My breath caught.

Back when I was pursuing him, I'd secretly wondered what I would find if I stripped away that cool, immaculate exterior.

Reason told me to push him away.

Somehow, I had no strength.

“Let go of me, Sebastian...”

My voice carried no threat at all.

Instead of releasing me, he pulled me into his arms.

He lowered his head until his nose almost touched mine.

“I won't.”

He spoke through clenched teeth, a troubling stubbornness flashing in his eyes.

“You need me. Why are you forcing yourself to push me away?”

His fingers stroked my wrist, sending tremors through me.

With a sudden effort, I finally broke free and fled into my bedroom like a startled rabbit, slamming and locking the door.

Sebastian stayed on the couch. He didn't follow.

He watched the closed door and slowly touched the place on his chest where Sophie had touched him.

On his usually aloof face, a certain smile gradually appeared.

“You won't get away, Sophie.”

...

On the afternoon of the fifth day of his promised atonement, Sebastian went to the supermarket, leaving me alone in the apartment.

Before leaving for Paris, I wanted to sort through some perfumery materials I'd once kept here.

After searching for a while, I realized several important formula notebooks were missing.

My gaze moved to the study at the end of the hall.

When we were dating, Sebastian had been particularly strict about one rule.

His study was absolutely off-limits.

It held confidential patient records and important medical research. I had never been allowed to set foot inside.

Now, though, the door wasn't locked. It stood slightly ajar.

After hesitating, I pushed it open and began searching the shelves.

Before I found my notebooks, I accidentally knocked over a large brown box beside the bookcase.

It hit the floor with a thud, spilling its contents.

I looked down, my pupils contracting.

There were so many photographs of me.

My back as I cooked in the kitchen.

My profile as I slept curled on the couch.

My concentrated expression as I blended a fragrance.

Other things had fallen out too. Things I had thought Sebastian had thrown away long ago.

The pearl hair clip I'd lost between the couch cushions.

Discarded scent strips I had crumpled into balls.

An almost suffocating fragrance filled the air.

My gardenia scent.

Somehow Sebastian had captured it and amplified it until it saturated the enclosed room.

Struggling to breathe, I picked up a thick black journal.

On the first page was his sharp, elegant handwriting.

[She wore a pale blue dress today. She smiled at me three times.]

[She actually pretended to be drunk and tried to get me drunk too. Adorably foolish. How would a man hold her if he were really that drunk?]

[My little gardenia is finally mine. I want to hide her in my room. But I can't. It would scare her away.]

[She had a fever. She held my hand and asked me to stay. I wanted to go nowhere, to keep looking at her forever. But I can't lose control. All I could do was push her away and escape into the study.]

Every page, every line was in Sebastian's handwriting.

Not a word had anything to do with calm restraint.

Then the study door closed with a sharp click.

I spun around. The journal fell onto the carpet.

Sebastian had come home without my noticing.

He stood by the door with the light behind him, his tall figure casting an oppressive shadow on the wall.

He removed his glasses.

In the dim room, his dark eyes held something that made my heart pound.

“So you've seen it all, Sophie.”