To the Man Destined to Kill Me - Chapter 103

“It’s been a while.”

The voice, which had the potential to feel strange after such a long time apart, instead stirred a familiar warmth in Scarlett’s chest as she heard Noah’s greeting. She quickly collected her emotions.

She couldn’t be nervous, and she didn’t want to show any tension. She wanted to appear calm, like someone who was happy with her life.

This would prove to Noah that her choice to leave him was the right one.

“The meal might be a bit late. The chef is new and not familiar with everything. Is that alright?”

“Of course.”

Noah, like someone welcoming an old friend, smoothly led them inside.

Once they were guided to a private room, separated from the outside for privacy, Scarlett felt a tightening in her chest, realizing there was no place to escape.

Wilhelm pulled out a chair for Scarlett, and Noah’s violet eyes briefly swept over the two of them. The awkward silence was broken by Noah speaking first.

“You two are still the same.”

A subtle tension stirred between them. Or rather, it was Scarlett’s heart that felt the tension.

Noah’s mouth was smiling, but his eyes were chillingly distant. It made Scarlett’s heart race and her breathing shallow. Noah continued.

“You haven’t changed. Still always together, same atmosphere.”

His quiet voice reminded Scarlett of her last moment with Noah.

That night under the stars, she had said goodbye to him.

“You won’t see my death.”

“You won’t be able to attend the funeral.”

“This is the end for us.”

Yes, they had reached the end.

So, this meeting today was just adding new color to a relationship that had already ended.

Scarlett bit her cheek and answered as gracefully as she could.

“Yeah. How have you been?”

She looked at Noah carefully.

His features were the same, but he had changed in some way. His eyes had deepened, and his overall presence was more mature. His sharper gaze spoke volumes about the kind of life he had lived.

For a moment, their eyes met, and Scarlett quickly turned away. Noah gave a small smile and responded.

“You can read about my well-being in the newspaper. But, if I had to sum it up, I’d say it’s been decent.”

His unblinking gaze felt like it was scrutinizing Scarlett. She forced a small smile and replied.

“That’s good to hear.”

She was relieved that he was doing well. Trying to ease her guilt, she took a sip of water. Wilhelm’s concerned eyes followed her every move.

Noah casually dropped a heavy topic, as though mentioning a play he had recently enjoyed.

“I never imagined you’d still be alive. I thought you were dead.”

Noah spoke as he stared intently at Scarlett, his eyes probing every inch of her, observing her expressions and seeming to push her into a corner psychologically.

Wilhelm noticed the tension in the air and subtly held Scarlett’s hand under the table.

“A death notice did come out,” Wilhelm responded.

Scarlett gathered her strength to speak, knowing that if she hesitated even a little, her voice would tremble. That was something she didn’t want. In front of Noah, she wanted to appear confident.

“It’s just the usual death notice. I didn’t think it needed correcting. If I responded to every rumor, I’d never be able to keep up.”

“I see. I thought you were dead… I really felt bad about it. You could’ve sent a letter saying the article was false.”

“I didn’t have the time.”

Scarlett responded, keeping her voice steady. After all, she hadn’t planned to let Noah know she was alive, and after he left, she was too overwhelmed with having Teddy to focus on anything else.

She wondered if she should tell him about Teddy, but she had thought she would die with the child, so she didn’t feel it necessary to inform him. She didn’t want to make Noah suffer unnecessarily.

After giving birth, she had been unconscious for a while. And when she regained her senses, it was too late to tell him that she suddenly had a child while in Natalia, a place she had never even been to.

And at that time, Teddy had become so precious that she didn’t want her life to be swept away by Natalia’s involvement. She felt bad, truly, but the best thing for Noah was to live without knowing anything.

“Right. I understand.”

Noah shrugged, and the appetizer was served. Scarlett’s hand trembled slightly as she picked up her fork. The fresh salad felt like sand in her mouth, but she couldn’t let it show.

“So…”

Noah poked his salad with his fork and continued.

“How’s your health?”

The fork screeched against the plate, making an awful noise. Scarlett instinctively winced. It was Wilhelm who answered in her place.

“She’s fine. She’s doing much better.”

He seemed stiff, but somehow at ease. Perhaps he believed that only if he was calm, Scarlett would be able to rely on him.

Wilhelm smiled, even softened his features, and moved shrimp onto Scarlett’s plate.

“You like these, right?”

“Thank you.”

Noah’s eyelid twitched. It was brief, but the glint in his violet eyes flashed and then vanished.

Soon, the appetizer was cleared, and the main dish arrived. As Noah cut his meat, he opened his mouth.

“By the way, I’ve got a question.”

“Yeah, go ahead.”

Wilhelm answered for Scarlett, noticing her discomfort and wanting to relieve her of the tension.

“You two… When did you become like this?”

Noah’s fork pointed at them, as if accusing them both. Scarlett felt her chest tighten with dread.

She had already prepared herself for such a question, but it still made her nervous.

“A few years ago. Three, four years?”

“Three or four years? I see.”

His tone carried a subtle mocking edge.

“I knew you two would end up like this.”

The knife scraped against the plate with a sound that made Scarlett flinch, and she trembled slightly in response.

“We?”

“Yeah. You two.”

Noah’s twisted smile held some meaning. Was it mocking her new relationship, or was it frustration showing?

‘I don’t know what you’re thinking.’

What would it be like to find out that someone you thought was dead is actually alive? What would go through the mind of a man in that situation?

Scarlett couldn’t understand, nor could she guess.

It would be easier if he were angry. If he cursed, resented her, and accused her, at least then her feelings would be clear.

But this subtle display of annoyance, the slight smile as though nothing was wrong, was like putting a frog in boiling water to cook it.

Wilhelm shifted the topic with his usual calm voice.

“How long are you staying in Wifland? Are you staying for a hundred days like the newspaper says?”

Scarlett felt a bit of tension ease with his voice.

“It might be longer or shorter. International relations can change quickly, you know? Things can happen suddenly, so you never know.”

“Seems like you’re fine with it. That’s impressive. Wasn’t it hard to adjust to Natalia?”

“Fortunately, they speak the same language. So, I adapted quickly.”

No matter what pain she felt, losing her mother and everything in Natalia couldn’t compare to the pain of losing her own mother.

Noah, suppressing his sadness, glanced at Scarlett. Her pale face clearly showed how uncomfortable she was in this situation. Wilhelm, seeing this, stepped in to ease things.

That only made Scarlett angry. Their closeness was so obvious in their gestures, in the way they spoke to each other. It gnawed at her, scratching away at her nerves.

“Maybe I wasn’t cut out for Wifland to begin with.”

Noah spoke as he stared directly at Scarlett. Feeling his gaze, she quickly reached for her water.

His bitter remark seemed to deny the time he had spent in Wifland.

“The climate and culture are different, so it’s unexpected.”

“The climate’s not that much of a problem. There are worse things to endure in this world.”

It sounded like he was saying that the time he spent being persecuted by the White family had been so terrible that he only found happiness after moving to Natalia.

Scarlett’s chest tightened, and she lightly patted her chest to calm herself.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

Wilhelm gently tapped her back, but Scarlett felt a slight tension in Noah’s jaw. She tightly gripped Wilhelm’s sleeve under the table.

The things she had done—letting him believe she was dead, the reasons behind it—all of that seemed like excuses now that she was face to face with Noah. Only guilt and regret remained.

‘No, don’t think about it.’

It had been six years. There was no point in adding meaning or emotions to what had happened. She had already decided that, but her body betrayed her.

As her coughing worsened and her face grew pale, Wilhelm immediately stood up.

“I left the medicine in the carriage. I’ll go get it.”

“No, it’s just a coughing fit.”

“I’m worried about you. You haven’t been feeling well lately.”

“Wilhelm. Just have my assistant bring it.”

“The medicine’s in a lot of bottles. He won’t find it. Stay here and eat.”

As Wilhelm left, the atmosphere grew tense between the two of them. Scarlett felt like a massive wave was about to crash over her.

The fear of being swept away by a storm consumed her. Emotions she had buried toward Noah resurfaced, growing into a dark shadow that seemed to swallow her whole. Noah, like a cat toying with a trapped mouse, smirked and spoke.

“Do you still enjoy painting?”

She had once given Noah a portrait before he left for Natalia, a parting gift she had worked on bit by bit during his absence.

“No. I don’t paint anymore.”

Since she had painted his portrait, Scarlett hadn’t touched a brush again.

“Why not? You used to love it.”

“I got tired of it…”

Her voice, forced and false, sounded like a poor excuse. Noah smiled as if he could see right through her, and Scarlett felt her face flush with the sting of embarrassment.

“Tired of it, huh… Did you get tired of me too, and that’s why you left?”

“…What?”

“It’s a joke.”

Noah narrowed his eyes mischievously. He was smiling, but his piercing gaze felt like needles, stabbing into Scarlett.

“Earlier, that was a joke, but now I’m really curious.”

“What is it?”

His eyes, dark and deep, were distant. The darkness that enveloped them made it impossible to sense anything but the cold void.

Noah’s question came like a chill from the depths of the ocean.

“Didn’t you miss me?”

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