Edric was leaning his arms on the counter, his bangs naturally tousled over his forehead and not wearing glasses, looking just as Melly had liked him once upon a time.
Melly barely managed to open her frozen lips and asked him again.
“When did you…”
“Just now.”
He answered before she could finish speaking.
“Why didn’t you say you were here?”
“I was about to when you woke up.”
Edric said. Melly hesitated, unsure what to do at this sudden meeting, then offered him a seat.
“Please sit down for now.”
He went and sat in his usual spot. Melly picked up a menu from the counter and returned to him. Her gaze was cautious as she held out the menu.
‘Could he have heard what I said?’
“…What would you like?”
“The same as I always had.”
Edric ordered without even looking at the menu.
Melly thought to herself. Judging by his tone and attitude, he clearly hadn’t heard her words. If he had, he would have ordered differently. For instance, gesturing with his chin to where she had been sitting earlier,
‘The same as that customer over there.’
…Something like that.
I know everything about you, you’re in the palm of my hand.
That was the arrogant attitude he had maintained all along.
Melly felt her tensed shoulders relax gently.
She returned to the counter in a somewhat lighter mood.
She put tea leaves in the strainer, poured hot water into the pot, checked her pocket watch, and glanced at him.
His face, gazing indifferently out the window, looked much softer and more relaxed than when she had last seen him. Was it because he wasn’t wearing glasses? Or because of the soft bangs naturally covering his forehead?
No. If anything, it probably wasn’t because of the bangs.
He had been wearing his bangs down ever since he reappeared before her.
Why had he suddenly changed the style he had maintained to show his forehead for the impeccable image of a family head?
Melly was curious. But the question didn’t last long.
What mattered now was not why he had let his bangs down, but why he had come here.
She removed the strainer and tilted the pot to pour the tea.
“Here you are.”
She set the cup of Darjeeling tea in front of Edric. And while normally she would have returned to the counter, today she didn’t. It was to hear his reason for coming.
Melly sat down across from him.
“…”
Edric just stared at her silently without saying anything. Then suddenly he lowered his gaze.
“You don’t have any tea.”
He said that and stood up, then unexpectedly went to the counter.
“What… what are you doing?”
Melly asked with wide eyes as she saw him putting tea leaves in the teaware. Edric didn’t answer and poured water from the kettle that had been pre-boiled and cooled into the pot.
Melly stood up.
“Come back. I’ll do it.”
“Stay seated.”
Edric said. Perhaps because he was used to giving orders and instructions, even his calm tone had the power to make the listener obey without question.
Melly sat back down without realizing it.
He carefully timed with the pocket watch, and when the time was up, he meticulously performed the series of steps to remove the leaves without creating bubbles in the tea. It was a clean process without any unnecessary movements.
For a moment, Melly felt deflated.
‘He really is good at everything.’
To follow her own techniques, honed through years of trial and error, without a single mistake on the first try. While his ability was admirable, Melly couldn’t hide the bitter feeling and lowered her gaze.
A moment later, a teacup with a lily of the valley pattern was placed before her.
“Try it.”
Edric urged as he sat down across from her.
Melly took a sip of the tea, feeling defeated…
“…It’s delicious.”
Melly said with a smile. However.
‘How can it be… so astringent.’
It was strange that the tea tasted so different even though it was brewed in exactly the same way.
Her eyebrows kept drawing together at the bitter tea, but she felt not too bad about it.
That time and effort had not betrayed her. And also…
The fact that even the great Edric Ryan Pelton had something he couldn’t do.
“It really is delicious. I’ll enjoy it.”
She praised it again, feeling satisfied. Edric narrowed one eye and said,
“You seem to think you’re good at lying.”
“…”
“You’re as transparent now as you’ve always been.”
He switched his teacup with hers.
Any further lies would only seem to mock the other person.
Melly awkwardly smiled and soothed her mouth with the tea he had swapped.
Edric didn’t even frown while drinking the tea he had made. Had even such a sensitive and prickly man changed now?
For a while, the two just drank their tea without saying anything.
Gulp-.
As the silence lengthened, the sound of tea going down her throat sounded so stark that Melly felt embarrassed.
She asked after him, partly to break the awkward silence.
“Have you been well all this time?”
“As you can see.”
“Is the Dowager Duchess in good health?”
“Probably.”
“How are the others at the ducal residence doing?”
“So-so.”
“…”
Even if one person tried hard to make conversation, if the other responded halfheartedly, the dialogue just wouldn’t flow naturally.
Melly, having run out of things to ask, let her gaze wander. Suddenly something caught her eye.
Melly gestured to the yellow envelope placed next to him and asked.
“What’s that?”
Edric sighed as if regretting that she had only now noticed it, then took out a document from inside and held it out to her.
“Read it.”
Melly looked down with a puzzled expression.
Her brown eyes soon revealed smooth rims.
“This… this is.”
[Consent for Transfer of Real Estate Ownership]It was the same title as when he had tried to transfer the Renisis villa to her before. But now the subject of the ownership transfer was not the Renisis villa.
[31 Caltroid Street, Number 3.]It was this very building where her tea shop was located.
Melly looked up from the document.
“Why is this…”
“If you sign there, this shop building becomes yours. I’ll pay Mrs. Flora the purchase price.”
Edric kindly explained. But that wasn’t the answer Melly wanted.
“What I want to know is, why are you giving this to me…”
“It’s compensation.”
“…”
“When a large shop encroaches on a small shop’s territory, it’s only right to pay compensation. I’m a person who knows business ethics.”
He was explaining himself against the accusation Melly had once made towards him.
‘This goes against business ethics.’
“I don’t need it.”
But Melly gently pushed the document back towards him.
“Since you’ve already closed your shop, there’s no need to pay compensation. Take it back.”
“It would be better for you to accept it.”
Edric added, slowly closing and opening his eyes.
“Rather than me forcibly pushing it into your arms.”
It was an somehow unsettling tone.
“Are… are you saying that’s possible?”
“Of course. I’ll just become the owner of this place and keep you as a tenant.”
“…”
Melly was dumbfounded.
“Why do you think I’d be stuck here? I can just leave.”
“You can’t do that.”
Edric said leisurely, crossing his arms in front of his chest.
“I looked over the lease agreement between Mrs. Flora and you.”
“…”
“There’s a clause stating that if the tenant damages the building’s reputation through unsavory incidents, they must pay considerable compensation to the landlord.”
The color drained from Melly’s face.
What had been just a vague clause at the time of signing suddenly took on concrete form and became a stark reality.
Edric summed it up with a satisfied smile.
“In other words, you’ll be in debt to me. The building owner takes over all rights regarding the tenant.”
“…”
Melly’s face turned ashen, feeling deeply engulfed by the calamity of her own making.
“I… I can just pay it off.”
“Then you’ll have to stay until you do.”
Melly glared at him, biting her lip hard.
Edric tapped the table and said,
“Don’t think too hard about it, Melly.”
“…”
“You just need to happily accept my goodwill.”
Melly shifted her gaze to where his fingertip was pointing on the table. The ownership transfer document was there.
The anger rapidly drained from her eyes.
It wasn’t a bad offer. Better than being bound by an unnecessary lease agreement and falling under his control.
But it was also unreasonable to accept it purely as goodwill.
Because he was not a man who would ever provide something without expecting something in return…
“I don’t want anything in return.”
He said, as if he knew exactly what she was thinking.
“I just felt bad about trying to ruin what you built up on your own, and wanted to do something for you.”
“…”
There was no lie visible in his voice as he persuaded her in a kind tone.
Melly fell into thought. She stared intently at the document as if the answer lay there, then soon raised her eyes as if she had made up her mind.
“Is that really all? I’m asking if it’s truly nothing more or less than me accepting this.”
Melly said.
Edric answered without hesitation.
“Of course.”
“Then please divorce me first.”
“…”
“I’ll take it as alimony.”
Edric just stared into her eyes with a penetrating gaze without saying anything.
‘I thought so.’
Melly inwardly gave a wry smile.
He simply wanted to enjoy his rights as a husband by giving her this shop.
He would make her sign the name Melissa Pelton instead of Melly Enwood.
She wanted to end the conversation now.
“Take it back. And never again…”
“Alright.”
Cutting off her firm refusal, Edric said clearly.
“If that’s the only way to make you understand my sincerity, I’ll divorce you as you wish.”
My Arch-enemy Sealed My Memory and Said That He is My Husband
This is an incredibly captivating story that you absolutely shouldn’t miss! I’ll give a brief introduction here, and below you’ll find a detailed synopsis of the plot.
The female lead is a fierce and powerful demon king. The male lead is a once-in-a-millennium celestial lord, admired by the entire cultivation world.
They are equally matched, legendary rivals who have battled for centuries.
In the final duel, the female lead is gravely injured. The male lead saves her, seals her memories, and hides her true identity. He tells her that he is her fiancé. His entire life has been flawless—except for the one thing he never expected, never controlled, and never wanted to control: falling for his greatest enemy. She is his inner demon, his obsession.
When the female lead regains her memories, she is furious at his deception.
She makes his life a living hell.
And somehow, the male lead—possibly a total masochist—doesn’t mind at all. In fact, he’s happy she’s paying attention to him.
Yep, we’re back to my favorite trope: male lead suffering. If you love this kind of story, jump into the pit with me now!!!
Intro
Dong Xia lost her memory.
Her handsome and extremely powerful fiancé Li Qing comforted her: “It’s okay if you can’t remember. I’ll always be with you.”
Everyone thought Dong Xia’s ancestors must have burned incense to get such a perfect fiancé. He was the number one person in the immortal realm, yet he remained chaste and only loved her.
…
The day before marrying her fiancé, Dong Xia finally remembered everything.
She wasn’t suffering from memory loss at all.
Her arch-enemy had made her fake her death, destroyed her cultivation, replaced her memories, and pretended to be her deeply in love fiancé.
No wonder he said, “It’s okay if you can’t remember”!
Dong Xia laughed coldly as she pulled out her long knife: Li Qing, prepare to die 🙂
*
Li Qing, as the supreme being of the immortal realm, was the people’s shining beacon.
The only unknown stain in his life was his affection for Dong Xia, the ruler of the demon realm.
In the final battle of the war between immortals and demons, the sky collapsed and the earth shattered. The ruler of the demon realm was finally slain under the sword of the supreme being of the immortal realm, and everyone in the immortal realm applauded.
The cultivation world lost a ruler of the demon realm.
And in the back mountain of Li Qing’s cave dwelling, he secretly hid away a fiancée.
Notes:
1. The female lead is white on the outside, black on the inside, and the queen of flattery; the male lead repeatedly tests the edge of darkness, a VIP guest at the crematorium.
2. Fantasy cultivation world setting.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
