Chapter 40: Chapter 40

Chapter 40

And after that evening, as Roy had told me that he wanted to pursue me and I agreed to it. I wasn't sure whether I agreed because I was moved, or perhaps because I didn't want to make Roy sad, or maybe both of these reasons.

My life didn't change much because of Roy's words, but he began to openly show affection towards me, and sometimes friends wouldn't behave this way towards each other.

Roy was a good and considerate man, so what he was doing wasn't much different from before. He hadn't changed how he treated me. Because even before, Roy had treated me very gently, and I had grown accustomed to those things.

The most noticeable difference was Roy's gaze whenever he looked at me. He no longer hid it and didn't quickly look away when I noticed.

Roy often stared at me absentmindedly when we were together. He gazed for a long time, as if wanting to fix those eyes onto my face. I also didn't know to what extent he stared at me when I wasn't paying attention.

If Roy looked at me because he had something to say, I wouldn't feel embarrassed and confused like this. Because he always looked at me intently and didn't say anything, Roy just smiled and looked at me affectionately.

I felt uncomfortable with him using that gaze to look at me. I said, "Roy, why do you look at me for so long?"

Roy smiled as if he had been waiting for this question from me, he said, "Because I want to, and you don't stop me."

"But your prolonged gaze makes me very uncomfortable," I said, although I knew he was trying to express his feelings for me, but this repetition was making me not happy at all.

Roy shrugged, he neither agreed with me nor felt ashamed when I said that.

"Flora, don't pay attention to me, just do your own work. I won't bother you," Roy smiled and said.

I had brought up this matter many times, but Roy just smiled and continued in the same way, and I couldn't be harsh with him. In the end, he just looked at me without causing me any trouble.

It's just that I couldn't get used to such an open gaze. It looked strange and made me uncomfortable.

...

Time passed quickly, and sometimes I even thought that the day Rollo was born was just yesterday, and now he could already go to school.

Rollo's school was near my house, it was a private school with very few students. If it could be called a "school," it would be an exaggeration. But I felt quite reassured leaving my son here and going to work. Rollo was different from Min, he was very lively and loved to jump around. He had an amazing ability to please and bring joy to others.

With that lovable personality, almost all the children who studied with Rollo valued him highly. They often came to my house and invited Rollo to play and go out together. The families of those children also valued Rollo. Sometimes they even joked:

"Rollo will definitely become a famous man when he grows up."

I was happy that they thought that way about my son, but I didn't share the same sentiment. Sometimes, becoming famous isn't necessarily a good thing. It can only complicate one's private life.

Rollo was still too young to understand what "famous" meant, and I was overly sensitive to the concept of "fame."

While watching TV, I heard Rollo ask, "Mom, who is Enzo Robert?"

I was surprised to hear that familiar yet distant name from my son's mouth. And it was because I heard that name that unpleasant memories, seemingly buried deep, were now slowly playing before my eyes like a slow-motion tape.

"Why do you ask that, dear?"

My voice trembled because I was afraid that he might notice something. Regardless, I didn't want Rollo to know about Enzo Robert. We were currently so happy, and I didn't want my son to be curious about the man who had shattered my heart.

Rollo didn't pay attention to my worried expression. The innocent boy said, "I see the image of the man in many magazines that you often read."

"Oh... well... Mom doesn't pay much attention. That man is probably just an actor." I said, trying to remain calm, secretly thinking that my son was simply curious about the magazines I often read and had no other intentions.

Could it be that I've been too... afraid that the man would take Rollo away from my arms? Perhaps that's the case; he might have done the same to Min and thus haunted my mind whenever that man's name is mentioned. Right after Rollo asked me about the man 'Enzo Robert,' I discarded all magazines with images and content related to Enzo Robert. I didn't think Enzo was that famous to regularly appear in my magazines; I didn't intentionally buy them, only accidentally ending up with issues containing information about Enzo.

Roy came to my house while I was tidying up all those magazines. Initially, they were just for entertainment, but I never expected Rollo to read them.

Roy looked at me tidying up a pile of magazines and books, he asked, "Flora, what are you doing?"

I startled, turned to see Roy, who didn't understand what I was collecting. "Roy, you're here. I'm gathering these magazines and throwing them away."

"Why throw them away? You read them for entertainment," Roy said.

Indeed, I used to read them for entertainment, but there were news about Enzo in them, making me uncomfortable. What's more uncomfortable is that Rollo read them and asked me about the man named 'Enzo Robert.'

"I don't want to keep them anymore because in here... there's..."

I hesitated, not wanting to say it. But Roy must have found my actions and words strange, so he approached, his face showing concern.

"Flora, are you okay? Your face looks quite pale."

"I'm fine. I want to throw them away because there's information and images of Enzo in them," I said, my hands continuing to stack the magazines into a pile.

Only then did Roy sigh in relief and say, "You don't need to do that. If you don't love him anymore, then you shouldn't care about what he does. Enzo is indeed a famous man; he appears in all the magazines you usually buy. You can't avoid buying them just because there's information about Enzo in them."

Roy's voice was gentle, and I knew he was trying to comfort me, but the Enzo-related content in the magazines wasn't the reason I wanted to throw them away...

I said, "Rollo asked me about 'Enzo Robert.'"

After hearing me say that, the smile on Roy's lips disappeared; perhaps he couldn't maintain that gentle smile after hearing me. He didn't say anything further but quickly helped me collect the magazines and urgently threw them into the trash.

His actions were even more resolute and urgent than mine. I found Roy's behavior quite amusing at this moment and burst into laughter. Just a few seconds ago, he advised me not to throw them away, but after hearing me, he quickly discarded them to help me.

Perhaps the presence of 'Enzo Robert' doesn't fit into our lives now. Even a small mention of his name is enough for us to want to avoid it.

Roy reminded me, "Don't buy those silly magazines anymore; they're not good for Rollo."

I looked at him, a mixture of anger and restraint, which made me feel amused and amused. Those magazines often talk about fashion and economics, the two fields I read the most. And coincidentally, 'Enzo Robert' always appears in these two types of magazines, popular among people.

I teased Roy, "Didn't you just advise me not to throw them away?"

"True, I did say that, but... it's best not to buy them anymore." Roy said, and in his words, I sensed his confusion.

After that day, Roy bought many books for Rollo, books for students, drawing books, music books... all suitable for Rollo. Roy bought so many that Rollo stood frozen in astonishment.