Episode 6

In that restaurant, Amon and his father, the esteemed Lord Farrell, had arranged a meeting with Claramond.

"I appreciate the sacrifice you're about to make. As you've seen from my daughter's file, she suffers from a severe case of autism, as you know since you treated her quite some time ago," Lord Farrell said.

"I'm fully aware… I thank you again for this opportunity," responded Claramond graciously.

"Yet I have a question…" said Amon, looking at Claramond.

"What is it?" asked Aaron.

"I don't accept the reward for the deal. I came unexpectedly to see if I could be the unlucky one when no one knows about this. How did you come to know, Mr. Paxley?" Amon inquired.

"One of my patients told me," replied Claramond.

"If that's the case… Who was it? And why accept this?" Amon pressed.

"Enough, Amon, that's the least of our concerns. What matters is that he has accepted. So here… Sign the document," said Lord Farrell.

Amon fell silent, and Claramond took the paper to begin reading it, doing so for sheer pleasure, not out of any sense of obligation. When he learned of what had happened to Rose, he felt great pity for her and didn't want her condition to worsen at the hands of others.

Besides, he couldn't deny that since he saw her, he felt an attraction to her…

Claramond signed the paper, and after a brief conversation, he left to go straight home. He wouldn't receive any prize for this, perhaps a round of applause from his mother. But now his fear was that Rose would resent him…

...

During the night, Rose was lying in bed looking out the window. It was raining, leaving its traces on the windowpane.

As she watched the window, a deep memory came to her mind...

...

TIME PASSED...

...

Feeling a bit ill, Rose had gone to the park where she used to meet Jaume. There, she sat on a bench, her hands covered in her sweater, her nose in her scarf.

"My love!" exclaimed Jaume as he arrived to sit beside her and embrace her.

"J-Jau...me…" she whispered, hugging him back. At that moment, she sneezed, prompting Jaume to pull back from the hug to look at her.

"Are you alright? You're sick?" he asked. Embarrassedly, she nodded and averted her gaze. "I'm sorry... I made you come while you're sick... Mm... I know! Let's go for a coffee," he suggested, rising to help her to her feet.

Jaume removed his scarf and wrapped it around Rose, covering her nose and mouth, then took off the gloves he had put on to hold her hands and slipped them onto hers.

Soon after, he embraced her and led her directly to a coffee shop.

At the cafe, he ordered her a mocha coffee, which she loved, and a slice of cake. Once she was settled in, he hurried out of the place.

She waited calmly and after a few minutes, he returned, out of breath.

"Whew... Ahh… Done!" he said, pulling some pills from his pocket. "I was told these are good for a cold, take one," he instructed, putting a pill in Rose's hand.

She complied, taking the pill and thanking him. He sat down beside her and ordered something for himself. They ate together at that cafe, and afterward, he took her to the car, turned on the heating, and drove to a lookout point.

There he parked, and they sat in quietude, gazing at the scenery. Jaume held Rose in his arms, seated on his lap. He even took off his sweatshirt to wrap her up for warmth.

"Every place is beautiful when I see it with you... You're like a beautiful red rose... one that I can take everywhere with me," said Jaume, holding her softly.

"Am I... pretty?" asked Rose.

"You are gorgeous and perfect. Pretty falls short," he replied, kissing her forehead.

"But... My hair isn't nice... my eyes are ugly... my face even more so..." she remarked.

"What are you saying? I love every bit of you. Your hair is like a beautiful red cloud, your eyes like a lovely blue sky, and your face is as pretty as a doll's. It doesn't matter to me if others don't find you attractive... Because there are wonders that don't need to stand out…" ...

...

Remembering those words, tears fell from Rose's eyes. She fell completely asleep.

Just then, Claramond had entered the room. Along with Anahera, they had been taking care of Rose, so they dropped by now and then to check on her.

Upon entering and seeing her asleep, Claramond quietly approached and placed his hand on her forehead to check her temperature.

"Jaume…" Rose murmured. Hearing this, Claramond was taken aback and watched her for a few seconds. He didn't do more than tuck her in and left some pills with a note on her nightstand. Before leaving, he noticed she had awakened, so he looked at her and offered a smile.

"Goodnight... Sorry if I woke you," he said. She sat up in bed and saw the pills, then glanced at him without making eye contact.

"Thank you," she said softly.

"It's nothing... I've written down when you should take them... Tomorrow, I'll bring you more pills in the evening. I hope you get better soon," he replied, smiling.

She gave him a small smile and he looked at her for a few more seconds before standing up again.

"By the way... I wanted to tell you something," said Claramond. Rose nodded, indicating she was listening, and then got up to go to her wardrobe and took out another blanket. "I wanted to say that… you can trust me," he told her. To his surprise, she looked at him again and he took her hand, then smiled. "I want you to trust me... I would never hurt you. Just like my mother, I've cared for you since I first met you, so... I want to be someone you can trust, so you don't feel so alone," were his words.

Listening to him, Rose made eye contact for the first time and then stepped forward to embrace him. Perhaps neither he nor anyone else knew, but when Rose did this, it meant she fully trusted that person. Now only Anahera and Claramond were the lucky ones...

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