15 That Guy

Her response was short, but it was clear enough that she had no interest in talking with him at all. And so I decided to take over the conversation… just to distract Kather from whatever she felt towards that man.

"Perhaps we should move somewhere else… this crowd is too huge," I suggest.

As I speak, she nods her head and points to her side. We turn to her right and begin walking down the road.

The man that talks to Kather earlier doesn't try to follow us, he simply watches us leave that area. We didn't go that far but when we finally got out of the man's sight, I decided to ask something important.

'I got a lot of questions regarding your relationship with this man. Can you please explain it to me?'

Now Kather does raise her head and looks at me. She should consider it for a moment. Finally, she replies in the most agreeable way possible. "His name is Gabriel. He lives within the capital. He has been coming around to my father's house every day since the first time we met, as his father was a noble that befriended my father." she explains.

Kather then continues to explain, "We became friends pretty quickly. But then he began to visit more often than before, even without his father," she adds. "I thought we were just friends but…"

Kather pauses for a moment, becoming hesitant once again on whether she wanted to tell me about that part of the story or not.

Not going to lie, it does make me feel like something is fishy here. Like there's some truth that she doesn't want to tell me about. I mean I probably am fine, as I don't want to push this matter further if it makes Kather uncomfortable. But-

"Do you love him? Did both of you ever been in a relationship? You know, something like that. Do you have feelings for him? If so, why did you break up? Have you forgotten about her completely? Are you still holding on to that old flame? That's what I'm asking. Just talk to me, Kather! Please!"

The moment I said those words, Kather became angry at me as she said. "Why would you assume that I have a relationship with that man? I told you, he is just a friend of mine! But not anymore…"

I guess she was annoyed because the last thing she expected me to assume was things about her and that man. But I don't think I am wrong as if I didn't do that, for sure Kather would take quite the time to actually say anything about it. Of course, she gets mad, but I am glad that she answered.

Because otherwise, I'll keep bugging her until she tells me everything… and it may hurt her in the process.

"Well… okay then," I replied calmly. "But it seems like something does happen between you two..."

Then she adds, with an annoyed tone, "He claims to be my soulmate, but of course, I don't believe him… Like I don't even know where that idea comes from in the first place. Because I always thought of him as a friend." She seems annoyed and not in the mood for any more details.

This whole situation is making me nervous. All sorts of thoughts are running through my mind. Questions pop up in my head like 'what kind of relationship does he have with Kather?' 'Does she still have feelings for him'? 'Is this just friendship or something else entirely?'.

All of this is causing my heart to beat faster. A lot of emotions are filling my chest. My body feels hot all throughout my torso and lower abdomen as if my blood begins to boil.

For some strange reason, I do not wish to lose Kather as a lover. After all, I have fallen deeply in love with her, and thus losing her would surely kill me.

'Ah! It's not a strange feeling… surely this is what jealousy is' While I was lost in my own world, Kather speaks again.

"Gabriel likes me… but I don't feel that way towards him, obviously. Our relationship was purely platonic. At least that's what I thought back then. And even if he still likes me romantically, I wouldn't give him that chance, because I don't love him. I only want you as I love you. So I tried to convince him to stay away from me. To stop bothering me. Yet he insisted on staying… despite knowing that I do not return his affection."

She seems to be irritated by now. Probably because the man kept pestering her instead of leaving her alone.

Even though he is the one who forced himself upon her… I can somewhat understand how she feels.

It does make me feel somewhat relieved hearing all of that. That Kather and that man are not really dating or having any romantic affair whatsoever. This means that I shouldn't worry much regarding Kather's personal life.

However…

There's one question that bothers me greatly. Something that keeps nagging at the back of my brain. One thing that I need to find out before I decide on how to deal with this entire situation.

"So both of you are still friends?" I inquire.

To my surprise, Kather gives a quick nod. Then she adds, "Yes, we still remain friends. Well, technically speaking, we haven't seen each other since that incident."

After hearing what Kather said about all of this. I wanted to ask more but I realized something. An awkward silence fell over us, as neither of us wanted to pursue the topic further.

This shouldn't be an issue since I would become Kather's husband so sooner or later, she needs to tell me about her past. It's not relevant of course to our relationship but it's much better to know rather than to have no idea at all about Kather's past.

I mean 10 years is quite a long time… surely something could happen in that time.