Chapter 15: The Appearance of Gareth

Picking only the most expensive items, I swiped the card ruthlessly. When I walked out of the mall, I had been completely transformed from head to toe. I was still hesitating whether I should tell Sol about Malachi being at "Night Charm." Malachi was indeed waiting for him there, but... Alastor was there too.

I was on my eleventh cup of free-refill coffee, still sitting in the corner café, staring blankly through the glass window at the public restroom across the street. The passing waiters were utterly perplexed, clearly unable to understand why this woman was so enamored with a public toilet.

Just a few days ago, that place had been a candy shop. I found it hard to comprehend how the shop and the boy had vanished into thin air, as if they had never existed. I also found it hard to comprehend why I had mysteriously turned into a vampire...

The sunlight streamed through the glass window onto my body, yet as a vampire, I remained completely unharmed. The events of the past few days were truly beyond belief.

Suddenly, I froze, staring blankly as a figure was reflected in the glass window of the street opposite. Was it him?!

With a "thud," I slammed my hands onto the table and stood up abruptly, startling the waiter who was coming to refill my coffee. With a brief, apologetic smile, I turned and strode out of the café, rushing toward the street across the way.

The piercing sounds of brakes, horns, and shouting rose all around. I stood in the middle of the street, feeling a profound sense of loss. It was clearly him—why had he disappeared again? Had I seen wrongly?

How could I have seen wrongly...

Those eyes, those gentle eyes—there was no way I could have been mistaken...

A car sped past, narrowly missing me. I felt a warmth on my hand as someone gripped it and led me out of the surging traffic.

A soft sigh echoed in my ear.

It overlapped with a certain spot in my memory. I slowly turned my head and saw a smiling man.

He was wearing a white pullover sweater and brownish-grey casual pants. His figure was tall and upright, and he wore a pair of rimless glasses on his nose, looking refined and elegant.

Seeing me staring at him in a daze, he began to smile.

His smile was clear and warm.

"Ga... reth..." Opening my mouth, I finally found my voice, which sounded like an old cassette tape, trembling and disjointed.

Reaching out, he wiped the cold liquid from my face. Only then did I realize I was crying.

During the long and lonely wait, I hadn't cried.

When I discovered I had become a vampire, I hadn't cried.

When I was starving to the point of death, I hadn't cried.

When facing the Inquisitor, I hadn't cried.

Even when Sol wanted to kill me, I hadn't cried...

But now, just looking at this man who was as gentle as an angel, my tear ducts, which I thought had long since dried up, suddenly became active.

He made a fist and held it out to me. When he opened his palm, there was a "White Rabbit" milk candy. In the past, whenever I was unhappy, he would use candy to coax me. Thus, he always had candy in his pocket, and every time he used it to cheer me up, no matter how great my unhappiness, I would always end up smiling.

I reached out and took the candy from his palm, peeled the wrapper, and put it in my mouth.

"Is it sweet?"

"Mhm." I nodded, smiling foolishly through my tears.

That sweet sensation spread from the tip of my tongue all the way to my heart.

That was the scent of Gareth—the scent of happiness.

He... had really returned.

I looked up at him. He looked exactly the same as when he left; he even looked... exactly the same as when he carried me home ten years ago.

He smiled and reached out to pull me into his embrace—a warm embrace that carried a faint, fresh fragrance. "My Rory has grown up."

That embrace was incredibly warm, yet I somehow detected a hint of sorrow.

"Gareth..."

"Gareth..."

"Gareth..."

I held him, calling his name over and over, my face covered in tears, completely losing my composure.

"Silly child." Gareth gently stroked my head and smiled.

I craved the temperature of his fingertips—a warmth I hadn't felt in a long time.

The man before me seemed to possess a kind of magic, able to pass that gentleness to those around him. Just being watched by him made me feel warm. Even in the depths of winter, it felt as warm as spring; even in the darkness, it felt as though I were standing in the sunlight.

He carried me home, just as he had ten years ago.

When we reached the door, I suddenly remembered that Alastor was still inside, and I couldn't help but feel anxious.

"What’s wrong?" Seeing that I hesitated to open the door, Gareth asked softly.

I bit my lip slightly. Should I confess to him? Tell him everything that happened? Tell him... that the Rory before him had become a vampire?

A long, warm hand covered mine as it rested on the door lock. Before I could speak, he had already pushed the door open.

Looking inside the room, I was stunned. Alastor was gone, and everything in the house had returned to its original state, as if he had never been there. I should have realized earlier that the lace dream house Alastor had turned the place into was merely the result of his magic.

Stepping inside, Gareth placed me on the sofa.

I felt a bit guilty seeing the room in such a mess, with even the coffee table covered in dust. If I had known Gareth would return today, I would have cleaned it up long ago.

"Little messy cat." Gareth gently pinched my nose, his smile full of doting affection.

The warm winter sun slanted in through the floor-to-ceiling windows, making every speck of dust in the air shine and dance.

I climbed onto the windowsill, carefully wiping the glass with a rag. Outside the window was the crowd of people coming and going on the street, busy with their lives—some happy, some sorrowful. Not long ago, I had been one of them.

"Why are you climbing so high? Come down quickly."

I turned and smiled at Gareth, then obediently jumped down. Gareth helplessly reached out and caught me in his arms.

Bathed in the sunlight filtered through the glass, I even had an illusion—as if everything was the same as it was five years ago, and nothing had changed. Kneeling on the floor, I wiped the boards back and forth, occasionally stealing a glance at Gareth, who was now wiping the glass where I had just been standing. My gaze happened to meet those grey eyes behind his glasses.