Chapter 74: Ex-Wife vs. Young Lover (2)
Ex-Wife vs. Young Lover (2)
“You saw it, didn’t you?”
At that low, muffled voice, Liliwi flinched and turned around.
A tall stack of old books collapsed, and Mina sluggishly pushed herself up from within it and stretched.
Liliwi was left speechless at the sight of Mina.
Last night, even though she’d been driven mad as she chased Liliwi and the others, Mina had still been a beautiful woman.
But now, as she rubbed her sleepy eyes in front of her, Liliwi couldn’t believe this was the same person.
Her hair was a wild mess, dark circles clearly visible beneath her bare, makeup-less eyes. She wore only a coarse cardigan over some risqué lingerie, looking less like a goddess and more like a creepy witch in truly awful shape.
Mina directed her drowsy gaze at Liliwi, then pulled out a pair of glasses from the fallen heap of books, put them on, and checked her watch.
“You’re early. So? How was being embraced by Lovecraft? Did you fall for him?”
“Issak was way better.”
Liliwi replied bluntly, and Mina’s glasses slipped down her nose as her lips began to tremble.
“You slept with Issak…? Sex?”
“That’s not… it’s not like that at all!”
“What was that pause, huh?”
“Nothing, okay?!”
“Then what do you mean Issak was better?”
“I never said he was better, alright? We just became one in body and soul, that’s all.”
“So you mean sex?!”
“No, that’s not what I meant!”
Mina pointed at Liliwi’s left wrist.
“Weren’t you using that chain for something dirty?!”
“No, I mean, it could be used that way… but that’s not what this is!”
“Then what is it?”
“It’s a curse to keep Issak from running away.”
“…”
Mina eyed Liliwi with suspicion.
Despite calling it a curse, she looked oddly proud, which irritated Liliwi.
Liliwi smirked wickedly at the annoyed Mina.
“And what about that ring on your left ring finger? Do you even know what it means?”
“…”
Mina averted her gaze and, while rummaging through the clutter, pulled out a teapot, a cup, and some tea leaves.
“Lovecraft touched you, didn’t he? You didn’t feel anything?”
“Not at all. Not even a flicker.”
“Are you frigid or something?”
“I… don’t think so.”
Liliwi nodded to herself, recalling the moment she’d assaulted Issak.
“There’s only one woman I know who wouldn’t be happy to be held by him.”
“And it’s hilarious that the one woman like that isn’t even Issak’s legal wife.”
Liliwi said it with a smile, but her eyes were deadly serious.
Without a word, Mina prepared the tea with smooth, practiced movements and placed a white mug in front of Liliwi.
Liliwi stared silently into the mug.
“Is this the infamous drugged kind?”
“I don’t drug anyone but Issak.”
Mina poured milk into her own cup and stirred it in slow circles with a spoon.
Liliwi blinked in surprise at the cup.
It was a pink mug with a big heart on it, and inside the heart, the name “MINA” was printed in a cute font.
“…Hey, don’t tell me there’s a mug that says ‘ISSAK’ too?”
“Of course. It’s right here.”
Mina nodded like it was the most natural thing in the world and pulled a matching mug from a drawer.
Liliwi gasped and looked at the bottom of the white mug in her hands. There, engraved side by side, were the names Issak and Mina, along with a date from five years ago.
“Is this… what I think it is?”
“A wedding-favor. It’s pretty nice, so make sure you take it home with you.”
At Mina’s smug, inexplicable expression, Liliwi’s cheek twitched as she glanced around the room again.
The dim space, filled wall to wall with photos of Issak, felt like it could rewrite your brain just by standing in it.
The kind of place that forced you to think about Issak, whether you wanted to or not.
“Hey, is this place some kind of experimental lab?”
“Just my private room.”
When Liliwi squinted into a dark corner, she saw a makeshift bed, and on it, a body pillow with Issak’s face printed on it.
“I make Issak’s food and meds here. He just came back after three months, so I kind of went overboard.”
Mina smiled sweetly, a stark contrast to Liliwi, whose face was now so strained it had begun to hurt.