CH 68

Arista was the first to speak.

“……You’ve changed men again, Ms. Becky.”

Standing directly in front of Arista was Becky, Lucas’ lover.

Once again, she was playing with fire, this time with a man other than Lucas.

And she was switching it up. Arista’s fists clenched at the thought of her cheating on Lucas, and she glared murderously at Becky.

“What, I thought you didn’t recognize me, but you knew all along?”

Meanwhile, Becky crossed her arms and glared at Arista.

She was so much more confident now than she had been the last time she’d tried to hide.

Arista, on the verge of losing her cool, didn’t take Becky’s trembling hand. Arista opened her mouth, her face cold and hard.

“Do you not realize what you’ve done?”

After a brief moment of tension, Becky raised her head arrogantly.

“What did I do?”

“What did you…! Weren’t you doing some stern business with other men over Lucas brother, besides, it looks like it’s a different guy this time than last time.”

Becky let out a mocking laugh as Arista gave her a disdainful glance that told her she was no better than a bug.

“So you’re going to tell Lucas that I’ve been sleeping with another guy?”

“Of course. To someone like you, my older brother is worth ten thousand times more.”

No longer finding the conversation worthwhile, Arista turned away sullenly.

“You’d better not.”

Becky’s meaningful words stopped Arista in her tracks.

“The girl before me broke up with him because she cheated on him with another guy. Do you have any idea how hard it was for Lucas?”

Arista’s hand twitched as she heard this for the first time.

“I’m sure the wounds from the last time haven’t healed yet, but I can’t hurt Lucas with the same thing again, can I?”

“That’s what you call cheating. Will someone who knows your wounds cheat on you?”

“Well, our lips may have met, but my heart belongs to Lucas, and I’m not giving it to another woman.”

Her mind couldn’t follow her words. It was sophistry, not worth understanding.

“You will never be able to tell Lucas my story.”

“What makes you think I won’t? I’m going to go tell him right now and strip you naked.”

“Pfft.”

Becky burst out laughing. Arista frowned at her ridiculous grin.

“You don’t mean that, do you?”

Blinking back tears, Becky looked up at Arista sullenly.

“There’s no way Lucas would believe you.”

The conviction in her voice shook Arista.

“No matter how long you’ve known Lucas, you’re only his friend’s little sister, and I’m his lover. You have no idea how much Lucas cares about me, do you?”

She should have ignored her, but for some reason, Arista couldn’t help herself.

She thought of Lucas, who had told her he was just her sister’s friend.

“And you, I thought you liked Lucas?”

Arista’s violet eyes fluttered.

Becky chuckled at Arista’s inability to hide her feelings.

“What do you think Lucas would do if he knew you liked him? If you called me out on my behavior, he’d think you were just being jealous.”

It was all speculation, not worth listening to.

But from the way Becky was talking, it sounded like she didn’t think Lucas would believe her.

‘He’s always been a girlfriend-first kind of guy.’

Becky wasn’t the only one who’d seen him in relationships with other women, and each time, he’d poured his heart and soul into them.

As envious as she was of the women he loved, Arista realized that she could never be in that position.

He had always seen her as just a close friend of his sister.

‘Will he believe me?’

A minute ago, she’d been so sure, but now she didn’t know.

Even if Becky was cheating on him with someone else, Lucas was in love with her right now.

Even if he didn’t know the truth, it was true.

“Look. You can’t be sure, can you? There’s no way Lucas would believe you over me.”

Arista pursed her lips and turned away.

Thinking she’d won, Becky flashed Arista a sardonic grin.

“You just need to stay still. Then Lucas will be happy.”

Becky stomped away from Arista with a deliberately loud footstep, and when she glanced back, Arista was stuck like a nail, unmoving.

Only once she away did Becky let out a slow, shaky breath.

“I hope I didn’t get caught…….”

She thought her heart was going to jump out of her chest when she saw Arista.

She couldn’t believe she’d run into her again, much less someone else, and she remembered clearly what had happened the last time.

It had been a half-hearted gamble, and it had worked. Thank goodness she was more naive than she thought.

‘No, not naive, but stupid.’

She could feel it in the back of her mind, but Arista still had feelings for Lucas, and it was easy to play that as a weakness.

A little more thought would have shown her the absurdity of her statement.

“I guess that means you like Lucas.”

A sneer escaped Becky’s lips. But only for a moment, as Becky slowly wiped the smile off her face and left the party.

* * *

Rattling – rattling – rattling

Inside the swaying carriage. Celine stared out, fascinated.

A single tear rolled down her cheek over the dried tear stain.

“……Did you forget all about me?”

Tears welled up like a fountain. Celine buried her face in her hands, squeezing her eyes shut.

The man she loved-no, the man she’d always loved-was kissing a woman who wasn’t her.

She’s pretty sure he was shaken when their eyes first met, but was it all in her head?

For the first time, Celine regretted her decision with all her heart. At the time, she thought it was for the best, but it wasn’t for the best, it was for the worst.

“I should have just closed my eyes and run away with Bern…….”

Regret flooded in. At that time, he was not recognized by Marquis Casper, and his father was exhausted from the situation of continuing to urge her to marry.

She thought that if she could just hang in there, Marquis Casper would recognize her, and she could live happily ever after with Bern… but it was all wishful thinking.

She was talking to Bern about marriage. Marquis Casper came to see her without Bern’s knowledge.

‘I want you to break up with Bern.’

‘What? What does that mean…….?’

At first, she expected him to approve of her now, but that was not his purpose.

‘Unless you’re very stupid, you don’t understand me. I’m telling you to break up with Bern.’

‘I love Bern.’

‘The kind of love you speak of is the kind that eats your spouse.’

Celine froze at the shocking statement.

‘You don’t think I didn’t know that Baron Jayson was deep in debt, do you?’

‘That’s…….’

‘He must have run up the debt in the hope of marrying into our family. What good would it do my son to marry you? He’d have to clean up after his in-laws for the rest of his life.’

He was right, and she was speechless.

‘There are plenty of women out there who can make my son happy, even if you’re not one of them, so give it up. Or I will use force to make sure you never appear in front of my son again.’

With that, the Marquis of Casper departed, leaving behind a heavy bag of money. After the Marquis left, Celine was unable to get up from her seat for a long time.

She felt ashamed of herself for not being able to say a word, but she also knew that she could be of no help to Bern.

So, with a deliberate lack of words, Celine parted ways with Bern and married Viscount Romario.

In time, Bern thought, he would easily forget a woman like her, and he would be happy to think of the brightest possible future.

But as time went on, he realized that it was very painful not to have her by his side.

Now and then, Celine would hear from Bern’s chipper, and she had the illusion that he was feeling the same way, and that gave her a little comfort in her darkness.

Then came the news of the Marquis of Casper’s death, followed by rumors of Bern’s engagement.

“Lucia Agnes…….”

The woman who took the seat next to Bern. When she saw her at the tea party, she noticed at once that she was a very nice woman.

Unlike herself, she came from a family that could support him, and it was obvious that she had been raised to be loved.

Was that why he had fallen for her? Judging by the fact that he locked lips with her even though he knew she was at the party….…

“Ha, ha, ha…….”

A weak giggle escaped from Celine.

“I put you there first.”

Bern had to hold himself back from turning away. But for his happiness, she let go of his hand.

Not for him, but on the subject where the things on her shoulders were too much to run away from.

She wonders if this is how Bern felt when she told him she was marrying another man.

She wants to ask, but he’s out of her reach now.

Grasping her empty chest, the carriage reached the mansion.

After a long moment of silence, Celine is urged out by the coachman, who urges her to get out.

It was a large mansion, but it felt like a prison, and her breath caught in her throat.

Should she be thankful that Viscount Romario was a workaholic and not home much?

If he were anything like his father, he would have gone mad long ago.

“What time is it, and you’re just now coming in?”

Celine, who had been quietly making her way up to her room, stiffened at the sound of the booming voice that stopped her in her tracks.

It was her mother-in-law, who was over seventy years old, and she was always trying to make Celine feel bad about herself, finding every little thing to criticize.

“You’ve been married for years and you’re still running around in circles! Don’t you even worry about your husband when he’s out working?”

“……Mother, I’m a little tired, so can I enter the room?”

“Tired, yes. You must be very tired, because you’ve been out and about, spending your hard earned money and attending parties.”

“Ha, mother, I’m only attending this party on his behalf. The Diores family is hosting the party, and I cannot decline.”

The mother-in-law coughed uselessly as if she knew better.

“Well, take care of yourself. I don’t know if a kid will ever get in because you’re out there all the time. I paid a lot of money for it, and I don’t know what you’re doing without a child.”

After a long rant, her mother-in-law walked out of the room. Celine finally made it to her room, thankful that she hadn’t gotten herself in trouble today.

That bullshit about going out, that bullshit about kids. She’s so sick of it.

She doesn’t go out that often, and she only attends meetings when she needs to, so what’s wrong with her?

“Maybe she just doesn’t like my existence.”

Her mother-in-law was always saying in front of her that she wished her son was younger and had more money.

He was probably over 40 and had a modest fortune, which made it difficult for him to take a younger woman as a bride.

‘That’s not what I’d say if I were sold.’

She had nothing to say about being sold to such a family. She wasn’t even pretty enough for the other family, so it was hard to find a suitable match.

So when Bern first proposed to her, she was so happy she could fly….…

“What if I had run away with Bern…….”

Would she have been happy with less? She imagined a little bit of happiness that was now too late.

She sat in her chair for a long time with her eyes closed, and for a while, it was a bit noisy outside.

She wondered because it was time to go to bed soon.

“What’s going on?”

Celine finally forced herself to sit up and look outside.

“Ma’am, ma’am, wake up!”

“No! My son! My son……!”

The voice that had been screaming at her just a few minutes ago sounded muffled.

Her heartbeat quickened.

Celine slowly made her way to the center of the crowd.

“Aaaaaaah, son!”

The mother-in-law was being supported by her servants, while the surrounding servants and maids stood around in silence.

“……What’s going on?”

“Lady, the master has……!”

Celine froze at the words that followed.

Suddenly, her face lit up with an unknown light.

Should she mourn or rejoice at this news?

But she was sure of this.

A new opportunity had come her way.