"We met in the hospital where Baba works. Coincidentally, both of our parents died in a car crash, leaving both of us orphans and there was no one to take care of us except Baba."

The brunette had a small smile on her face as the Brit continued to listen to her story.

"He was admitted in the hospital a few years prior than me, he was stuck in a wheelchair because the nerves on his legs were severely damaged.. or so he says. Baba says that maybe the reason why he can't walk is entirely psychological.. So I tried to help him.. I tried my best to cheer for him and after a few months of therapy, he can almost walk around the hospital."

Elizaveta chuckled to herself as the memories drowned her thoughts. "He was a nice man, very gentle, very kind. He often played the piano for me, ever since Baba gave him a piano on one of his birthdays."

"He must be a nice man, indeed.", the Brit commented, and continued, "Then why do you hate him so much?"

The brunette looked up at the ceiling as she spoke. "He was nice, yes, but he was such a pansy.", she laughed and Arthur chuckled along. "He wasn't very good at expressing his emotions, and ends up hurting other people in the process.. He isn't very strong either, you can say that I'm more manlier than him..", she laughed again. "But I loved him. I loved everything about him. Even though he was imperfect, he showed to me that life could be more colorful, more meaningful through music.."

Her eyes were about to brim with tears, but she tried to stop the tears from falling. "I loved him, but.. I guess my love for him wasn't enough to stop him from leaving."

A shocked look was on the Brit's face as he spoke. "He left you? What did you do? What did he do?", he asked, interest glimmering in his emerald eyes. The way Elizaveta had described the man to him, it seems that there is nothing wrong, but..

"..he was a very ambitious man. He really wanted to become a musician, and so, we thought of setting up our own band. I found it really interesting and fun, you know, but he took the band thing way too serious. He would often find and land us gigs, small concerts, performances. There are times that the others would already complain because of the packed schedule, and sometimes we can't focus at other stuff like our performance in school or bonding time with our families. He grew more dissatisfied, thinking that maybe, being in an indie band won't get him nowhere, that whatever he does for the band would end up in nothing.. And one day, he just snapped. He got into a fight with Vash, who was the guitarist in our band, and told him that he was already planning to quit the band, and go to a label company, where he says, "will appreciate his talent and skills". When I heard about it from Vash, I tried to contact him, but he wouldn't answer me. When I was on my way to his apartment.."

Silence. Her mouth suddenly stopped moving as she remembered that day..

"Roderich!"

He didn't turn around. He just stood there, the door of the car half open, as the rain poured hard down the streets. Elizaveta was soaking wet, a few metres from the Austrian, as she tried to stop him from leaving.

"Roderich? Y-You're not leaving us, right?", she asked, unsure whether the man had heard her or not. She saw his hand clench as he entered the car, without words, he just left her. "Roderich!", she cried, the car started moving and the brunette tried to run after it, while calling out for him.

"Roderich.."

She stopped running. She knew she won't be able to run after it, she knew that he had already made his decision to leave.

"Don't leave me.. I.."

"..I never got to tell him I loved him. He just disappeared in my life just like that, didn't even said goodbye or where he would be going. He never called, he never visited.", she clenched her fists as she spoke, "..and soon I grew to hate him. I hate him for making me feel this way, I hate him for telling me that we would always be together, no matter what. I hate him for everything he had said and done for me, and just left me hanging like this. I hate him because he chose his music and dreams rather than the people who used to love him.. Baba.. Heracles.. Gupta.. Vash.. Mathias.. and the others.. We were so devastated when he left.. Life was never the same without him."

Silence. Awkward silence filled the air as the Brit coughed twice before he spoke.

"But.. you're a strong woman, right, Ms. Hedervary?", he asked, a smile on his face as she looked at the brunette.

He continued, "You won't let a mere pansy affect you, right? You don't need to cry for him, you don't even need him because he doesn't deserve a lady like you. You should stand with your chin up and show him that you can be happy, even without him. Smile and make him regret his decision to leave you."

The brunette looked back at him, determination in her eyes as she pumped her left fist in the air. "Yes! I will show him that I can be happy even without him! That life could still be happy even without that mere pansy—"

Arthur looked as if he was trying to stop himself from laughing. "Pfft.."

He burst into laughter, trying to wipe the tears forming in his eyes as he spoke, "You are a very interesting woman, Ms. Hedervary.", and as the brunette bobbed her head to one side as she looked at him with confusion, she couldn't stop herself from also laughing along with the Brit.

When the laughter ceased, the Brit looked at her, and saw that there were no longer tears in her eyes. "Do you feel better now?", he asked, a sincere smile on his face as his emerald eyes focused on her.

The brunette smiled, she knew that everything he said was right. "Yes. I feel as if a burden in my heart is lifted, thanks to you.", and she looked at him, a smile on her face that is no longer fake like she would always put up with others. "Thank you, Mr. Kirkland. Thank you."

Arthur looked back, and a weird feeling came over him. Why is my heart beating so fast? Sh-She's just smiling, thanking me.. Why do I feel this way?

"Don't look at me like that!", he scolded her, as he put a palm on his face to hide the blush on his cheeks. The room was a bit dark, and Elizaveta can't see it anyway. She chuckled and found it strangely cute, but she tried to hide that thought in her head.

She looked at him, her eyes filled with sincerity as she spoke. "I guess it is a bit unfair of me to judge you right away, Mr. Kirkland. Knowing that you're an idol, and that you are from a label company, made me thought that idols are all the same.. Sacrificing everything just for money and fame.. But I guess..", she smiled again at the Brit as she continued, "..you are quite different from the rest."

Sh-She's looking at me like that again! Stop smiling at me like that, you idiot..

"Uh-Uhmm..", he looked away, his face getting redder as he tried to hide his face from her. "Well.. You're different than what I have first perceived you.. I suppose."

He heard a big yawn beside him, and when he looked at her, it seems as if Elizaveta was already asleep. He smiled.

She looks more like an angel when she's asleep like this..

A yawn also escaped from his lips as his eyes slowly drooped, and sleep beginning to overwhelm him.