It Doesn’t Matter Anymore novel Chapter 20

Chapter 20

That night, Allison was searching for a book in the study when she accidentally knocked over a tin box from the top shelf of the bookcase.

The box was not locked; with a loud clang, it fell open, scattering a pile of sketch drawings across the floor.

Allison picked them up, her hand pausing slightly.

Every drawing was of her.

There was her profile, head lowered, reading in the university library; her back as she waited for Greyson at the entrance of the military compound, holding a grocery basket; and even… that moment in the mudslide ruins, her whole body covered in mud, her eyes filled with despair.

In the lower right corner of each drawing, a date was marked.

The earliest one was from seven years ago.

At that time, she had just registered her marriage with Greyson. In front of City Hall, she held the marriage certificate, her face beaming with happiness, while the person who drew the picture seemed to stand in a distant corner, the brushstrokes filled with an indescribable loneliness.

Allison sat on the carpet, holding those drawings for a long time.

Jerico pushed the door open and paused when he saw the scene.

He walked over, crouched in front of her, and without offering any explanation, simply reached out to tuck a stray lock of hair behind her car,

“Jerico,” Allison looked up, her eyes slightly red, “how long… have you been watching me?”

Jerico gazed at her, his usually playful, flirtatious eyes now filled with deep affection.

“A long time.”

“Since the night you played ‘For Elise’ at the university welcome party.”

“Back then, I thought you were blind for falling for that blockhead Greyson. Later…” He gave a self-deprecating smile, “Later, I watched you suffer, watched you lower yourself to the dust for him. I was both angry and heartbroken. I wanted to fight for you, but you never saw me.’

He took Allison’s hand and brought it to his lips for a kiss.

“Until that day of the mudslide, when I dug you out from the earth. You clung to my sleeve, feverish and delirious, and said: ‘If there is a next life, I will never marry a heartless man.””

“Right then, I swore, I wouldn’t wait for another life. In this life, I would take over.”

Allison looked at him, and at last, her tears fell.

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