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chapter 68
Arista spoke first.
“…The man’s changed again, hasn’t he, Miss Becky?”
The person standing right in front of Arista was Becky—the lover who sang of Lucas’s love.
Once again, she was enjoying flirtations with men other than Lucas.
And she was changing partners as she pleased. The thought that she was cheating on Lucas made Arista clench her fists, staring at Becky with a deadly glare.
“What’s this? I thought you didn’t recognize me, but you knew all along?”
Becky, meanwhile, crossed her arms and looked at Arista with a sly, defiant gaze.
Compared to last time, when she had tried to hide, now she was shamelessly bold.
Arista, on the verge of losing her composure, didn’t even notice Becky’s hands trembling slightly. She pressed her lips into a cold line and spoke.
“Do you have any idea what you’ve done?”
Becky’s arrogant chin lifted after a moment of tension.
“What did I do?”
“What did you do…!? You were doing indecent things with other men while leaving Lucas alone! And this time, it seems you were with someone different than before.”
When Arista looked at her with a disdainful gaze, as if Becky were nothing more than a worm, Becky let out a mocking laugh.
“So, are you planning to tell Lucas that I’ve been with other men?”
“Of course. Someone like you is a thousand times less worthy than Lucas.”
Feeling there was no more value in the conversation, Arista turned away coldly.
“You’d better not.”
Becky’s ominous words stopped her in her tracks.
“The woman he was seeing before me also cheated with another man, and they broke up. Do you know how much that hurt Lucas?”
Arista’s hands twitched at hearing something she’d never known.
“The scars from before haven’t healed yet. You can’t hurt Lucas again with the same thing, can you?”
“Are you serious? Someone who knows Lucas’s scars so well… is cheating?”
“Well, I may have kissed them, but my heart belongs only to Lucas. I don’t give my feelings to another man.”
Arista couldn’t follow her logic at all. It was nonsense, unworthy of understanding.
“You’ll never be able to tell Lucas about me.”
“And why would you think I couldn’t? I could go to him right now and reveal your true face in every detail.”
“Pfft.”
Becky suddenly laughed. Watching her absurd laughter, Arista frowned.
“You’re not serious, are you?”
Wiping away her tears, Becky looked at Arista ominously.
“Lucas wouldn’t believe you anyway.”
Her confident tone shook Arista.
“No matter how long you’ve known Lucas, you’re just a friend’s little sister. Meanwhile, I’m Lucas’s girlfriend. You don’t know how much he hangs on me, do you?”
Arista should have just ignored her, but for some reason, she couldn’t move.
She remembered Lucas, who had always called her just a friend’s little sister.
“And you, weren’t you in love with Lucas?”
Arista’s violet eyes trembled uncontrollably.
Seeing Arista unable to hide her feelings, Becky laughed.
“What do you think Lucas would do if he knew you liked him? Even if you revealed my actions, he’d probably think you’re just acting out of jealousy.”
It was all speculation, not worth listening to.
Yet listening to Becky, it felt as if she really was right—Lucas might not believe her.
“Lucas has always put his girlfriend first.”
She had seen him with other women before. Each time, he poured everything he had into them.
Arista envied the women who received his love, realizing she could never be in that place.
He always saw her as just a friend’s little sister.
“Will Lucas really believe me?”
Just a minute ago, she had been sure of herself. Now, she didn’t know.
No matter how much this woman cheated with other men, Lucas currently loved her.
Even if he didn’t know the truth, that was still the fact.
“See? You can’t guarantee it, right? Lucas wouldn’t believe you over me.”
Arista bit her lip and turned her head.
Becky, thinking she had won, gave a sly smile and brushed past Arista.
“You just need to stay still. Then Lucas will be happy too.”
Becky deliberately made her footsteps loud as she moved away from Arista. Glancing back, Arista remained frozen in place.
Once at a safe distance, Becky exhaled slowly, her breath trembling.
“They didn’t notice, right…?”
When Arista had confronted her, Becky had felt like her heart might burst.
And of all people, she had run into her again. Moreover, Arista remembered the previous incident clearly.
It had been partly a gamble, but luckily, it had worked. She was surprisingly naïve.
“No, not naïve… just foolish.”
She vaguely realized that Arista still held Lucas in her heart. Exploiting that weakness, she had played her card perfectly.
If Arista had thought a little more, she would have realized how absurd Becky’s words were.
“That must mean you like Lucas that much.”
A mocking laugh slipped from Becky’s lips. But only for a moment, as she gradually erased her smile and left the party hall.
Clatter… Clatter…
The carriage shook. Celine gazed outside, lost in thought.
A fresh tear rolled down her dried-up cheeks.
“…Has he really forgotten me?”
Tears welled up like a spring. Celine squeezed her eyes shut and buried her face in her hands.
The man she had loved—or rather, still loved—was kissing another woman.
When their eyes had met before, it seemed he had wavered for her. Had it all been her imagination?
For the first time, she bitterly regretted her decision. At the time, she had thought it was the best choice—but it had been the worst.
“I should have just shut my eyes and run away with Vern…”
Regret surged like a tide. At that time, she had been exhausted—her father pressuring her to marry, and no recognition from Marquis Casper.
She thought that if she could just hold on a little longer, she would earn the Marquis’s approval and live happily with Vern. But that was only wishful thinking.
When she was secretly discussing marriage with Vern, Marquis Casper had come to her unexpectedly.
“End your relationship with Vern.”
“Excuse me? What…?”
At first, she had hoped he was finally recognizing her, but his intention was far from that.
“Unless you’re completely foolish, you’ll understand. I am telling you to break up with Vern.”
“I love Vern.”
“The love you speak of seems the kind that ruins a spouse.”
Celine froze at the shocking statement.
“The debts Baron Jenson took on are significant. You don’t think I was unaware, do you?”
“That is…”
“Surely you thought our families would marry, so you went to great lengths for this debt. What would there be in marrying my son? You’d have to spend your life cleaning up after a spendthrift household.”
She could not even speak; he was right.
“Even if not you, there are women who could make my son happy. So give up. Otherwise, I’ll ensure you never appear before my son again.”
He left, handing her a heavy purse of money. Even after he departed, Celine remained seated, unmoving.
She felt pathetic, powerless, and unable to help Vern at all.
So she harshly ended things with Vern and married Marquis Lemario as if being sold off.
She had thought that time would make Vern forget her and that envisioning a bright future would make her happy.
Yet, the more time passed, the more painful it was that Vern was not by her side.
When she occasionally heard news of Vern’s seclusion, she imagined he might feel the same as she did. That thought somewhat comforted her darkened heart.
Then, news came that Marquis Casper had died, and shortly after, Vern was engaged.
“Lucia Agnes…”
The woman who took Vern’s side. When Celine had seen her at the tea party, she immediately knew she was a wonderful woman.
Unlike herself, she came from a supportive family and had been loved—an obviously lovely woman.
So perhaps Vern had fallen for her? Especially since he kissed her even knowing Celine had attended the party…
“Haha…”
A hollow laugh escaped between Celine’s fingers.
“I let go first, and yet…”
Vern had held onto her until the end, but she let go of his hand, claiming it was for his happiness.
Not for him, but because the burdens on her shoulders were too heavy, she ran away.
Had Vern felt the same when she married another man?
Even if she wanted to ask, he was now out of reach.
Clutching her empty chest, the carriage arrived at the estate.
After a long pause, Celine reluctantly stepped out at the urging of the coachman.
The large estate felt suffocating, like a prison.
Thankfully, Marquis Lemario was often away, obsessed with his work. If he had been like her father, she would have gone mad.
“What time do you call this, coming home now?”
Celine, trying to quietly go upstairs, flinched at the sharp voice holding her back.
It was her mother-in-law, over seventy, who always picked at her for everything, making her life miserable.
“You’ve been married for years, yet you still can’t keep your wits about you! Don’t you care about your husband out working?”
“…Mother, I’m tired. May I go to my room?”
“Tired? Oh, very tired indeed. You attended a party, wasting your husband’s hard-earned money, so you must be exhausted.”
“Mother, I only attended on his behalf. It was a party hosted by the Diores family; I couldn’t not go.”
Her mother-in-law cleared her throat, perhaps understanding that.
“Anyway, keep your wits about you! You wander outside all the time, so no child yet? You spent so much, and yet no child… what are you doing?”
After spewing harsh words, her mother-in-law finally went to her room. Celine, relieved she hadn’t been scolded further, entered her own room.
The endless complaints about going out, children… so tiresome.
She didn’t go out often, only to necessary gatherings. Why was that so displeasing?
“Maybe she just dislikes my very existence.”
Her mother-in-law always lamented that her son should have been younger, wealthier.
Since he was over forty with mediocre wealth, she probably wanted a younger bride.
‘I shouldn’t complain; I was practically sold to this family.’
She, from a humble family and not even pretty, had little chance to find a proper match.
So when Vern first proposed, she had been ecstatic…
“If only I had run away with Vern…”
Even with modest means, would she have been happy? She dared to imagine a late happiness.
After sitting for a long time with her eyes closed, the noise outside caught her attention.
“It’s almost bedtime; what’s going on?”
Celine got up reluctantly to look outside.
“M-Madam! Snap out of it!”
“No! My son! My son…!”
A voice that had yelled at her just minutes ago now sounded pitiful.
Her heart raced involuntarily.
Slowly, she approached the crowd.
“Ahhh! My son!”
Her mother-in-law, supported by servants, was sobbing, while the surrounding staff looked grim.
“…What’s happening?”
“Young Madam! The master…!”
The words froze Celine.
A strange light entered her face. Should she grieve? Or rejoice?
But one thing was certain:
A new opportunity had come to her.
