Chapter 3. Betrayal (2)
Her arms trembled violently, and tears streamed incessantly down her cheeks. These were the two people she had trusted and loved most in the world. To think they would conspire together to betray her.
“Say something! Anything!”
Cecilia could not endure their lingering silence. She wished, even now, that it was all a lie—that Evan would drop to his knees and beg for forgiveness. She wanted him to say he’d lost his mind for a moment, that she was the only one he truly loved. If he had said just that, perhaps she could have found it in her heart to forgive him.
But the reaction she received was beyond expectation.
“Sigh.”
Evan, adjusting his trousers, scratched his head as he stood up. He approached Cecilia with a look of pure annoyance.
“Hey, did I or did I not tell you to stay out of the study?”
“…What?”
Cecilia couldn’t believe her ears. Evan was glaring at her with a grimace, as if he were looking at something loathsome.
“Let’s just live in peace, alright? When you act like this, I feel like I’m suffocating in my own home.”
His brazenness—blaming her even after being caught in the act of adultery—left her speechless. Rosena was no better.
“Don’t be too hard on Lia, Evan.”
Rosena stepped beside him, clutching his arm soothingly. She then turned to Cecilia, wearing a mask of profound apology.
“I’m sorry, Lia. You must have been so shocked.”
She looked at Cecilia with a gaze full of pity. Up to that point, she was the Rosena Cecilia thought she knew. But her next words were more horrific than Evan’s audacity.
“Still, I did give birth to a child for you two. Can’t you just let it slide this once?”
“What? You… you gave birth to our child?”
“Yes. Since things have turned out like this, I’ll even have a second one for you! Let’s just keep getting along well, just like we always have. Okay?”
Rosena nodded innocently, her eyes wide. Cecilia felt a chill run down her spine at such deranged behavior.
“You expect me to raise the child the two of you conceived?”
“Why not? You’ve been so fond of Jeremy until now. You can just keep doing that. What’s the problem?”
“You’re insane. Both of you are truly out of your minds.”
“Dammit, hey! That’s enough!”
Evan raised his palm as if to strike, shouting at her. However, he soon let out a sigh and lowered his hand.
“Cecilia. You said you loved me. If you do, can’t you love my child as well?”
“…I beg your pardon?”
“Think about it. What the Dukedom needs is a child carrying my blood. It doesn’t matter who gave birth to—”
Slap!
Evan’s demented sophistry was cut short by Cecilia’s hand across his face. For a moment, a heavy silence filled the room.
“You… you just…”
“Oh my god, Evan! Are you okay?”
His head whipped to the side, Evan touched his reddened cheek in disbelief. Rosena glared at Cecilia, fussing over him as if she were the one who had been hit.
“Lia! How could you slap a man who does business in the outside world? He has a meeting tomorrow; what will people say if they see that?”
“Ha! This is exactly why I can’t bring myself to care for you. Look at this violent display—not a shred of womanly grace! …Hey! Where are you going?”
Panting for breath, Cecilia turned her back and headed for the stairs. Evan rushed forward and grabbed her arm roughly.
“Where do you think you’re going? How dare you turn your back while your husband is speaking!”
“Let go! I’m going to tell everyone about the disgusting things you two have done!”
“What? Why you—!”
Evan’s face flushed a deep crimson as he jerked her toward him.
“Are you crazy? Are you that desperate to drag my name through the mud?”
“Let go of me!”
“You’re not going anywhere!”
“Evan! Lia! Calm down! Please!”
The three of them became entangled in a frantic scuffle. Just as Evan’s grip loosened slightly and Cecilia managed to wrench herself away—
Thud.
Someone suddenly shoved Cecilia hard in the back.
“…Huh?”
Before she could realize what was happening, Cecilia’s body was launched into the air. She instinctively reached out for the railing, but her hands grasped only empty space. The shocked faces of Evan and Rosena flashed past her vision in an instant.
Thump!
A sharp pain exploded in her back.
Crack!
Then, her waist slammed against the edge of a step. Her body didn’t stop, tumbling down the stairs until she was thrown onto the floor below.
“Ah… ugh…”
Collapsed on the floor, Cecilia’s entire body spasmed. She could see Evan and Rosena looking down at her, appearing startled by the sudden accident.
‘…No.‘
In that moment, Cecilia saw it clearly. Behind Evan’s back, Rosena was wearing a faint, chilling smile.
“You… you…”
Cecilia forced her broken body to open her mouth, but only a wheezing gasp escaped her lips.
“Oh, Cecilia! What a tragedy!”
Leaving a frozen Evan behind, Rosena screamed and hurried down the stairs. But the words she whispered as she leaned over were macabre.
“My, I only intended for you to break a leg… but it looks like you’re actually going to kick the bucket.”
Rosena’s eyes were filled with triumph as she looked down at Cecilia.
“In any case, the Dowager Duchess already told Evan to divorce you as soon as she heard about Jeremy. This makes things much easier.”
‘The Dowager Duchess… even Grandmother abandoned me?‘
Cecilia gasped for air, looking up at Rosena. But the words that followed were an even greater shock.
“Stupid girl. Why were you so stubborn? I suppose dying at the hands of a friend is a fitting way to follow your parents.”
“Wh-what…?”
Seeing Cecilia’s devastated expression, Rosena twisted her lips into a grotesque smile. Perhaps thinking Cecilia was already as good as dead, Rosena prattled on gleefully.
“I’m talking about Count and Countess Panning. My father orchestrated that. Thanks to a pre-forged will, we’ve been living quite luxuriously on the Count’s fortune.”
Cecilia’s eyes shook at the incomprehensible truth. After her parents’ accident, Viscount Osborne—her father’s friend—had taken her in. Because of that, Cecilia had treated the Viscount and his wife like a second set of parents. To think they had murdered them for the Panning estate.
“Like parents, like daughter—you’re even handing over the position of Duchess to me. Don’t worry. I’ll make sure your sacrifice wasn’t in vain.”
Rosena wore a haunting smile as she stroked her old friend’s cheek. Then, she instantly shifted her expression and wailed toward Evan.
“Evan! What are you doing? Call someone! Quickly!”
But Cecilia’s eyes were already drifting shut. To face the truth only at the moment of death was an unbearable injustice.
‘No, not like this… Give me one more chance…‘
She desperately tried to reach out her arm. She wanted to grab onto anything and stand up. But her body felt as though it were sinking into deep water.
“…”
Finally, Cecilia’s hand fell limp against the floor.
“…Gasp!”
Cecilia snapped her eyes open, gasping for breath. She saw a large chandelier glowing with soft candlelight, and the faint scent of roses brushed against the tip of her nose.
‘A dream…?‘
The impact and agony that had crushed her moments ago were gone without a trace.
‘How can this be? I definitely died…‘
Could this be heaven? Looking around in a daze, Cecilia’s eyes fell upon a large mirror.
“My god!”
Staring into the mirror, Cecilia let out an involuntary cry. The reflection staring back was impossible.
A pure white wedding dress adorned with intricate embroidery and delicate lace. A corset cinched tightly at the waist, a shimmering tiara, and a veil that cascaded down like water.
It was her—five years ago, just before entering her wedding ceremony.
“How… how is this possible?”
Cecilia touched her cheek with trembling fingertips. Just then, a cheerful voice spoke from beside her.
“My Lady! It’s almost time to go!”
Cecilia turned her head and was struck speechless. Her eyes widened in shock.
“Wendy…?”
She was the maid who had served Cecilia faithfully until her marriage. Though she was devoted to Cecilia, she belonged to the Osborne household and couldn’t go with her after the wedding. Cecilia had lost touch with her after she left the Viscount’s estate to care for her ailing parents.
“Wen… Wendy. How have you been? Your family? Is everyone okay?”
“Pardon?”
Unlike Cecilia, who was overcome with emotion at seeing her for the first time in five years, Wendy tilted her head in confusion.
“Why are you acting so sudden, My Lady? You were with me preparing for the wedding just yesterday.”
“…Wedding? Whose?”
“My Lady, what are you saying? Today is the day of your wedding to Lord Evan!”
