Another Life, Another Me

76. Home Sweet Home

"I'm sick and tired of you getting in the way...! Every. Single. Time. Over and over again. She's mine to begin with. Why can't you understand that?!" Florence yelled as he gripped my body closer to his chest.

He had a clean, almost earthy, scent that didn't suit the boiling irritation on his face.

But besides his irritation, there was another emotion etched onto his face that I wasn't used to seeing.

It was a look of desperation.

The playful and cool Florence looked as if though he were about to be pushed off of a cliff.

"She's mine...she's always been mine...So why the hell does it always seem as if though she's going to be swept away...?" Florence said through gritted teeth.

"You changed, Florence," Ace replied darkly.

Florence glared at Ace and cursed underneath his breath.

"I wish you never got your memories back. If you didn't, maybe it would have been easier to accept that I was the only one for her," Florence spat.

His cold words and demeanor sent shivers down my spine.

"...You're right. Maybe it really would have been better if I remained an amnesiac for the rest of my life," Ace replied with an empty chuckle.

"So you agree-"

But before Florence could finish his sentence, an excruciatingly loud bang resonated around the room as Ace's fist made contact with Florence's face.

The single punch produced a shock wave so loud that it could almost be compared to the sound of a gunshot.

"But with or without my memories, I don't think I would have been able to hold myself back from wanting to kill you," Ace murmured quietly.

Florence, who was absolutely knocked off guard by the unexpected attack stumbled back a few steps and fell to the ground, accidentally losing his grip on me for a good moment.

I took the chance to immediately separate myself from his arms and shakily wobble away from him as fast as I could.

My legs felt shaky and my head was a little dizzy.

Darn, all of my energy was already wasted.

I recalled one of the last conversations I had with my doctor before he permitted me to roam freely.

---

"It seems your body has recovered and there is nothing else I can do for you."

"Thank you, doctor."

"Just make sure to get good amounts of sleep every day and to not overwork yourself, okay? Your body may collapse if you aren't careful."

"I promise to be careful. There's no need to worry."

---

Hmm...I was too careless.

My body felt just fine a few seconds ago...so why...

"..."

Ace watched me as I struggled to make my way toward him.

As if he couldn't take it anymore, he moved toward me and wrapped his arms around my waist, helping to support my weight.

I turned my head to look at Florence, who was groaning on the ground from pain.

It's almost a shock that his jaw didn't seem broken in any way, judging by how powerful the punch was.

Was it possible that Ace hit him at the exact perfect angle with an extremely precise punch in order to not break anything...?