The man's hand, pressed against her forehead, paused as he scrutinized the woman's reddened, watery eyes. After a long while, he slowly withdrew his hand and spoke in a deep voice, "Emily Stone, I never said I disliked you..."
"Really?" Emily Stone clasped his clothes tightly, and her lips finally curved into a smile, breaking into laughter amidst her tears, "Thank you, thank you for saying that!..."
She paused, clearly overjoyed yet with a catch in her voice, "...when I leave Soissons and think back on all this, I will be very happy and will always consider it the most wonderful memory. So, thank you, thank you for treating me as a friend..."
Having said that, she closed her eyes because she didn't want him to see the tears welling up in them.
Despite her closed eyes, the tears still trickled down, drop by drop, splashing onto the man's hand.
