There Is No Paradise Where I Ran Away To (14 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 79

Vivian, standing before the door, smoothed her skirt pleats once more and adjusted her lace before knocking. As she turned the doorknob and stepped inside, the brightly lit lamp welcomed her.

The servant who had been stoking the fireplace left the bedroom at Edwin’s order. He, seated at the table with a book in hand, lazily crinkled the corners of his eyes upon seeing Vivian.

Beyond the window behind him stretched a vast horizon dyed in deep twilight.

“Come in.”

His gentle greeting brightened Vivian’s face. She shyly touched her cheek with the back of her hand and tiptoed closer.

On the table sat a large box wrapped in gift paper. Edwin gestured toward it with his eyes. Though they both—and everyone else—knew it contained a cello, someone had taken great care in wrapping it, and that thoughtfulness tickled her heart.

Whether that someone was the man before her or the luthier, she couldn’t say.

With shy fingertips, she slowly tore open the wrapping. Facing the high-quality cello case, Vivian wondered if she truly deserved to accept it. Of course, she had ordered it while in Perrington, but the timing of receiving it now felt dangerously prone to misunderstanding.

It almost seemed as if the cello came with the stigma of being accepted in exchange for granting him a kiss.

But the moment she opened the case, any guilt born from excessive suspicion washed cleanly away. The scent of a brand-new cello, untouched by anyone, sent a thrilling shiver through her chest.

Her eyes sparkled with wonder, shining with innocent delight. With an admiring gaze, she took out the cello and bow, then smiled happily—a smile she wasn’t even aware she was making.

“Do you like it?”

“Yes. I really do.”

She nodded her small chin and gently ran her fingers along the cello’s strings. Her voice, brimming with emotion, planted a sense of fulfillment in him. Plucking a string experimentally, Vivian widened her eyes and gasped in delight.

“The sound is wonderful. The resonance is perfect.”

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