To Be the Perfect Childhood Friend - Chapter 104

Anita, who was about to step out of the drawing room, suddenly froze. Rutger was walking down the corridor from the other side. Just before he turned his head and spotted her, she darted back into the room faster than the speed of light.

Bang.

She slammed the door shut and even locked it. Liliana’s eyes widened at Anita’s strange behavior.

“What’s going on?”

“Nothing. Can I stay like this for a while?”

“…Do as you like.”

Liliana glanced at Anita, who was standing in front of the door with a determined look, as if guarding her hideout from an intruder. Then, she returned her gaze to the magazine.

While Liliana sipped her coffee and calmly flipped through a beauty magazine, Anita’s mind was in chaos.

She had no idea why she hid as soon as she saw Rutger. In the past, she might have tried to avoid him, but there was no reason for her to avoid him now.

As Anita wrestled with her confusion, the footsteps outside grew closer and closer. Then, suddenly, they stopped.

There was no sound for a while. He was definitely standing in front of the door.

‘There’s no way he saw me, right?’

He must have seen her. He must have witnessed her running away as soon as she saw him. Otherwise, there was no reason for him to be standing still outside the door.

Knock knock.

Anita flinched at the sudden knocking.

“Liliana.”

The tension in Anita’s body eased as the hands she had clamped over her mouth loosened. Fortunately, it seemed he hadn’t seen her after all.

“What?”

Liliana responded in a nonchalant voice.

“Have you seen Anita by any chance?”

Liliana, who had her head down reading the magazine, lifted her gaze. Their eyes met. In that instant, Liliana’s lips parted. Sensing that Liliana might instinctively reveal her hiding spot, Anita quickly brought her index finger to her lips in a silent plea. Realizing Anita’s urgent signal, Liliana gave a small nod.

“No, I haven’t seen her.”

“….”

There was no response. With no reply from him, Liliana mouthed toward Anita.

‘Did you two fight?’

Anita shook her head.

“If you happen to see her…”

She anxiously bit her lip, waiting to hear what Rutger would say.

“Tell her I’m waiting.”

With that, the sound of his footsteps gradually grew distant. The presence outside the door faded. She should have felt relieved, but for some reason, her heart felt heavy. Perhaps it was because his tone sounded somewhat… sorrowful.

She felt guilty for accepting Liliana’s invitation and yet not spending much time with her. Of course, Liliana had plenty of other company, but that didn’t stop Anita from feeling a pang of guilt.

“Well, things like this happen. There’s still plenty of time, right? You can always spend time together next time,” Liliana said with a casual shrug.

She was remarkably free of grudges.

After Liliana left, Anita picked up her suitcase and headed out into the garden. While the others would be taking the car, Anita had no choice but to walk to the nearby village. From there, she planned to catch a carriage to the train station.

As she carried her suitcase in both hands and started walking, she heard the crunch of gravel behind her. The footsteps grew closer and closer.

Someone quickly reached Anita’s side and snatched the suitcase from her hands.

“What…?”

Raising her voice in surprise, Anita fell silent the moment she saw the face of the person who had taken her suitcase.

“You didn’t even wait for me. Isn’t that a bit too much?”

“…”

“Am I being abandoned?”

Earlier, his voice through the door of the drawing room had sounded somewhat melancholy. But now, as he carried her suitcase, there was not a hint of sadness in his tone.

“Abandoned? Hardly.”

She fixed her gaze on her shoes, avoiding Rutger’s eyes.

“Give me the bag. I’ll carry it.”

“The path to the village is pretty rough. Are you sure?”

Whether he didn’t hear her or just pretended not to, Anita didn’t respond. Rutger didn’t press her for an answer either. The two walked in silence.

By the time they reached the village, Anita was more tired than she cared to admit. Walking under the sun with no shade had taken its toll.

“It’ll take a while to get to the station. Let’s grab a quick lunch before we go.”

It seemed like a good idea, so Anita nodded weakly. They entered a small café near the village entrance.

As they waited for their food, Anita sipped on a lemonade. Rutger had been silently staring out the window since they sat down.

Once her lemonade was finished, Anita grabbed a napkin from the table.

“You look like you’ve got something on your mind. Just ask.”

Rutger, who had been gazing at the sea below the window, finally turned to her.

“Hmm?”

Catching her curious look, he gestured toward the window. Following his gaze, Anita saw her own reflection in the glass and chuckled awkwardly. She hadn’t realized he had been watching her.

Anita put down the napkin she had twisted into a crumpled mess and looked directly at him. Despite it being a simple question, she felt a strange nervousness. And then it hit her—why she had been avoiding Rutger all day.

“If it hadn’t been for what happened yesterday, would you have…”

She trailed off, afraid that their already fragile relationship, one that had always been teetering on the edge, might finally snap rather than strengthen. Until now, she could use the excuse of being friends or neighbors. But not anymore.