Chapter 560: Misunderstanding 2

Chapter 560: Chapter 306: Misunderstanding 2

‘Yelena usually gets up very early… She shouldn’t still be sleeping… Could she be sick?’

Maya knocked on Yelena’s door and called her name a few times, but there was no response.

The two exchanged a look. Maya knocked again, calling out louder this time. Still no answer.

Maya glanced at Baron. “I’m going to push the door open…”

Baron understood and turned his back.

His mind, however, drifted to the relatives from his past life who would barge into his room without permission, coming and going as they pleased.

‘They had absolutely no respect for personal privacy.’

Maya called out from inside the room that Baron could turn around. When Baron turned, the first things he saw were the flowers on the desk and the Secret Notes.

The Secret Notes was secured with a small copper lock, likely to prevent others from opening it.

“Yelena isn’t in the room.”

“Maybe she went out for a walk?” Maya said, sounding uncertain as she looked at the clean, tidy, but empty room. “But from what I remember, Yelena only goes out in the evening with me, my sister, or Mr. Edward. She rarely goes out alone.”

“Yelena… How did she get downstairs?” If Baron’s memory served him correctly, his sister was in a wheelchair.

‘This is the fifth floor. The stairs must be difficult to get down.’

“Oh, there’s an elevator,” Maya said. “You must not have seen it, Mr. Constantine.”

“I saw it.” Baron’s voice was low and cold.

Maya looked over curiously and noticed the young man was holding an envelope fastened with a heart-shaped clasp. Anyone who wasn’t a complete idiot could guess what was written inside.

“This is…” Maya hesitated, then said in a small voice, “Miss Yelena is very beautiful and quite popular here on Maria Street. Maybe it’s just a prank from some lovesick kids.”

Baron suddenly felt that “respecting personal privacy” could go to hell. If any bastard dared to hit on Yelena, he would break their legs!!!

Right in front of Maya, he undid the clasp and took out the letter. It contained only a short message:

“Nine in the morning. See you at the park.

Your friend, Luke.”

“Who is Luke?”

Baron felt he must have said this through gritted teeth, because Maya was looking at him with a hint of fear.

‘What’s wrong with me?’ Baron was suddenly on guard. ‘Is this the typical reaction of a brother finding out his sister is dating? I haven’t even met Yelena, and our only communication has been through the Secret Notes. How can I be this possessive already…’

For a moment, Baron felt a mix of embarrassment and amusement at his own reaction.

He chose his words carefully. “What I mean is, what kind of person is this Luke? It’s mainly because Yelena has mobility issues…”

Seeing the invisible pressure from the young man dissipate, Maya breathed a sigh of relief. “He’s a student at London University, just like me. But he’s from Scotland and works at the convenience store near Maria Street… He met Yelena not long ago. Sometimes when my sister and I take Yelena downstairs for a walk, we run into him. He’ll bring Yelena wildflowers he picked. He seems like a nice boy.”

“But…”

“But what?”

“But I don’t like Luke’s friends. Those guys are always laughing and getting drunk. They even harassed me and my sister on the street last time… Thankfully, Yelena always keeps her face buried in her scarf when she’s out. Otherwise, being as beautiful as she is, she would definitely be harassed by those hooligans too.”

Baron was silent for a moment. “Where is the park?”

“Well, if Miss Yelena were to go, there’s probably only one park nearby,” Maya said.

…

Luke was going to confess his feelings to Yelena today. For the occasion, he had bought a bouquet of purple roses worth twelve British Pounds, which he held carefully against his chest to ensure every petal would carry his body heat by the time he reached Oak Park.

This was a plan he had made the night before last, fueled by alcohol after a night of drinking with Aik and the others.

This plan had truly been set in motion a month ago, in the instant he was goaded into approaching Yelena in her wheelchair during a drunken game of truth or dare with Aik and his crew.

He had calculated the time the girl went out for her daily walk, arranging “coincidental” encounters every time. After learning she liked flowers, he would buy a different bouquet from the flower shop after each shift. Then, through the biting wind and piercing frost, he would stand downstairs and ask the two young ladies who cared for Yelena to take the flowers up to her.

It all stemmed from that one fleeting, breathtaking glimpse that night.

At Aik’s urging, reeking of alcohol, he had drunkenly approached the girl in the wheelchair under the sycamore tree. With Aik and his other companions watching from a distance, he’d held out a can of beer and said in a flippant tone:

“Can you open this can for me with your feet?”

Aik’s group burst into loud, mocking laughter from the corner. Luke laughed along with them, even though inside he was furious—furious at the vile cruelty of Aik’s scum, and furious at his own cowardice…

‘After this farce is over,’ he thought, ‘I have to apologize to the girl… After Aik and his buddies leave, I’ll definitely come back and apologize to her.’

But a hand so pale it seemed translucent took the beer can.

He froze for a second, then looked at the girl.

The girl looked back at Luke. It was just one look, but it was enough to leave Luke completely captivated. He suddenly understood why the war god Ares, in the myths, fell in love with Aphrodite at first sight.

Her eyes were a shade of green more vibrant than spring itself—clear, bright, and serene.

Luke had never seen such beautiful eyes before; they were as dazzling as a newly opened box of emeralds.

“But I don’t have feet anymore. So, can I use my hands instead?”

Even though most of her face was hidden by a scarf, Luke could imagine her lips must be red, thin, and moist, like the first petal of a flower touched by dew in the spring.

Luke was suddenly struck dumb, completely oblivious to Aik and the others waving him back to continue drinking.

The girl placed the beer against her chest to warm it, then pulled the tab and handed it to him. “You should drink less. It’s not good for you.”

Luke took the beer, watching blankly as the girl turned her wheelchair and began to move away.

He ignored the calls from Aik and the others and followed the girl. “Where… where do you live…?”

In the darkness, the girl’s eyes shone like stars.

Luke stuttered, then quickly explained, “I mean… the security around here isn’t great… I’ll walk you home… I don’t mean anything else by it…”

“Okay,” the girl nodded.

A huge wave of joy washed over Luke, but he suppressed his expression.

After pushing her wheelchair to her building, he watched as she headed upstairs, then said, “I still don’t know your name.”

“Yelena. Yelena Constantin,” the girl said.

“About before…” he began, wanting to explain his offensive words from earlier.

But the girl just smiled. “It was just a joke, wasn’t it?”

A gust of wind blew, causing her scarf to slip. Luke’s heart gave a traitorous leap, like a stone dropped from a cliff into the sea, sending out ripples.

Even now, recalling their first meeting, Luke couldn’t help but excitedly attribute it all to Destiny. It was Destiny that had allowed him, at his lowest point, to meet an Angel that God had left behind on Earth.

Aik and those guys could never understand Yelena’s beauty, nor could they understand what a kind girl she truly was.

She was like a violet blooming amidst the holly. Even though she was more fragile and less suited to the harsh winter than the holly, her beauty before being buried by the snow was unparalleled.

And Luke had decided that no matter the outcome, he would protect that fleeting beauty.

Even if the price was exceptionally high, he was willing to pay it.

Thinking of this, Luke glanced at his watch… He’d been so nervous last night he couldn’t sleep, so he’d had some coffee. As a result, he’d unexpectedly overslept today… and almost missed their appointed time.

‘Yelena must be waiting for me under the sycamore tree already…’