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Chapter 3. Betrayal (Part 2)
Her arms trembled uncontrollably, and tears streamed down her cheeks without pause.
They were the two people she had trusted and loved most in the world.
For such people to betray her together…
“Say something, anything!”
Cecilia couldn’t bear their prolonged silence either.
She wished Evan would kneel and beg her even now, denying it all.
That he’d say he’d lost his mind for a moment, that it was Cecilia he truly loved.
If he had just said that, she might have been able to forgive him.
But the reaction she got was unexpected.
“ha.”
Evan, straightening his trousers, stood up, scratching his head vigorously.
He approached Cecilia with an annoyed expression.
“Hey, didn’t I tell you not to come to the study?”
“……What?”
Cecilia doubted her ears.
Evan was looking at her as if she were something dirty, his face scrunched up.
“Let’s just live comfortably, okay? It’s because of you I feel like I’m suffocating even in my own home, seriously.”
His shamelessness, blaming Cecilia even after being caught in the act of infidelity, left her speechless.
Rosena was also unbelievable.
“Don’t be too hard on Leah, Evan.”
She approached Evan, holding his arm as if to soothe him.
Then, with an extremely apologetic expression, she looked back at Cecilia.
“I’m sorry, Leah. You must be very shocked?”
Rosena looked at Cecilia with a deeply sympathetic expression.
Up to that point, it was the Rosena Cecilia knew.
But the words that followed were even more horrifying than Evan’s shameless attitude.
“But I did give birth to the child for you two, so can’t we just let this slide now?”
“What? You gave birth to our child?”
“Yes. Since things have come to this, I’ll even have a second child for you! Let’s just all live together well, like we have until now. Okay?”
Rosena nodded nonchalantly, her eyes wide open.
Her attitude, so far beyond common sense, made Cecilia’s skin crawl.
“You want me to raise the child you two had like that?”
“Why, you’ve doted on our Jeremy a lot until now. Just keep doing that, what’s the problem?”
“You’re insane. Both of you are truly insane.”
“Damn it, hey! Cut it out!”
Evan shouted, raising his palm sharply.
But then he sighed and lowered his hand.
“Cecilia. You love me, right? Then shouldn’t you be able to love my child too?”
“……What?”
“Think about it. What the Ducal household needs is an heir of my blood. Who gave birth to him doesn’t mat—”
Smack!
Evan’s insane sophistry was cut off by a slap from Cecilia.
For a moment, silence fell.
“You, you just now…….”
“Oh my, Evan! What is this!”
Evan, his head turned, touched his reddened cheek with a look of disbelief.
Rosena shot Cecilia a glare, making a fuss as if she herself had been hit.
“Leah! How could you hit the face of a man who has business outside? He has a meeting tomorrow—what will people say if they see!”
“Ha! This is why I can’t bring myself to care for you. Look at this ferocious appearance, without a single ounce of femininity! …Hey! Where are you going!”
Cecilia, panting heavily, turned her back and headed for the stairs.
Then Evan ran over and urgently grabbed her arm.
“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 your shameless acts!”
“What? Are you serious!”
Evan’s face turned red and purple as he roughly pulled Cecilia.
“Are you crazy? Are you that desperate to tarnish your husband’s face?”
“Let go of this!”
“Where do you think you’re going!”
“Evan! Leah! Calm down! Please!”
Their three bodies tangled as the struggle continued.
Evan’s grip loosened momentarily, and just as Cecilia was pushing him away—
Thump.
Someone suddenly gave Cecilia a hard shove in the back.
“……Huh?”
Before she could even comprehend what was happening, Cecilia’s body floated into the air.
She instinctively reached out to grab the railing but only clutched at empty space.
The startled faces of Evan and Rosena flashed past her vision in an instant.
Thud!
A sharp impact spread through her back.
Crash!
Then her waist hit the edge of a stair.
Still, Cecilia’s body didn’t stop, tumbling down the stairs and being thrown to the floor.
“Ah…… Ugh……”
The fallen Cecilia trembled all over.
She could see Evan and Rosena looking down at her in shock.
Their faces were flustered by the sudden accident…
‘……No.’
At that moment, Cecilia saw it clearly.
Rosena’s faintly smiling face behind Evan.
“You, you, you…..
With her broken body, Cecilia barely managed to open her mouth.
But from between her parted lips, only ragged breaths escaped.
“Oh my, Cecilia! What should we do!”
Leaving the stunned, frozen Evan behind, Rosena screamed and quickly came down the stairs.
But the words she whispered, leaning down, were chilling.
“Huh, I was hoping at least her legs would break… Looks like she might just die from this?”
Rosena’s eyes, looking down at Cecilia, were filled with triumph.
“The Dowager Duchess also heard about Jeremy and told Evan to divorce you quickly. This makes things easy.”
‘The Dowager Duchess… Even Grandmother has abandoned me?’
Cecilia looked up at Rosena with labored, panting breaths.
But the words that followed from her were even more shocking.
“Stupid girl. Why did you have to be so stubborn? Following your parents to die by a friend’s hand too?”
“W what……?”
Seeing Cecilia’s shocked expression, Rosena formed a grotesque smile.
Perhaps thinking Cecilia would die anyway, Rosena chattered on excitedly.
“Yes, the Viscount and Viscountess Fanning. My father arranged it. Thanks to forging the will in advance, we lived quite comfortably with the Viscount’s fortune.”
Cecilia’s eyes shook at the unbelievable truth.
After her parents’ accident, Viscount Osborne, her father’s friend, had taken her in.
Thanks to that, Cecilia had regarded the Viscount and his wife as her second parents.
To think it was all a plot to seize the Fanning’ fortune…
“Like father, like daughter, handing over the position of Duchess too? Don’t worry. I’ll put your sacrifice to good use.”
Rosena stroked her old friend’s cheek with a creepy smile.
Then, in an instant, she changed her expression and wailed towards Evan.
“Evan! What are you doing? Call for help! Hurry!”
But Cecilia’s eyes were already slowly closing.
To face death the moment all truth was revealed was unbearably unfair.
‘No, not like this… Give me another chance…’
She desperately tried to stretch out her arm.
She wanted to grab onto something and get up.
But it already felt like her body was sinking into water.
“……”
In the end, Cecilia’s hand fell limply to the floor with a soft thud.
“…Gasp!”
Cecilia opened her eyes, panting.
She saw a large chandelier glowing softly with candlelight, and a faint scent of roses brushed the tip of her nose.
‘A dream…?’
The shock and pain that had been crushing her moments ago were gone without a trace.
‘What is this? I clearly died…’
Could this be heaven?
As she looked around in confusion, a large mirror came into Cecilia’s view.
“Good heavens!”
Without thinking, Cecilia looked into the mirror and let out an involuntary scream.
Inside it was an unbelievable sight.
A pure white wedding dress adorned with exquisite embroidery and delicate lace.
A tightly cinched corset, a sparkling tiara, and a veil flowing down like water.
It was her own reflection from five years ago, just before her wedding ceremony.
“How, how on earth is this happening?”
Cecilia touched her cheek with trembling fingertips.
Just then, a cheerful voice came from beside her.
“Miss! It’s almost time for you to go now!”
Turning her head, Cecilia was left speechless.
Her eyes shook violently.
“Wendy…?”
She was the maid who had faithfully stayed by Cecilia’s side until her marriage.
Although she was fond of Cecilia, as she belonged to the Osborne Viscountcy, she couldn’t accompany her after the wedding.
Later, she had left the Viscount’s household to care for her sick parents, and Cecilia had lost touch.
“We, Wendy. How have you been? Your family? Is everyone well?”
“Huh?”
Unlike Cecilia, who was delighted by the reunion after five years, Wendy looked at her with a puzzled expression, tilting her head.
“Why are you saying that all of a sudden, Miss? You were preparing for the wedding with me just yesterday.”
“……Wedding? Whose?”
“Miss, what are you talking about? Today is your and Sir Evan’s wedding!”
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