Silver Lining Yesterday - Chapter 6
“As you know, I’ve never seen that person who was my father, so I’m not exactly trying to defend the guy—”
“Please. Do you think I’ll fall for that? All men are the same.”
“Can’t you think about it from another perspective?”
Ignoring Jean’s objection, Nix carefully rephrased his words.
“That… the relationship might not have started because of Ernest Garland.”
“That’s ridiculous. Are you saying Gemma made the first move?”
“…I was talking about the direction of their emotions.”
His hesitant words didn’t reach her.
Jean, staring vacantly with unfocused eyes, muttered as if to herself.
“Gemma was a girl who kept her faith even with her loser fiance. That sardine of a man, who didn’t even like her. She turned down love at the prime age of her youth simply because he was her fiance…”
“…”
“How could someone like her fall for someone as flighty as Ernest? Besides, we’ve known each other for over ten years. If Gemma had ever developed feelings for him, I’d have noticed…”
No way.
Jean blinked slowly, and seemed to regain focus as she sighed.
“Could it be that she was stressed because of that ugly sardine of a fiance? Is that why she threw herself into a one-night stand?”
“Why would she falter like that when everything was going well?”
“Yeah… Ernest is the complete opposite of that sardine. He may look impressive on the outside, but there’s not an ounce of loyalty in him.”
“Can’t you just pick one—either praise or criticism?”
“Be quiet, Ernie’s son. When I look at your face right now, it just makes me angry.”
Jean pushed Nix’s handsome face aside without hesitation and gracefully stood up.
There was a youthful glow on her face as she seemed to be finding her own answers.
“Yes… that’s how it was. Why wouldn’t it be? The sardine has no money, no power, no skills—just a sardine. He might treat Gemma well, but in the end, he’s still just a sardine.”
Nix, who had his nose pressed into Jean’s palm, let out a hollow laugh as he was clearly shocked.
“Do you even realize what you’re saying right now?”
“Well, for a one-night fling, Ernie’s an excellent choice. He’s handsome, tall… not sure, but I bet he’s good in bed too. Oh my God, this is partly my fault. I should’ve realized that even pure Gemma could have such forbidden desires. I should have set her up with a better match…!”
Nix couldn’t make sense of how far the criticism surrounding his birth story was going.
He was too stunned to respond, silently watching as she jumped to conclusions for her own satisfaction.
“Though she lost to a foolish desire, still, Gemma is Gemma. I should’ve recognized it sooner, and now I must listen to my old friend’s apology…”
She clasped her hands together as if praying, playing the role of a devout nun, before suddenly lighting up her eyes with fierce determination.
“That overly virtuous Gemma Heidegger! She should’ve broken off the engagement with that ugly sardine long ago! How could she be so blind to men! This is why I wanted to live with her until the day I die…”
She swung between being self-righteous, furious, and pitiful all at once.
Nix pressed his forehead, which was beginning to ache.
One thing was clear was that this monumental misunderstanding had to be fixed as quickly as possible, before it took root.
“You’re clearly misunderstanding something here… Hey, are you even listening to me?”
“Ernie’s son, I told you to be quiet.”
“Is the one you’re calling a sardine by any chance Leroy Langdon?”
Jean, who had been glancing sideways at him, let out a haughty snort.
“How kind. Does Ernie’s son even remember the name of the sardine?”
“You should remember it too. He’s Gemma Heidegger’s husband.”
“WHAT?!”
Jean shot up in a shout.
As she twisted in anger, Nix observed her expression with a pleased smile, casually shrugging his shoulders and sat down.
“Luckily, the wealth and power are in the wife’s hands now. He may be ugly, but still full of loyalty, and they get along quite well.”
“That’s impossible. What could Gemma be lacking…?”
“There aren’t many who’d accept a woman insisting on having an illegitimate child.”
Nix muttered bitterly, and his face seemed almost solemn for a moment.
Jean, who had been about to retort, was rendered speechless. No matter the reasons, she couldn’t understand Gemma’s choice.
If it had simply been a one-night fling resulting in pregnancy, she could have aborted the child. Gemma had been skeptical about childbirth and raising a child, even harboring a kind of fear towards motherhood.
Yet Gemma, was so shy, had gone ahead and had a child, even marrying that sardine.
Given Gemma’s tragic family history, it wasn’t likely that a sudden surge of maternal affection had emerged.
Instead, it seemed to be more about her affection for the child’s father, Ernest.
“….Did Gemma really love Ernie?”
Jean muttered with a bewildered look.
The relationship between the three of them, which she had believed to be a bond of deep friendship, was a misconception on her part. One of the pillars supporting her life seemed to be crumbling like a sandcastle.
“So why didn’t she wait for Ernie…? She didn’t have to marry someone just to have a child.”
“She must have been certain he wouldn’t return.”
“Certain…?”
A dark ripple formed in the depths of Jean’s wide eyes.
Nix, who had been resting his chin, pointed at her with a brief gesture.
“You.”
“……”
“The world works like that. Ernest Garland left forever with you, the one he loved.”
Jean took a deep breath. Her face was frozen looking fragile, as if it might crumble if touched.
She clung to her fading consciousness, and after a long pause, managed to speak.
“I told you. Ernie and I were like siblings… Everyone who knew us knew that. Gemma, who hung out with us every day, couldn’t have been unaware of it…”
Even after spending everyday together, she hadn’t known. That Gemma liked Ernest.
The dizziness suddenly overtook Jean.
Stumbling, she rejected Nix’s outstretched hand and steadied herself against the wall. Her pale face looked like she was going to collapse.
“…Then I guess no one knows that I’ve been sealed away all this time.”
Jean squeezed her eyes shut.
She remembered her eighteen-year-old self, who had turned her back on a peaceful childhood and willingly walked into a thorny path.
Did that version of Jean Rohrbach know? Did she know that her name would not be present at the end of the revolution she had started?
The anger, injustice, and sorrow that she had consciously pushed aside came rushing forth kike a flood.
As she felt the faint voice of someone calling her, Jean slowly lost her grip on consciousness.
She felt like she was going to drown in the torrent of chaos.
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