Chapter 1: “What Do You Mean My Ex-Boyfriend Had My Child?”

Suddenly, my husband became young again.

“Oh my…”

I rubbed my eyes.

It felt as if my blurry memories had suddenly become clear.

The husband I had been arguing with was standing in front of me. There wasn’t a single wrinkle on his face. His brown hair was thick and full, without any gray or faded strands.

Right. He used to look like this.

I forgot what I was about to say and stared at his face.

Only a moment later did I realize that I was no longer in the office of the trading company where I had spent more than ten years.

I was standing in the living room of my old family home.

The walls had faded silk wallpaper. There were old, ugly paintings that looked as if someone had barely bothered to dust them. The furniture was old and had only been arranged to make the room look presentable.

Was it really like this?

I didn’t feel nostalgic.

I was simply confused.

I was still looking around in shock when the man in front of me pointed at me and raised his voice.

“Irina, stop being so sensitive. Breaking off the engagement? Do you really think you’re in a position to say something like that?”

“…What?”

Why was he suddenly talking about breaking off an engagement?

I had already been married to him for ten years.

If anything, we should be talking about divorce, not breaking off an engagement.

He continued talking as if he didn’t notice my confusion.

“Or should I go see Baron Otreha right now? If he finds out that you have to repay the debt by yourself, I’m sure your brother will be very happy. Don’t you think?”

Wait.

This situation felt strangely familiar.

It was like I had experienced it once before.

After marrying Pascal, I had remembered this exact situation many times.

If only I had broken off the engagement back then…

“Irina Otreha. If it weren’t for the investment your late father made in me, I wouldn’t have accepted this engagement either.”

Pascal sighed and continued, as if he wanted to hurt me.

“You’re a good woman, but you’re not beautiful enough to get such generous marriage conditions so easily.”

Those were certainly not words a man should say to his future wife.

Generous conditions?

Pascal had never lost anything by marrying me.

Marrying into the baron’s family helped him raise his social status, and I was a mage who could help his trading company.

He was simply trying to take advantage of the fact that I was inexperienced with the world.

But I didn’t know that back then.

So I lowered my head and accepted his words.

I had no idea how many times I would later remember this conversation and regret it so much that I would beat my own chest in frustration.

The reason for the argument I had been having with my husband just before this moment had started right here.

“Pascal. You shouldn’t be wasting your time holding me back right now.”

“You know I’m busy, yet you’re stopping me and hysterically talking about breaking off our engagement?”

“Do you know that the young lady from the Bestin family is pregnant with your child?”

The color immediately disappeared from that man’s face.

“That’s ridiculous!”

He became angry as if I had deeply insulted him.

“Lea and I are practically brother and sister! We’re completely innocent. I’ve told you so many times not to make such ridiculous accusations!”

That’s not true.

Looking at his shameless face, I remembered exactly how our marriage had fallen apart.

Mrs. Oker.

A little boy with honey-blond hair and very pale skin.

My husband had introduced the boy to me as his own child.

The boy looked more refined than most noble children.

I didn’t even need to ask who his mother was.

Except for his unusually black eyes, he looked incredibly similar to Lea Bestin’s beautiful face.

What’s your name?

“Emil.”

I asked the boy, but it wasn’t him who answered.

Lea Bestin stood elegantly beside him. She smiled like an angel, as if I wasn’t even there.

“Emil Oker. His grandmother personally gave him that name while he was still in my womb.”

She put a hand on the boy’s shoulder and continued in a proud voice.

“Thankfully, your mother-in-law even assigned her personal doctor to take care of him.”

How could I not understand what she was doing?

She was showing off.

For ten years after my marriage, I had suffered two miscarriages.

Every time, my mother-in-law acted as if my pregnancies and miscarriages had nothing to do with her.

And yet she had personally chosen this woman’s child’s name.

The betrayal hurt all over again.

And unlike me, who was already starting to have wrinkles under my eyes, Lea looked much younger than her actual age.

She didn’t look like the mother of a child who was already this old.

I didn’t want to feel inferior to her, so I glared at Lea.

My husband immediately stepped in front of her protectively.

His firm voice felt like a knife stabbing into my heart.

“I’ll adopt Emil under your name. Emil is a very smart and kind child. I’m sure you’ll come to like him.”

“You can’t humiliate me like this!”

I raised my voice, but then remembered that the child was standing there, so I lowered it.

“If my family finds out about this, they won’t allow it.”

“Baron Otreha has already given his permission.”

“What?”

“Your brother gave his permission.”

At that moment, everything became clear.

That was why Pascal could confidently bring Lea Bestin and her child into our home.

My own family had completely abandoned me.

What did they get in exchange?

Money? Land? A mansion?

They probably didn’t even have to pay much.

Before I married, my family had almost nothing except the title of Baron. After I married, the family gradually became poorer and poorer. They were desperate for money.

I looked at Lea, who was standing proudly while my husband and the child protected her.

“…How old is that child?”

This time, Emil answered by himself.

“I’m ten.”

I couldn’t breathe.

It had only recently been our tenth wedding anniversary.

That meant this child had definitely been born before Pascal and I got married.

Whenever Pascal neglected our family and focused on his business, I had endured my sadness because I believed he was a kind and generous husband.

I thought he still loved me even though I had suffered two miscarriages and could no longer have children.

But the truth was different.

He simply didn’t care whether I could have children.

Because his real family was somewhere outside our home.

Then what was I?

“…I can’t accept this!”

“Irina. Lower your voice.”

“Why didn’t you marry that woman back then? Why did you propose to me? You two have been lying to me all this time. Don’t you have any shame?”

And then my husband had said…

“If you feel that way, then let’s get divorced. I don’t understand why you’re acting like this when you couldn’t even give me one child.”

One month passed after that.

Time moved incredibly slowly in hell.

I could only watch as everything I had, including my rights and position, was taken away from me one by one.

The pain was unbearable.

Should I just give up?

That was what I was thinking when it happened.

I was standing in the trading company’s office, facing my husband’s cold eyes.

The adoption papers were lying in front of us.

Only his signature was left.

Then I heard a sound from the air, like a window suddenly breaking.

I felt as if I were falling.

At the same time, countless broken pieces of memory flashed through my mind.

After an unbearable headache, the last thing I saw was a pair of deep, deep blue eyes.

Then a long ringing sound filled my ears.

Beeeep—

And at that exact moment…

My husband became young again.

I placed a hand over my chest and took a deep breath.

I still didn’t understand what was happening.

But one thing was certain.

Throughout my marriage, especially during that last month, I had regretted this exact moment again and again.

Now I had a chance to fix my regrets.

I tried to look as firm as possible and finally spoke.

“How could anyone misunderstand a pregnancy? A woman’s belly would make it pretty obvious.”

“Are you trying to ruin Lea’s reputation with these accusations?”

Maybe Pascal really didn’t know that she was pregnant.

Still, it was unbelievable. Surely he remembered what he had done with her.

“Well, why don’t you first find out what your mother’s personal doctor says? By now, he should be taking care of the baby inside Lea Bestin’s womb.”

“Such a ridiculous lie…”

“Why would I tell a lie that can be exposed so quickly?”

Pascal’s face turned completely pale.

He was finally starting to realize that something was wrong.

I smiled at him.

I tried to copy Lea Bestin’s innocent smile.

But honestly…

I wasn’t very good at it.