Chapter 4: The First Counterattack
Wendy’s eyes widened as she stared at Cecilia, then she suddenly let out a soft chuckle.
“My lady… you must be really nervous, huh?”
She nodded as if she understood.
Cecilia, however, was genuinely flustered.
She cleared her throat and asked again, her voice shaky.
“Th-then… how old am I now?”
“What? You’re twenty-two!”
“Tw-twenty-two?”
The last time she had died, she had been twenty-seven.
Cecilia quickly scrutinized Wendy’s expression.
There wasn’t a trace of joking or teasing on her face.
Her wedding with Evan… Wendy… her age…
The more she pieced it together, the clearer one fact became.
“Oh my God…”
Cecilia murmured, dazed.
There was no doubt about it—she had returned five years into the past.
Right before her wedding with Evan, no less.
Should I just run away?
Cecilia seriously considered it.
If she stayed, she’d be repeating that miserable life all over again.
And the memory of the excruciating pain was still vivid.
It felt like this was her last chance to escape.
…No.
Yet Cecilia shook her head almost immediately.
If I run now, I’ll just look like a madwoman.
There would be no scandal more sensational than a bride fleeing her wedding.
The truly wicked people were elsewhere, and it would be utterly unfair to be the only one blamed.
“Cecilia… you say you love me. Then can’t you love my child too?”
“Do you think your parents’ death is going to spare you if you die by a friend’s hand?”
The words Evan and Rozena had spoken to her just before her death pierced her heart.
Along with the humiliation she had suffered, the truth behind her parents’ deaths…
Even knowing all that, she could not cower and run.
If I’m going to get drenched in mud anyway, I’ll make sure Evan and Rozena get it with me.
Yes. There was no turning back.
She would return it to them in kind.
Cecilia clenched her bouquet tightly, her hands encased in lace gloves.
The grand wedding hall was filled with guests.
Though Evan had humble origins, he was a promising young businessman.
Ever conscious of his public image, Evan had ensured a considerable turnout.
Hoo…
Taking a deep breath behind the doors, Cecilia readied herself to enter.
The music for the bride’s entrance began to play, and the doors opened.
All eyes turned in unison toward the virgin aisle.
Taking in their gaze, Cecilia stepped forward slowly.
Her heart raced faster with each step.
Stay calm. Don’t falter now.
Suppressing the urge to bolt, she wore an impassive expression.
And then, a familiar face appeared in her line of sight.
…Rozena.
As always, she was smiling brightly, clapping her hands.
Beside her stood the Osburns, the marquess and marchioness.
Cecilia’s face almost twisted in anger.
She wanted to scream right then and there—those people were murderers.
But she bit back the words. There was still no proof, she reminded herself.
Rozena, oblivious to Cecilia’s thoughts, parted her lips slightly as their eyes met.
Congratulations…
Even this was the same as five years ago.
Ha…
Back then, she had nodded obediently, returning Rozena’s congratulations.
Foolishly unaware that she carried her husband’s child.
How naive I was…
Cecilia turned her gaze away with a cold expression.
Rozena flinched, startled, but Cecilia had already passed her.
At the end of the aisle, Evan waited.
He took her hand, his expression radiant.
“Ria, you’re the most beautiful woman in the world today.”
He whispered shyly into her ear.
The old Cecilia would have melted at his words.
But now, she knew it was all just acting.
“….”
“Ria?”
When Cecilia remained silent, Evan frowned in confusion.
Soon, the priest stepped forward, drawing Evan’s attention back to the ceremony.
In the solemn atmosphere, the sacred vows of marriage began.
“Evan March, do you take Cecilia Fanning as your wife, to love and cherish her for all your days?”
“Yes! I do!”
Evan answered eagerly, as if waiting for the cue.
The priest’s gaze shifted to Cecilia.
“Cecilia Fanning, do you take Evan March as your husband, to love and cherish him for all your days?”
“….”
Cecilia did not answer.
The prolonged silence made Evan glance at her nervously, and murmurs began to ripple through the guests.
“Lady Cecilia?”
The priest called again.
Finally, Cecilia opened her mouth, slowly and deliberately.
“I… will not be marrying.”
The shocking declaration froze the entire hall instantly.
Evan’s face contorted with disbelief.
Yet Cecilia smiled faintly, calmly.
She raised her voice so everyone could hear.
“Because Lady Rozena is carrying Evan March’s child.”
Her fearless revelation brought the wedding to a stunned halt.
Even the priest froze, speechless.
“No, that’s not true!”
A horrified voice rang out from the guests’ seats.
Rozena stood up abruptly, her face pale.
“Ria! What are you saying all of a sudden? How can you make such an insulting claim?”
“Y-yeah! Even as a joke, this is too much! Roz, you’re not even married yet!”
Rozena feigned the role of a wronged party, eyes brimming with tears, while Evan, lips agape, joined in.
The guests looked between the three, bewildered.
They had come to celebrate a wedding, only to be dragged into a scandalous love triangle.
Evan grabbed Cecilia’s arm, trying to pull her toward him.
“Cecilia, enough with the jokes—”
Wham!
In that instant, Cecilia drove her heel forcefully into Evan’s shin.
He collapsed to the floor, screaming in pain.
Gasps of shock echoed through the hall.
“What the—what is this?”
Evan clutched his leg, writhing on the floor in agony.
Cecilia looked down at him coldly.
“You piece of trash.”
She spat the words out like venom and scanned the room.
The hall was thrown into chaos.
Evan writhed on the floor, feigning pain, while murmurs and whispers rippled through the guests.
“It’s not true! I’m not pregnant! I swear to the heavens!”
Rozena desperately denied the pregnancy, trying every angle to escape.
That won’t work.
Cecilia’s calm, triumphant smile grew as she spoke again, clearly and audibly.
“Shall we confirm it right here? Call a skilled midwife or doctor, and it will be clear in an instant.”
“R-Ria…”
“Isn’t this much more entertaining than a boring wedding?”
Rozena’s face turned ghostly white.
Her body had already begun to show the early signs of pregnancy.
A medical examination would expose it immediately.
And, in truth, Cecilia’s single statement had already broadcast the truth to all.
She tried to hide it and rush into a marriage…!
The guests’ eyes darted suspiciously toward Rozena.
By the time they left the wedding hall, the news of her pregnancy would spread across society.
Cecilia smiled victoriously at the trembling Rozena.
“Move.”
She stepped over Evan, still sprawled on the floor, and walked out with confidence.
There was no reason left for her to remain.
“C-Cecilia! Stop right there!”
Evan shouted after her, frantic, but Cecilia didn’t look back.
Her only thought was to rid herself of the suffocating wedding dress as soon as possible.
A red brick apartment in the city.
By rights, this should have been Cecilia and Evan’s marital home.
But after storming out of the wedding hall, she found herself there alone.
“To think I’d see this place again…”
She murmured softly.
Everything was exactly as she remembered from her previous life.
The furniture arrangement, the curtain colors, even the subtle scent of dust on the worn wooden floors.
Hoo…
After a quick look around, Cecilia began organizing her belongings.
There wasn’t much to take.
Most of what remained in the apartment had been bought by Evan to show off.
Cheap furniture in a modest shared apartment—nothing worth clinging to.
But there’s something I must have.
She opened the small drawer of her vanity and rummaged through it.
Her fingers closed around a small box.
