat while the food was still hot. After Erina invited him, she lowered her head and concentrated on eating. It seems that this young master is very talented at interrupting people's emotions.
Outside the dining room, Lucia could not control her emotions, her eyes were red and filled with tears. After all, Erina had been here since she was a child, so Lucia's feelings for this girl were no less than her feelings for Henry.
Just thinking about her going to a strange place alone made Lucia heartbroken. She didn't understand why Erina couldn't open her heart to accept her betrothed husband even though she and Henry had grown up together. Henry loved her dearly and everyone here could see clearly how he treated her.
After dinner, the three of them moved to the living room to eat cake, drink tea, and watch the spring programs. Henry deliberately pushed the plate of dates near Erina because he knew she liked to eat this dish.
After a few hours, Erina asked permission to go to her bedroom first. Hubert waited for her shadow to completely disappear before turning to Henry and lowering his voice.
“Over the past time, I've created conditions for the two of you to be together, but you still haven't been able to move Erina's heart at all?”
“Dad, it seems like she considers me a younger brother.” Henry bowed his head and answered softly.
Hearing Henry's lament, Hubert could only shake his head, stand up, and walk upstairs. For more than half a year, he plotted to help Henry, but in the end, Henry couldn't do anything. This guy looked handsome and tall, and spoke very charmingly, but why couldn't he make Erina love him?
Erina had just fallen asleep when the phone rang, startling her and waking her up. She yawned, groping on the table with her hand. When she saw Henry's name on the screen, she immediately became alert. She didn't know why he was calling at this time.
“Young master.”
“Erina, open the door, I am standing in front of your room.”
After saying that, he hung up the phone very quickly. A bad scenario began to creep into Erina's mind, late at night, a man sneaking into a woman's room was definitely not a good thing.
Thinking so, she hurriedly ran to the wardrobe, took out her coat, and put it on before opening the door.
Seeing her packaged appearance, Henry was stunned for a few seconds. This girl is not thinking of him as a pervert, is she?
“Erina, please come with me to watch the fireworks display.” Henry begged softly.
“Huh? Why don't you watch it on TV?” She squinted and asked.
“Wouldn't it be better to watch it in real life? Just this year.”
As soon as Henry finished speaking, Erina's nose suddenly stung. This young master always knew how to make others feel guilty. It's clear that his father committed a crime against her entire family first.
“Then... wait for me to change my clothes.”
“Okay. Just take it slow, I'll get the car and wait for you.”
Henry happily replied and jumped down the stairs. Erina quickly went back to prepare. Honestly, she also wanted to go see the fireworks on New Year's Eve to know what it felt like.
A few years ago, he had invited her but she always refused with the reason that she couldn't open her eyes.
On the last night of the year, the road along the Villa area was still as quiet as usual, but the main streets were crowded as if they were at a festival, people were flocking to the fireworks display sites to witness the moment of transition between the old year and the new year.
After parking the car, Henry held Erina's hand and walked through the bustling crowd. The atmosphere around her made her excited like a child.
The clock struck midnight, the sacred moment of transition between the old year and the new year was welcomed by countless popping sounds, thousands of beams of light with unique shapes and many colors appeared in the air, making the audience completely fascinated by their magical beauty.
Because Erina was so excited and emotional, she also joined everyone in shouting, clapping, and twirling around to wish them a happy new year.
She didn't know that while she was absorbed in watching the fireworks, right next to her, Henry was only focused on her radiant face and the bright smile on her lips.
At this moment, Erina had fulfilled her long-cherished wish. The only thing she regretted was that the person beside her was Henry and not Clement. She silently told herself to try hard so that in the years to come, she and he could hold hands and welcome the new year together.