ICHYR 10

Chapter 10

“Even someone as perfect as you was fooled by that woman twice.”

Cernia was the first to speak.

Without replying, Kaiden silently took out a cigarette.

The reason he had brought Elaine here today was to test her social anxiety. If her condition was serious, it would interfere with his future plans, so this process had been necessary.

But that was no longer the important issue.

Elaine could not hear from one ear.

It was truly a secret he had never expected.

When it came to hiding secrets, she had proven herself even more skilled than him.

“Yes. I was completely fooled.”

Kaiden muttered quietly as he lit the cigarette.

From approaching Elaine, to dating her, and finally marrying her—everything had always been under his control.

He had always believed he held the advantage.

But that belief had been a mistake.

“Why not use her hearing problem as the reason and divorce her within the next few days? Keeping her beside you is useless anyway.”

“You’re being quite emotional, Cernia. You know better than anyone how pathetic that is.”

“Me? Are you really in a position to say that?”

Cernia let out an unbelieving laugh.

“In the end, Kaiden, this entire disaster happened because you were blinded by that woman.”

Kaiden gave a mocking smile and slowly exhaled smoke.

Blinded by a woman.

The Duke had said something similar before.

Perhaps it was true.

Her illegitimacy. Her hearing problem.

If he had been even slightly more suspicious and investigated deeper, he would have noticed it all sooner.

But instead, he overlooked everything.

Because he had been deceived by her gentle and innocent eyes.

Because he believed she was harmless.

The smile on his lips became colder.

He hated admitting it, but the results before him clearly proved his mistake.

His plan had been ruined because of a woman like her.

“Do you know how you look to me right now? Like a ship quietly sinking. I can’t just stand by and watch, so I’m trying to stop you.”

Cernia’s words were not entirely wrong.

The Duke had originally planned to blame the hearing issue on Kaiden and push for divorce.

But now the situation had changed.

The Duke’s final card was already in Kaiden’s hands.

He had no intention of letting a marriage that caused him such enormous losses end meaninglessly like this.

No matter what happened, he intended to use it until the very end.

Kaiden crushed the half-burned cigarette into the ashtray.

Yet his gaze remained fixed on the dining room where Elaine was.

“Watch carefully today. You’ll see who’s really sinking.”

At some point, Elaine could no longer focus on the conversation.

She tried not to pay attention, but her eyes kept drifting toward the terrace.

Kaiden, who said he would return quickly, was still standing there with Cernia.

The two of them looked incredibly natural together.

Elaine forced herself to look away.

But the questions growing endlessly inside her finally burst free.

“Um…… does Kaiden work together with Miss Cernia?”

“Well. Ah, that’s right. I do know the two of them were once preparing to get engaged.”

“Hey, aren’t you being a little too honest with his wife?”

After the teasing answer, another man awkwardly tried to stop him.

The two men continued bickering afterward, but their voices overlapped too much for Elaine to understand clearly.

Her thoughts became tangled.

So it had not been her imagination after all.

The two of them really were unusually close.

Elaine curled her fingers tightly.

Perhaps they had once been lovers.

And now they were even business partners, which meant Cernia probably knew many things about Kaiden.

Things like how badly his business had suffered after Elaine’s illegitimacy became public.

And how he was trying to recover from it now.

The man cleared his throat awkwardly and quickly changed the atmosphere.

“Mrs. Hegwins, please don’t worry too much. Even though those two look close, they never cross the line.”

“Please stop talking already. I apologize on his behalf.”

“It’s alright.”

Elaine forced herself to smile naturally.

Obsessing over the past would only hurt herself in the end.

Even if they did not know everything about each other’s pasts, the time she spent with Kaiden had been happy.

Most importantly, she was Kaiden Hegwins’ wife now.

Elaine lowered her eyes toward the wedding ring on her left hand.

Even after learning she was illegitimate, Kaiden had never mentioned divorce.

As always, he had returned to her side.

As long as that fact remained unchanged, there was no reason to feel anxious.

“Talking with Kaiden for a moment ended up taking longer than expected.”

Elaine’s body flinched.

Though she could not hear every word clearly, she recognized Cernia’s voice immediately.

When she lifted her head, she saw Cernia returning to the dining room.

Kaiden was also walking back toward his seat.

Elaine welcomed him with a bright smile.

“Kaiden, you’re back? Hurry and sit down.”

But Kaiden only looked down at her silently.

Elaine stared back at him blankly.

For some reason, his eyes felt cold.

Something about the atmosphere felt strange.

Kaiden walked behind her chair and stopped there.

“Did everyone enjoy the meal?”

When Elaine looked up again, he was smiling smoothly as always.

She was just beginning to think she had imagined it.

Then—

“Actually, today’s gathering was not simply for socializing. It was also arranged for my wife, Elaine.”

Kaiden’s calm voice echoed through the silent dining room.

Elaine could not hide her shock.

This was the first time she had heard that the gathering was for her.

“As everyone already knows, Elaine has not participated in social activities for the past three years.”

“That’s true. It’s been such a long time since we last saw her. Did something happen during that time?”

Cernia agreed while glancing toward Elaine.

Elaine hurriedly tried to answer, but Kaiden interrupted her.

“Yes. While speaking with Elaine, didn’t any of you notice something unusual?”

“Hmm…… she avoided looking directly into my eyes. She never used to do that before.”

“Now that Miss Cernia Taylor mentions it, I suppose that’s true. She really avoids eye contact. I almost thought my eyes were attached to my mouth.”

“Come to think of it, she even asked the same question two or three times.”

“And she seemed unusually bad at understanding what people were saying……”

As more opinions were spoken, the color slowly drained from Elaine’s face.

Every single suspicion they mentioned was connected to her hearing.

None of those situations would have happened if she had not lost hearing in one ear.

Narrowing her eyes slightly, Cernia looked directly at Elaine.

“Mrs. Hegwins. Would you care to explain?”

Everyone’s gaze instantly focused on Elaine.

The dining room had become eerily silent.

Could it be…… Kaiden already knew?

Her heart began pounding violently.

Elaine tightly gripped the hem of her dress as she looked around.

Everyone was waiting for her answer.

Her tightly closed lips trembled faintly.

“Mrs. Hegwins?”

As Elaine’s silence continued, Cernia tilted her head.

Elaine knew she had to speak, yet her lips refused to move easily.

Physical disabilities carried terrible social stigma.

That was the reason she divorced Enzo.

Although her hearing had improved compared to the past when she could not hear from both ears, people’s prejudice remained unchanged.

And among the narrow-minded nobles, it was even worse.

Kaiden’s business had already been shaken badly just because she was illegitimate.

But if it became known that his wife was also deaf in one ear—

People would undoubtedly mock him.

All because he had chosen the wrong wife.

And in the end, it would lead to divorce.

Just like what happened with Enzo.

Elaine did not want to repeat the past.

Swallowing her trembling breath, she slowly parted her lips.

“I…….”

Once again, she tried to bury the truth.

But the moment their eyes met, her resolve collapsed.

His golden eyes were endlessly cold and merciless.

If he still believed this was only social anxiety, he would have protected her and stopped the situation.

He would not have remained silent like this.

“……I’m sorry.”

Her voice echoed through the silence with cruel clarity.

A sob escaped along with her apology.

“I’ve been deceiving you all this time.”

Elaine tightly clenched both hands and bent forward deeply, almost shrinking into herself.

“I couldn’t bring myself to say…… that I can’t hear from my right ear.”

Kaiden, I lied because I was afraid you would leave me.

Because I was afraid the happiness I barely managed to find would disappear.

The desperate plea rose to the tip of her tongue.

But she could not say it, knowing it would only sound like a cowardly excuse.

Her head lowered further.

In the end, there was only one thing she could say at this moment.

“I’m truly sorry…….”