Episode 169. Confirmation (5)

“Sorry.”

“Ha….”

I secretly hoped it wasn’t true.

Seeing my husband apologize immediately without any excuses or hesitation, something boiled inside me, and the swelling smoke seemed to fill my chest and make me feel suffocated.

“For what.”

“For cheating.”

After learning that Winnie was having an affair with Edward. Winnie returned to her house. No, Monica sent her back. Winnie obediently followed.

Seeing her move all sorts of things, claiming she would take care of her body during her pregnancy, and then returning to the empty house, her mother. Vera Yulstain asked Monica what was going on.

‘Did something happen with Winnie?’

‘Mom.’

‘Yes?’

‘Mom, what would you do if your best friend betrayed you?’

At this time, the expression her mother made. Knowing the situation, the uneasy expression that came out when she felt something was going wrong. At the time, Winnie’s affair was so shocking that I didn’t notice it, but now that I know everything, that’s what it was.

‘Well… this mom doesn’t have many people she can call friends, so it’s a bit difficult to answer.’

‘Winnie… seduced Edward and had an affair.’

‘…!’

At that surprised gasp, Monica sought a place to vent. To her mother, she poured out the words she had been holding inside. The problem, however, was that Vera was not in a position to accept it either.

‘Isn’t it infuriating? Seducing my kind husband, saying she’s going to take his seed….’

‘Monica.’

‘…Why?’

Her mother’s voice suddenly stopping her. A trembling yet strong tone, similar to the tone Winnie had used a few days ago, made Monica’s body stiffen.

No way. It can’t be. But feeling sorry and at a loss, Vera held her hands tightly. Looking at her with trembling eyes, she said.

‘Mom did too. I’m sorry.’

‘….’

‘I’m sorry. I….’

After that, I didn’t remember what she said very well. I just repeated the words I had just heard, trying to understand them. No, after learning an even more shocking fact, I felt less emotional turmoil. When I found out about Winnie’s affair, my whole body trembled like an aspen, and tears leaked out without me realizing it.

The fact that her mother was pregnant with Edward’s child, well. Maybe it’s because I found out first and I’m in the position of asking her, not the other way around. Or maybe it’s because it’s so unrealistic that I’m treating it as a bad joke deep down.

Oh. I guess so. Well, he’s not the type to be satisfied with just one person. That’s what I thought. One person… no, three in total if you include Daria. Three women he slept with behind her back. Four if you include her. I heard that some great nobles fill an entire palace with concubines, but it was absurd that her husband was trying to do something similar.

‘I’m sorry, I’m so sorry….’

Her mother. Monica, who had always respected and thought she would make her happy as a daughter. She was elegantly wiping away tears in front of her. Why does everyone cry when they stand in front of me? Knowing it’s something to be sorry for, crying in front of her, why did they end up doing it? Is it because her husband is too charming? I heard that all good-looking people live up to their looks, but has she not paid the full price yet?

Well, Mom did seem much happier after Edward came into the picture. I thought it was just because she was relieved of her daughter’s marriage worries, that her worries had decreased. But it was the joy of finding a new man. Seeing Winnie and her mother become happy while only she became unhappy, I even wondered for a moment if Monica was the strange one.

Unable to treat her mother as coldly as she had treated Winnie. Monica, with a dazed expression, only repeated, ‘It’s okay. It can happen.’ Seeing this, Vera’s guilty conscience grew even more, but she had no choice but to feel sorry.

Still, she couldn’t bring herself to kick out her mother. Her head was too complicated with Winnie’s problem alone, so she forgot about it for a while. First, solve the problem between Edward and Winnie, and then her mother…. Ha…. With that in mind, she waited for Edward to return.

Thinking that it couldn’t be true, that there must be some reason she didn’t know. She waited for him… but when Edward so calmly admitted it…. Not just anything, but clearly with his own mouth.

He’s good to her, he’s really good for her. He’s the first man she’s ever liked. But. But….

‘Except for cheating, that is.’

He’d be great if it weren’t for the cheating. No, if I’m being very generous, it would be better if he did it with a woman she didn’t know. Why does he only touch her precious people?

“I’m sorry….”

“Stop.”

“….”

“I get it, so eat.”

Monica’s stiff expression as she told him to eat made Edward feel like he was a death row inmate being offered his last meal. But there was nothing he could do about it, and Edward, not even allowed to speak, silently followed Monica and ate.

Dalgeurak,

Dalgeurak.

I’ve already heard the whole story from Winnie and my mother. Especially since Winnie said she would answer everything truthfully, and she decided to trust her friend… former friend, for the last time. There’s nothing more to ask her husband. No, I didn’t want to ask. If something different from what’s in her head comes out, it’ll only make her head hurt. Let’s believe what Winnie said.

‘Edward… Sir Edward really loves you.’

Monica didn’t want that situation. Digging deeper to find out the truth, only to make her wounds bigger. What if Edward’s words are different? Who should I believe? Should I just think that Winnie, that wicked bitch, tricked her until the very end? Pretending to be tears of apology, shedding crocodile tears? But, but what if….

‘What if Edward is hiding something from me?’

What if, Edward is hiding or trying to deceive her about some fact. For whatever purpose, if he is. So she really can’t trust her husband? He already hid the fact that he was cheating, but what if. What if Edward’s heart is with Winnie. If he lies in front of her to protect Winnie?

‘Edward…. loves me.’

That’s really. I really couldn’t stand it. Men are originally moved by their lower bodies. I can tolerate him touching a few women. If he loves that bitch more than her. And if he doesn’t choose her… I didn’t even want to imagine such a thing.

‘He’ll really… really love me.’

So Monica didn’t ask. She was really curious, but she was afraid that the answer inside might not be the answer she wanted. Believing firmly in Winnie’s words, that Edward loves her. She didn’t ask any more questions. That situation must have felt uncomfortable for Edward….

Have the two of them ever had such a quiet meal? At least not in Monica’s memory. Usually, the three of them, or even if it was just the two of them, they would always eat while talking so loudly. The memory of her personally feeding this man felt like it was decades ago.

‘…It’s awkward.’

A quiet table, her husband constantly watching her. Looking back, I think there was a time when I wanted this kind of authoritative and slightly coercive atmosphere. Was it because I thought I had to establish my authority as a noble? When they first met, there was a time when she scolded and suppressed her husband, trying to keep him in check.

Seeing Edward’s dejected appearance. I remembered the day after they met, when she slapped him for being rude. Was it because of that slap that he had an affair with Winnie and her mother? After that, she felt sorry and treated him better, and Edward didn’t say anything, so she thought he had forgotten all about it.

Did he not love her from the beginning? That uneasy thought, which she had been trying not to think about out of fear, came to her mind. Because of a twisted start that only she didn’t know about. During the few months she was busy. During the period when she couldn’t pay attention to Edward.

Already Winnie and her mother…

“I’ll ask you just one thing.”

“…Uh.”

“Do you love me?”

“Uh.”