Wiping Away Traces of You

Jessica had been the one to arrange Edgar's parents' burial.

On the day of the funeral, Edgar had locked himself in a wardrobe again. When Jessica found him there, she hadn't forced him to come out. Instead, she'd opened the door and climbed inside to sit beside him.

"Jess, is a coffin as dark and cold as this?" Edgar had asked her with red-rimmed eyes. "I dreamed of Mom. She told me to join her in her coffin because she's scared and cold all alone…"

"That was just a dream," Jessica had said gently. "Don't be afraid. You're not going anywhere. I won't let anyone take you away from me."

Edgar had wrapped his arms around her neck and whispered in her ear, "As long as you're with me, even being locked in a coffin wouldn't scare me."

…

It seemed Jessica still remembered that moment vividly, which was why she must have misunderstood. She thought Edgar was using an excuse for another veiled confession of his feelings for her.

"If you don't like it, I'll change my design topic," Edgar said softly. "It's just an assignment. Please don't be upset, Jess."

While Jessica was still angry, Cooper hurriedly chimed in with a conciliatory smile. "Yeah, you should change it to something else. Coffins are so morbid. Young people like you should think positively and be a bit more cheerful."

Edgar gathered the scattered documents from the floor. Then, he threw them all into the trash in front of Jessica. Only then did her tense expression ease slightly.

That night, when everyone was asleep, Edgar got up and tiptoed to the trash can to retrieve the discarded documents.

As he returned to his room, he bumped into Cooper, who was emerging from Jessica's room.

Cooper was wearing a loosely tied robe, exposing his body that was marked with traces of intimacy, including red scratches and faint bruises.

One didn't need to guess what had transpired in that room.

Edgar forced himself to look away while repeating in his mind, "Don't look. Don't think about it. He's Jessica's fiancé. Whatever they do, it's normal."

Jessica loved him. If Cooper was able to give her the happiness she deserved, that was all that mattered.

"Edgar, why can't you look me in the eye?" Cooper's tone was full of mockery, which was a stark contrast to his friendliness from earlier. "Even now, you can't accept the fact that Jessica loves me and not you?"

Edgar lowered his gaze and responded, "No. I've already accepted it."

"Drop your act." Cooper sneered disdainfully. "You think I don't see the way you look at Jessica? It's not normal. She raised you. She's like a mother to you. Edgar, are you some kind of sick pervert?"

Edgar said nothing.

Was he… really twisted?

That explained why Jessica had grown so disgusted with him after learning of his feelings. To everyone else, his love must have seemed revolting.

"I heard you became an orphan because your mother lost her mind and stabbed your father over 100 times in his sleep. She hacked him to death," Cooper continued, his tone deliberately provoking. "No wonder you're such a freak. It runs in the family. Your mother was deranged, and so are you."

Edgar could endure Cooper's insults about himself but not about his late parents.

"Shut up!" he roared as he lunged forward and grabbed Cooper by the throat. "You don't know the full story! You have no right—"

Before he could finish, a furious voice yelled, "Edgar, what the hell are you doing?"

Jessica stood in the doorway, glaring at Edgar, looking livid.