To Be the Perfect Childhood Friend - Chapter 87

Finian picked up the candle from the table and used it to light his cigarette. As Liliana leaned in to light her cigarette from the candle, her gaze landed on Anita.

“Oh, right! Anita, are you feeling alright?”

Liliana, seeming to feel guilty for smoking in front of Anita after she had fainted, quickly asked about her condition. Before Anita could even respond, Finian spoke up first.

“Are you okay? Did you become frail without me knowing?”

Finian’s sudden turn towards Anita made her flinch and move further away from him. She was worried that the cigarette precariously balanced on his lips might fall.

“Oh, sorry.”

Finian apologized sincerely and moved back, giving Anita some space.

Anita trailed off, unsure if it was a suitable topic for the table. If Finian had any sense or manners, he would let it go, but…

“Why? Where are you hurting?”

It seemed he had neither sense nor manners. Anita, wanting to avoid answering, poked at the steak on her plate with her fork. Being the center of attention in a conversation was always uncomfortable for her.

“I fainted while coming in the car earlier.”

“Fainted? Did you get some sudden motion sickness or something? You seemed fine at the time…”

“……”

“Oh, was it because of what happened then?”

Finian snapped his fingers as if he had figured it out. At that, Liliana, who had been neither smoking nor spitting out the cigarette, showed interest.

“What happened?”

“Nothing happened, just—”

“Oh, remember that car accident we had? We crashed into a lake, but we survived.”

Thud.

The knife Anita was holding sank into her steak with a heavy thud.

This was exactly why she didn’t want to talk about it. Finian seemed to brush it off casually, even making it sound like a joke, but she knew it was something that had left a deep impact.

“Ah… I’m sorry for asking. I didn’t mean to…”

The sympathetic gaze from Liliana made Anita feel oddly uncomfortable.

“Are you pitying me right now?”

“Is that such a bad thing?”

His words were right. The sympathy shown by others was definitely not something one could comfortably accept.

“Want to try one of these?”

“…It’s unhygienic.”

When Finian offered his cigarette with a casual gesture, Anita recoiled in disgust.

“Just drop it. The accident happened, and so what? It’s in the past. We’re still alive and well.”

“It must be nice to speak so easily,” Anita thought, irritation rising in her throat.

“Look at it positively. If you live a boring and uneventful life, you’ll end up being a terribly dull person later on. At least we don’t have to worry about that.”

Is living a boring and uneventful life really that bad? It was always the kind of life Anita had aimed for.

“Yeah, maybe you’re right.”

Anita set down the knife she had been holding. The meat in her mouth suddenly felt dry and unappetizing. She picked up her glass and took a sip, trying to refresh her palate.

“…….”

It was definitely the alcohol.

Anita wiped the alcohol from her lips with the back of her hand and set the glass down. Seeing her push the glass away, Finian chuckled softly.

“What’s wrong? Is it not to your taste?”

The issue wasn’t the taste but rather that she had resolved to stop drinking altogether. Anita decided not to tell Finian; someone as famous for partying as he was wouldn’t understand.

As the meal came to an end, people began to leave their seats. Of course, leaving didn’t mean going back into the mansion.

“Who is that? Isn’t that Nigel?”

A rather thin man approached Finian, acting overly friendly.

“Cut the pretense. We met yesterday, so why the act? Or are you interested in these two ladies here?”

Finian’s sneering response made the man’s expression harden slightly. He scratched his cheek with his thin, wiry fingers.

“Oh, I see. For offending the host, you’re banished.”

It seemed that Liliana found the teasing amusing, as she joined in with an exaggerated tone.

“Not with any such impure intentions…”

“Come on, Lily. Don’t be so harsh. Having a good impression isn’t a crime.”

Anita, who had been spooning crème brûlée for dessert, felt a bit sorry for the man. Just moments ago, Finian and Liliana had been at each other’s throats, and now they were ganging up on an unfortunate soul.

Seeing that he was neither sitting down nor leaving, Anita gestured to the empty seat next to her with her teaspoon.

“Please, sit and let’s talk.”

“Oh, yes. Of course.”

The man carefully took the seat next to Anita.

“Is this kind of person your type?”

Finian’s sudden whisper made Anita drop the teaspoon she was holding. The spoon flew through the air, lightly hitting the man’s thigh before falling to the floor.