Chapter 2
Of all days, it had to be that day—I ended up getting completely drunk while waiting for Damon.
“You’ve got money, a house, and no worries about the future, so why make life harder than it needs to be? Let’s have a child, raise a dog, and live happily together. I’ll do my best. Okay?”
I tried to put on a dreamy expression, imagining such a life.
And then, pathetically, I burst into tears.
Before possessing this world, I had been abandoned as an orphan and raised in an orphanage.
After becoming an adult and living independently, I struggled just to survive, juggling two or three part-time jobs at a time.
Because I’d lived such a lonely and exhausting past life, I longed for a happy family.
If Damon changed his heart, it wasn’t an impossible dream.
“Damon… please…”
I didn’t even bother wiping away the tears as I begged him.
“Have you already forgotten why I married trash like you?”
Damon glared at me with open contempt, then turned away sharply. A cold wind brushed past my nose, and my chest felt like it was collapsing.
“You cried and clung to me, swearing you’d do anything if I married you. If you won’t even play your role properly, then go back to your own house, you mongrel Mercium.”
Clarissa’s Mercium family had served as stewards to the empire’s one and only ducal house of Racton for generations.
To Damon, who lived with the sole goal of destroying the duke’s family, Clarissa had value.
That was the only reason he paid her any attention.
But naïve Clarissa mistook that attention for affection, got her hopes up—and fell head over heels in love.
Clarissa’s love for Damon was absolute devotion itself.
He never whispered sweet words of love.
He didn’t care whether she was sick or dying.
Despite being married, they didn’t share a bedroom.
Even at parties, he wouldn’t let her hold his hand.
And yet… she still threw away her life for him.
Even though I had possessed Clarissa’s body, I had no intention of living like that.
In my previous life, I never clung desperately to things I couldn’t have.
You could say I gave up easily—but if I didn’t, I would’ve been hurt far too many times.
So even in another world, to protect myself, I had to give up on Damon.
‘I admired him as a fan for a bit, but it’s not love worth dying for. I need to divorce him before things get worse.’
“Damon. Let’s get a divorce.”
It was late at night.
I had barely managed to run into Damon, who was always out and impossible to meet. Not wanting to miss the chance, I shoved the divorce papers at him without even asking how he’d been.
Damon’s face twisted sharply.
“Have you finally gone insane?”
“Of course not. W-well, I know it must be shocking to bring up divorce the moment you come home after so long. But I don’t know when I’ll see you again.”
Damon staying out overnight without notice was routine.
Even when he came home, he would change clothes and leave again immediately.
Clarissa used to cling to the window, waiting endlessly for his return.
But I knew exactly what he was doing.
Bound by a contract with Duke Racton, Damon worked nonstop as the duke’s hunting dog.
Many of the orders put his life at risk.
Yet for the sake of his grand revenge, Damon never once complained.
To keep the duke at ease, he played the loyal servant, carrying out every filthy task without hesitation.
Serving the very man he wanted to kill—it was no wonder his stress was unbearable.
Whenever he returned to the mansion after a mission, he was always razor-sharp with tension.
Now, with me suddenly demanding a divorce, his irritation clearly exploded.
“So this is about me not coming home? I’m sick of it.”
He brushed past me dismissively.
The divorce papers fluttered helplessly from my hand and fell to the floor.
“Damon, don’t go. I couldn’t even sleep properly waiting for you.”
“I never told you to wait.”
“I had to see you. Please… divorce me.”
“Stop being a nuisance, Clarissa. I’m already exhausted.”
Not from work—but from Clarissa’s obsession. His tone made that painfully clear.
“That’s why we should divorce.”
“Milan. Take the madam away.”
Milan, Damon’s personal attendant, stepped in front of me.
“Milan. Move.”
I shot him a sharp look. After hesitating, he seemed to decide it wasn’t his place to interfere in a marital dispute and stepped aside.
“Damon.”
He didn’t even respond.
I picked up the divorce papers and chased after him.
“Wait! I’m not done talking. I spent half the day riding a carriage to the temple just to get those papers. Do you think I did that for fun?”
“So?”
“So?! That’s how desperate I am!”
“Desperate?”
Damon sneered, clearly unconvinced that divorce could be that urgent.
“Yes! You don’t treat me like a wife at all. Sure, I begged for this marriage—but that doesn’t mean you get to ignore your role as a husband. Have we ever truly been a married couple?”
“……”
“We’re married, yet living like strangers. This is wrong. It has to end.”
Who would dare speak so bluntly to Damon Craig?
As expected, Damon frowned unpleasantly and ran a hand through his hair.
Then his golden eyes, sharp as a drawn blade, flashed coldly at me.
Fear surged—but I continued, resolved to divorce no matter what.
“I know you don’t like me. I know I annoy you.”
My shoulders hunched involuntarily.
Anyone shrinks in front of someone who hates them.
My eyes burned.
“You married me because I’m the steward’s daughter of the family you hate, thinking I’d help with revenge—but I’m useless. I’m sorry. I lied when I said I’d help you somehow.”
“……”
“I’ll never be any help to your revenge. So please, divorce me.”
My pleading voice trembled pitifully.
“If you divorce me, I’ll never bother you again. I won’t even return to my family, considering how often you visit the duke’s estate. I can handle that.”
“……”
“Of course, you’ll need to give me a generous alimony. But given your wealth, it won’t hurt you at all. In exchange, you get rid of a useless, annoying woman. It’s a good deal.”
I politely offered the divorce papers.
Damon took them, skimmed the contents, and let out a short laugh.
“So you’ve changed your plan?”
“…What plan?”
“The plan to get my attention. Not long ago, you were pestering me about having a child.”
My face flushed as I remembered.
‘That was right after I possessed this body—I didn’t understand the situation yet!’
I’d been completely taken in by how handsome and sexy Damon was, and I admired his strength.
And suddenly becoming the lady of a wealthy house had stirred desires I’d never had before.
A longing for a warm family—something I could never even dream of in my previous life.
The alcohol hadn’t helped either.
“I’m sorry about that. A child between you and me—it was ridiculous. You hate even brushing against me.”
Though Clarissa was only a sub-villain, she had gentle eyes and a delicate figure that inspired protectiveness.
When I first saw my reflection—golden hair and violet eyes—I was stunned.
I’d even wondered if it was okay for someone who wasn’t the heroine to be this beautiful.
Yet Damon not only ignored his devoted wife—he mocked her.
“So you thought I’d pay attention if you asked for a divorce? That I’d hold you?”
Chuckling arrogantly as if he wouldn’t fall for such cheap tricks, Damon slowly lifted his gaze to me.
His black hair, damp from the night air, shimmered in the candlelight.
With his chin slightly lowered and eyes raised, his gaze was so seductive it nearly stole my breath.
‘Like a vampire…’
The image sent a prickling sensation across my neck, followed by a chill racing down my spine.
“Clarissa.”
He called my name in a low, husky voice.
It felt like a spell that froze my entire body.
All I could do was stare up at him with frightened eyes.
“Come closer.”
He lifted a long, pale finger and crooked it.
When I hesitated, Damon reached out, grabbed the back of my head, and pulled me in.
He whispered into my ear.
“There are only two ways to get my attention.”
His voice was sticky, intoxicatingly sweet.
“Bring me the duke’s head—or find the forbidden grimoire he’s hiding. If you can’t do either, live as if you don’t exist. Understood?”
It was a threat: don’t bother him unless I could deliver what he wanted.
Threatening his wife, ignoring her, and then crushing her spirit like this—
I wanted to escape his arms immediately, but with his hand gripping the back of my head, I couldn’t even move my neck.
After struggling for a while, I went limp.
I realized—unless he let go, I could do nothing.
Satisfied, Damon pressed his face close.
“Be grateful I’m even letting someone as useless as you live, Clarissa.”
“……!”
“Don’t ever bring garbage like this to me again. Understood? Say it. ‘I understand.’ Now.”
His grip tightened, forcing my lips apart.
His gaze slowly dropped to my mouth.
The ferocity of his stare lingered, as if he might devour my lips at any moment.
I couldn’t even breathe properly—my chest rose and fell roughly.
At that moment, a single word burned into my mind.
Revenge.
‘I’ll make you pay for this helplessness I feel today. No matter what.’
