The General's Wife Wants to Leave
Chapter 99: Fallen petals

Chapter 99: Fallen petals

He could see fear and anxiety in her eyes—the same emotions that were reflected in her eyes when he first met her in this very place, her maiden home.

He also noticed that she avoided looking at him, trying hard not to spare a glance into his eyes.

Even when he made her fix her eyes on his, the golden irises looked dimmer, not glistening like when they stood together under the warm glow of the night.

At a moment like this, Canillas felt regret that they had left the orphanage so soon. The joy he felt when he found there was progress in their problematic relationship, even if it was only a sliver, disappeared.

However, he refused to start from the very beginning, as he wanted them to make progress from where they had reached up to now. It was also not too late to pull her back to where they were now, not allowing her to step out of the circle they had formed so far.

"I believe that Sir Canillas already knew why my father assigned a separate room for you to stay in. So, I don’t need to elaborate on it as the answer to you." He heard the response from the cold woman, who wanted to escape from him. A smile cracked on his lips.

"I have your trunk with me," he said, raising the trunk that he held to meet her eyes. Placing it down on the marble floor, he took something from inside his black coat. "And this bouquet of beautiful flowers from the adorable little boy." He swayed the bouquet of wild flowers in his hand to and fro in front of her face, as if trying to catch her attention.

However, while doing so, there were some petals falling on the floor, which made both husband and wife look down at the light brown marble floor, which was now dotted with white and blue petals.

Finding the former beautiful bouquet of flowers now changed in shape, Joanna’s forehead creased.

Shifting her gaze from the fallen petals up to the man’s face, she found him offering her a grin before speaking to her.

"It is unavoidable. Don’t blame yourself. I will tell the little boy that it is not your fault to lean on me during our horseback riding."

Upon hearing his shameless remark with his beaming face, Joanna’s cheeks blushed. Instead of burst all the words that she had prepared to rant at him, she found herself speechless. The words were nowhere to be found.

Glancing at the bouquet, which showed a pressed form, Joanna felt embarrassed. How could she blame someone else when she was the one who made it in this form?

If she did not lean on this shameless, cunning man, the wildflowers would still change in shape due to the friction inside his coat, but not as severely as they were now.

She had said to the little boy that she would keep it well, but the look of the bouquet did not show that it was kept well at all. Joanna let out a quiet sigh. But she would indeed keep it well. She would dry them up and keep them in her books.

With that in mind, Joanna reached out her hand, about to take the pitiful bouquet of wildflowers from the General’s hand. Nevertheless, she could not get it, as the cunning man raised his hand higher when she was going to take it from his hand so that it was out of her reach.

With her hand hanging in midair, Joanna’s brows knitted more.

"Let me help you carry the trunk into your room," Canillas said, despite the displeased look on her face.

Lowering her hand, Joanna’s gaze fell on the wooden trunk that rested on the floor. She could not let the cunning man enter her room, although it was made as an excuse to help her bring her luggage, as she had decided to draw a bold line between them.

How could he take the luggage that was supposed to be brought by servants to her room? She was not wrong in regard to him as a cunning, opportunist man.

"Please leave the trunk here, Sir Canillas. I will carry it to my room myself. You must be tired after the long trip, so it is better for you to rest now," Joanna suggested. "In the room prepared by my father," she quickly added after learning how cunning this man was.

"I will surely rest in the room prepared for me by my father-in-law after I see you carry this trunk into your room," Canillas responded, crossing his arms over his chest with a smirk on his face. The movement caused some petals of wildflowers, which were still in his hand, to fall again on the floor.

Finding another set of petals pooled on the floor, Joanna thought that the flowers would go bald soon.

"Please give the flowers to me, Sir Canillas. Let me keep it," Joanna demanded.

"After you carry your luggage to your room," Canillas answered indifferently.

Letting out a heavy sigh, Joanna felt like she wanted to take the dagger she kept with her at the moment.

Bending over, she was about to lift the trunk where she kept her belongings. Grabbing the handles on both sides of the trunk, Joanna grunted while trying to lift it. But to her dismay, the trunk was only moving up a little bit before landing back on the floor with a thud.

Failing to lift the trunk, she placed her hands on top of the lid of the trunk to support her bending body as her breath quickened.

She quickly adjusted her body posture when she heard the cunning man chuckle.

If she could not lift it, then she would drag it. Joanna changed her plan. And she pulled one handle from the trunk with her body still bending over. To her relief, it was moving, following where she had dragged it with her.

But she was sure that she could not make it into her room, as it was still far from her current position. At this rate, she would only end up passing out before she reached her room. However, she could not give up yet. She had to show the man that she was able to do that without his helping hand this time.

And it was her determination until she slipped and fell on her bottom as she missed her hold on the trunk’s handle.

Hearing the sound of laughter echoing in the quiet corridor from the man standing across from her, Joanna did not bother to look up at him, as she was not bold enough to show her blushing face. Instead, she pushed her body up the floor and fixed her position to resume what she had done before she embarrassed herself.

"It is enough, Joanna. You will end up having a bad back like me if you continue doing that," Canillas said, with a faint trace of residual laughter in his voice.

Watching her once again show her stubbornness like a mule, he breathed out a sigh, blowing away the residual laughter, to be no more to find.

Canillas stepped forward and gently grabbed Joanna’s wrist. "Stop it, Joanna. It is enough." But Joanna was still pulling the trunk, ignoring his words.

"Or I will kiss you." And the trunk was finally freed as Joanna let it go from her hands immediately once the threat seeped into her ears.

Straightening her body to stand upright, she turned to look at the General with her brows furrowed, showing her complaint about the threat she heard. It made her remember ’other method’ that he had used as a threat to make her stop blabbering in their first meeting.

"Don’t you know that what you are doing in that position is attractive in my eyes?" Canillas asked, his demeanor serious. "Are you trying to seduce me?"

Upon hearing the continuous inquiries, the crease on Joanna’s forehead went deeper. What on earth was she doing that was attractive? Who did want to seduce him? She was dying to pull the heavy trunk, yet he said that she had seduced him. Joanna could not find logic in his accusation.

As she stared at him, ready to voice her objection, she felt the grip on her wrist disappear and saw him bend his body, about to lift the trunk.

"No, Sir Canillas." Joanna placed her hand in the trunk’s handle, which was about to be held by the General. "Thank you for your kind attention. Let me ask servants to carry it to my room so Sir Canillas can take a rest."

With that being said, Joanna offered a bow and was about to walk past him to find servants to bring her luggage to her room. But she halted when the General’s hand that was holding Liam’s bouquet of wildflowers was raised to the side, blocking her way.

Another set of petals added the dots to the floor.

Joanna’s eyes narrowed not only because her way was blocked by the cunning man before her but also by the threat that the bouquet would go bald.

She turned her head to look up at him, who had a smile on his face, and heard him speak.