Chapter 16
The wind in Colorado wrapped the prayer banner in Frankincense. As Nolan gently draped the woolen shawl over Alicia’s shoulders, she was applying the forty–third stroke of indigo blue on the canvas.
The paint seeped into the wound along the cracked fingertips, but she remained completely unaware.
“You saw the shadow of the scripture spinner medallion. Long fingers suddenly pointed at the corner of the canvas, the smooth rosary beads brushing against her earlobe, leaving a faint warmth.”
“The sunlight slanted in from the southwest, should the dark boundary here be sharper.”
He held her wrist and dipped it into the palette of gold powder, the Baroque’s unique mineral pigment shimmering with golden light in the thin morning light.
Alicia fluttered her long eyelashes and looked into Nolan’s deep eyes.
Suddenly, she seemed like a blue butterfly on the vast sea, drowning in this deep blue ocean.
As the dusk turned the prayer banner, which had been rustling noisily, into a deep blood–like crimson, Marcus strode into the ruins.
Italian handmade leather shoes were stuck in the mud, high–end suits were wrapped in falling snowflakes, and the tie left bruises around the neck.
“Come back with me.”
01:55
131
Chapter 16
1 288 Vouchers
The hoarse voice startled the eaves and copper bells, while the fine snow fluttered towards the golden statue on the painted porch. Marcus felt a taste of rust rising in his throat.
When he saw Alicia resting in Nolan’s arms, his pupils suddenly contracted.
Her fair complexion was framed by a green chasuble, with the Saint medal bracelet gifted by Nolan adorning her slender wrist. The dangling tassels swayed with her breath, a sense of peace and comfort he had not seen in the past three years.
Nolan turned the scripture spinner medallion between his fingertips, his half face in shadow resembling the faded image of The Virgin Mary on a mural.
“Marcus,” Nolan’s usually steady voice sounded as if it had plunged into a deep pool, “What reason did you have for letting her go back with you?”
“Ally! I’m sorry, I really didn’t know. For the past three years, you have taken on everything for me…”
་་
In the buzzing of the scripture spinner medallion, Alicia suddenly sat up from Nolan’s arms, her fingertips deeply wedged into the palm of her hand.
Nolan lowered his gaze slightly, taking her slightly trembling fingertips into his hand and gently stroking her slightly cold palm.
“Do not call me ‘Ally‘! Alicia’s brow furrowed in anger, her pupils reflecting the man’s soaked silver–gray tie.”
“Marcus, I have let go…” Her hand touched her chest, “These three years, it was you who personally shattered my illusions.”
22063
131
D
01 55
288 Vouchers
Tears welled up in her eyes, as if reluctant to fall like they were longing for something.
“I wished more than anyone that Callie was still alive, still by my side.”
“Do you know, every time you bring up that thing with hatred, my heart hurts more than anyone else.”
She glared at Marcus fiercely, her eyes filled with hatred like cold arrows piercing through his chest.
The pair of almond eyes that were once full of love, are now filled with hatred.
“You, and Mandy… Tears fell from the dark red corners of her eyes, the scent of Tibetan medicine mixed with the damp rain in the hall, and the scar on her neck seemed to burn with intense pain again.”
“I will also feel pain, also get hurt… Marcus stared at the crimson corners of her eyes, remembering the day he forced her to drink vodka, and the rose–colored rash that quickly spread on her neck.”
“Marcus, I have let go of everything related to you.”
Marcus stumbled to his knees, and suddenly a chanting voice surged like an avalanche, swallowing Marcus’s sob.
The person in Nolan’s arms trembled slightly, like the moonlight that could disappear at any moment. Nolan tightened his arms around Alicia and buried her tear–filled face in his blue robe.
“You! Marcus roared, about to rush forward to tear Nolan’s arm away from Alicia’s waist, but he was frozen in place by the icy glare in Nolan’s eyes.”
The sandalwood rosary beads on Nolan’s wrist suddenly broke, and one
47.89%
131
01 55
Chapter 16
288 Vouchers
hundred and eight beads rolled into the flying snow.
The silver ring on the ring finger of his left hand shimmered with a faint cold light, leaving an indelible pale curse in Marcus’s eyes.
Nolan held Alicia tightly as she trembled in his arms, walking past Marcus without looking back. The cold scent of Frankincense lingered and dissipated, leaving Marcus with a solitary figure as he sobbed.
This scene later became a nightmare that Marcus could not shake off for a long time, causing him chest pains in the sleepless night.
In the dead of night, Nolan wrapped Alicia in a blanket and walked up the snowy mountain.
The fine snow was drifting, and the ten–thousand–character curtain was fluttering and rolling in the wind.
Nolan untied the chasuble and pressed her frozen hands against his chest; the moonlight at an altitude of four thousand meters poured over her pale hair, casting a warm and gentle glow on her face.
at her,
“The Seventh Scroll: The Covenant of Light….” he looked down she felt as if she had plunged into a deep sea, “said the wound was The Virgin Mary’s third eye.”
When the silver–tailed meteor streaked across Maroon Peak, Alicia tasted the lingering scent of frankincense and orange intertwining.
The snow water on Nolan’s jaw mixed with the melting ice at the corner of her eye, dripping onto the green tara Baroque pendant around her neck, blurring the compassionate lips of The Virgin Mary in the painting.
