Playing the Villainess, He Fell for Me

Simon Lockwood’s face was deathly pale, his eyes shot with red. Anna Yates was a little frightened. ”You... how long have you been waiting here?”

Simon Lockwood shook his head. Instead of answering her, he asked again, ”I want to know... where is Joanna Kennedy.”

”......I really don’t know.”

After speaking, Anna Yates hurriedly tried to walk past him. Simon Lockwood moved to stop her, but his legs, numb from sitting for so long, buckled and he stumbled.

”Scholar Lockwood, are you okay?!” Anna Yates’s heart tightened, and she rushed to steady him.

Simon Lockwood didn’t let her help him, his voice low. ”There’s no need...”

Realizing he wouldn’t get anything out of her, Simon Lockwood wasn’t all that disappointed. ’Perhaps I’ve already braced myself for this. If you don’t have any hope, you can’t be too disappointed.’

”Thank you. If you get any news about Joanna Kennedy, please let me know.”

Simon Lockwood turned. He walked very slowly, and the sight of his tall, slender back was inexplicably heartbreaking.

Anna Yates was suddenly overcome with sadness. She called out loudly, ”Simon Lockwood, stop waiting for her.”

”You’ve already broken up, which means this was Joanna Kennedy’s decision. Why do you... have to find her?” Anna Yates bit her lip. Although it pained her, she had to say more for Simon Lockwood’s own good. ”Even if you do find her, what can you do?”

’Joanna Kennedy only broke up with him because she took money. If Simon found her and learned about that, it would only hurt him more. It’s better... to just leave it be.’

Her tone was too definitive, and it made Simon Lockwood’s mind clear. ”She’s been in contact with you, hasn’t she.”

”N-no...”

The flash of panic on Anna Yates’s face didn’t escape him. Simon Lockwood asked again, ”What did Joanna Kennedy say?”

”She...” Her conscience and her feelings for her friend were at war.

Anna Yates considered Joanna Kennedy her best friend, but she still had to admit that what Joanna had done in this matter was truly unconscionable.

’But then again,’ she thought, ’it’s just a relationship. People have the right to break up at any time.’

”Simon Lockwood.” Anna Yates paused, then said, ”If you really want a future with her, then... go abroad. Make yourself stronger.”

’Only by becoming strong enough can you get what you want. Blindly chasing after the truth will just make him seem desperate and clingy to everyone else.’

”......”

Simon Lockwood said nothing. He just stood there as if frozen to the spot. Long after she had gone and he was alone, he lowered his gaze and whispered something under his breath.

His voice was hollow and raspy, as if speaking only to himself.

’One last time. Just one last time...’

The work at the library was tedious, but at least it was peaceful. For over three thousand a month, Joanna Kennedy felt it was a pretty good job.

At five in the afternoon, Joanna Kennedy finished wiping down the bookshelves as usual and was waiting for her shift to end. She glanced over and saw her phone, which she’d set aside, light up.

She had blocked Simon Lockwood on WeChat, so for some time now, he had been texting her instead.

Joanna Kennedy had never replied to a single one.

At first, he sent a lot of them, asking why she broke up with him, what he did wrong, where she was, and why she had dropped out of school.

Eventually, he was practically begging her to just send one text back, just so he would know she was safe.

Perhaps sensing her resolve, Simon Lockwood hadn’t texted much in the last few days, and Joanna Kennedy thought he had finally given up.

But now, seeing the familiar number in her inbox, her heart suddenly gave a hard, heavy thump.

Before she could even think, her mind had already compelled her to open the message. It contained only a single sentence: I’m waiting for you at home. If you’re not here by midnight tomorrow, I’ll never bother you again.

Joanna Kennedy stared at it for a long time.

Simon Lockwood’s meaning was clear. Before midnight tomorrow was her last chance to get back together with him.

After that, she would lose any chance of having Simon Lockwood in her life forever.

had figured things out by now. It seemed the ”heartless” Joanna Kennedy had actually fallen for Simon Lockwood. It remained silent for a moment before asking, [Are you going to go?]

Joanna Kennedy didn’t say a word. Instead, she hit the delete button.

tactfully asked no more questions.

After her shift, Joanna Kennedy skipped dinner. She returned to her rental apartment and went straight to bed. The apartment was near the sea, and with the constant rain these past few days, it was incredibly damp. Her sensitive skin had broken out in a small red rash, and even the ointment she got from the hospital wasn’t helping.

The rashy areas were always itchy at night, and Joanna Kennedy couldn’t sleep soundly. The itching would wake her up periodically. She would get out of bed, turn on the light, and apply ice cubes directly from the freezer. It helped a lot, finally quelling the maddening itch.

There was no moon that night. Sitting by the window, she could smell the salty dampness of the sea breeze. She didn’t manage to fall asleep until the early hours of the morning.

Having slept so late, she overslept and missed her shift. Joanna Kennedy called the library to take the day off, then threw on a baggy jacket and went to the nearby market for groceries.

She bought some green vegetables and a few eggs, then headed home.

Back home, she felt restless. She mopped the floor of her tiny apartment several times, washed her sheets and duvet cover, and replaced them with a fresh set.

She cooked for herself at home—steamed white rice and blanched some greens. It looked like a watery, unappetizing meal.

Then, she just sat on the edge of her bed, staring into space. Outside the window, the sky slowly darkened. The hands on the clock went around and around.

Her phone remained silent.

She didn’t know what she was waiting for.

As the deadline drew closer, a wave of uncontrollable anxiety and panic washed over her. She shot to her feet and began pacing back and forth in the room.

The clock’s hands completed another rotation. Joanna Kennedy couldn’t take it anymore and bolted for the door. The moment her hand touched the cold doorknob, she froze as if she’d been struck, a jolt bringing her back to her senses. She remained there, stock-still, for a long time.

After what felt like an eternity, her hand slowly slid off the knob.

......

The clock struck twelve. Once again, his hopes were dashed, but Simon Lockwood had been prepared for it.

’Giving up on someone is simple,’ he thought. ’You just have to forcibly carve them out of your heart. Aside from a little pain and a bit of emptiness, it wasn’t too difficult.’

But when he saw the rose in the glass case by his bed, still as vibrant as the day he got it, all the grief and pain he had been deliberately ignoring came rushing out at once.

Simon Lockwood’s eyes turned red. A single tear fell to the floor, quickly staining the spot where it landed.

His eyes were red, but the light within them grew colder and colder until, at last, not a hint of emotion could be seen.

’She didn’t want him... then he didn’t want this anymore either.’

From their hurried beginning to this wretched end—if this was all a dream, then he... he was grateful to Joanna Kennedy for shattering it with her own two hands.

Whatever Joanna Kennedy’s reason for the breakup was, he no longer wanted to know.

The process of arranging to study abroad was not as complicated as he’d imagined. It went surprisingly smoothly, as if fate itself was confirming that he had made the right decision.

By the time Joanna Kennedy heard the news from 166, Simon Lockwood was already on a flight out of the country.