{IRIS}
"I am merely saying: you may return. I will not frighten you again… and you cannot escape me anyway."
I didn't catch his last words—his voice faded into the wind, or perhaps my mind refused to hear it.
My dress was soaked, my boots heavy with lake water, and my book looked worse than a drowned corpse.
My day was truly ruined.
"If that is your way of apologizing," I muttered tiredly, "you don't need to bother. Honestly… I also made a mistake. We're even. So please… just leave me alone."
His eyes widened—just a fraction—but enough to betray something raw. A flicker of hurt.
Then his expression shuttered, smoothing into a cold seriousness.
"Leave you… alone?" he repeated softly, as though tasting the words.
Something about the tone made my stomach twist.
Why did it sound like I had struck him?
It wasn't as if we knew each other well enough to stir any sort of sentiment between us.
