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Chapter 6
It was a dawn spent completely awake.
For what felt like endless hours, Elaine replayed Kaiden’s cold attitude in her mind.
He had never once become angry before.
Whenever she showed disappointment, he would come to her even late at night, hold her in his arms, and gently kiss her.
That was the kind of man he used to be…
But now, he lay with his back turned toward her.
She could hear his low breathing.
As Elaine stared at his broad back, she tightly gripped the bedsheets.
What had gone wrong?
What had made him become so cold?
What exactly had happened…?
The unanswered questions endlessly circled in her mind.
Dim morning light slowly pushed away the darkness.
Elaine’s eyes gradually closed.
She dreamed.
In the dream, Kaiden smiled brightly after receiving the painting. He whispered an apology and kissed her forehead gently.
Elaine gladly accepted his apology.
Although his cruel words remained as a deep wound in her heart, it was alright.
She only needed to bury the pain deep inside herself.
It was something Elaine was very familiar with.
Finding happiness again was easy.
* * *
She heard the soft rustling of blankets.
Elaine quietly focused on the faint sounds around her.
The sound of water.
Steady footsteps.
The soft brushing of fabric.
The early dawn carried sounds she normally could not hear clearly.
As she slowly opened her eyes, Kaiden’s figure appeared blurry before her.
By the time her vision focused properly again, reality returned as well.
He was probably planning to disappear again today without even greeting her.
Elaine stared silently at his back before slowly sitting up.
“…Are you very busy?”
Kaiden’s hand paused briefly while tying his tie.
But he quickly continued what he was doing again.
“Are you planning to keep ignoring me from now on?”
Once again, there was no answer.
It was no different from last night.
Elaine refused to give up and continued speaking.
“At least tell me why you’re treating me like this.”
A low sigh escaped Kaiden’s lips.
Elaine flinched slightly and closed her mouth.
Through the mirror, she could see the irritated expression on his face.
Finally, he spoke.
“You must not even know how the world is changing while you spend all your time obsessing over useless paintings.”
“Are you angry because I spent too much time painting in the separate villa lately? I’m sorry. I neglected you because I was preparing your gift.”
Elaine apologized without hesitation.
She did not want to see Kaiden looking so cold.
She only wanted him to return to the way he used to be as quickly as possible.
Their eyes met through the mirror.
His golden eyes were still as cold as ice.
“Are you pretending not to know? Or do you truly not know?”
“What exactly am I supposed to not know?”
Kaiden gestured toward the bedside table with his chin.
Following his gaze, Elaine saw a newspaper resting there.
“Read it.”
Elaine picked up the newspaper in confusion.
She had not read one for an entire week because she had been so focused on preparing Kaiden’s gift.
What could the newspaper possibly have to do with his attitude?
Frowning slightly, Elaine flipped through the pages.
Politics.
Economy.
Social events.
Nothing unusual.
Then, just as she casually turned another page, her hand froze.
[Shock in High Society: The Whitfield Family’s Only Daughter Revealed to Be Illegitimate.
“Hiding the truth is a greater sin.”
“I wanted to protect my daughter, but the family’s honor was more important.”]
A cold chill spread through her body.
Before she could even think, her eyes quickly continued reading.
The newspaper contained an interview with her father.
[“Kaiden Hegwin tried to use my daughter as a tool to take control of our family’s honor and fortune, and eventually even sought the authority of the ducal house itself.
In order to stop him from abusing the family’s reputation, I had no choice but to reveal that Elaine was born out of wedlock.
It was painful, but it was an unavoidable choice to protect the family.”]
“Why…?”
Why would Father make such a choice?
The image of her gentle father remained vivid in her mind.
The warmth of the father who embraced her and told her to marry for her own happiness.
The smile of the father who said she would discover another kind of happiness once she built a family and had children.
The letters where he wrote that he wished to see his grandchildren soon.
She had never once imagined something like this.
Not after she had been accepted as a member of the Whitfield family in childhood.
“No matter what anyone says, you are my daughter. Do not cling to your birth. Live proudly.”
Her father had completely erased the label of illegitimacy from her life.
A weakness hidden perfectly could never become a threat.
And because it was no threat, Elaine eventually stopped thinking of it as a weakness.
At some point, she had even forgotten she was illegitimate at all.
Her vision blurred when she suddenly heard the door open.
Kaiden was leaving the bedroom.
Only then did Elaine regain her senses and hurriedly call out to him.
“Wait.”
Thankfully, her voice came out calm.
Elaine quietly steadied her breathing and lifted her head.
Their gazes met in the empty air.
“Do you still have something left to say?”
Of course she did.
What she understood even less than her father’s choice… was Kaiden himself.
“So your attitude changed because I’m illegitimate in the end… But that makes no sense.”
“I don’t understand why you think it makes no sense.”
“Because our relationship wasn’t something shallow enough to change over something like birth.”
The two years she spent with him had not been light.
She truly loved him.
She truly laughed with him.
The gentle looks in his eyes and the affection in his touch had never felt fake.
Elaine tightened her grip on the newspaper and continued firmly,
“You didn’t love my status.”
Just as she had loved the man named Kaiden.
Elaine desperately searched his expression for an answer.
But she could read nothing from his face.
“Kaiden. If you felt betrayed… if you’re disappointed in me because of this… then tell me honestly.”
“Should I feel betrayed?”
“If not that, then why are you being so cold?”
“We’re simply learning more about each other. Just as I apparently didn’t know enough about you.”
Elaine stared at him with confused eyes.
Was this really Kaiden Hegwin?
Or had she simply fallen in love with an illusion?
The man she loved had always been warmer than anyone else.
He had never looked at her with such cold eyes.
“…Then just say you hate me. Why do you keep acting like a completely different person?”
A dangerous silence filled the room.
At that moment, the voice of an attendant calling for Kaiden came from beyond the door.
Kaiden loosened his cufflinks and checked the time.
A slightly irritated sigh spread quietly through the room.
In the end, he turned around and left without answering.
Elaine stared blankly at the place where he had stood.
It felt as though part of her chest had been hollowed out.
Only when sunlight fully filled the room did focus slowly return to her empty eyes.
Elaine quietly lifted her head and looked toward the window.
Whenever Kaiden left early in the morning, he always closed the curtains before leaving.
It was his way of considering her while she slept.
But today, dry autumn sunlight poured freely into the room.
Elaine silently stared at the golden dust drifting through the light before finally closing her eyes.
* * *
Golden decorations covered the marble pillars and windows.
A luxurious fountain and carefully trimmed trees filled the estate grounds.
The Hegwin mansion was magnificent enough to rival any noble estate.
“What’s the use of it looking impressive on the outside? In the end, it’s nothing but an empty shell.”
The Duke of Whitfield clicked his tongue as he stepped beneath the pergola.
Kaiden was already seated at the outdoor reception table.
“Isn’t that a rather cold judgment of the place where your beloved daughter lives?”
Facing the Duke, Kaiden slowly curved his lips into a polite social smile.
It was the same confident and relaxed expression he always wore.
That arrogant attitude had always irritated the Duke.
But today was different.
The Duke smiled brightly as he sat across from him.
“Did you enjoy the birthday gift I sent you?”
Kaiden’s golden eyes darkened slightly.
The Duke did not miss that subtle reaction.
Click.
The Duke lit his cigarette and placed it between his lips.
“The more beautiful something is, the more poisonous it becomes.
Kaiden Hegwin, your judgment has grown dull.
No… perhaps you simply became blinded by a woman.
Honestly, watching you these past few years shocked me. I almost believed you had truly fallen in love.”
The Duke exhaled cigarette smoke slowly.
His gaze studying Kaiden was sharp.
“Then I should gladly accept the compliment if my acting was convincing enough to fool even Your Grace. However, as you know, I suffered quite a large loss because of this matter, so I’m not exactly in a relaxed position right now. Why don’t you finally get to the point?”
