I Ended Up Living Next Door to My Ex-Husband (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 10
“Of… course.”
I quickly pulled my hand away from Cedric, struggling to hide my flustered expression.
‘Why say “let go” in such a smoldering tone? It’s just making me feel all strange…’
Feeling an unreasonable warmth seep into my ears, I bit my lip absentmindedly.
It still felt as if the warmth of his lips lingered beneath my palm.
I subtly slid my hand behind my back and turned my head toward the glass garden, pretending to admire the view.
I exhaled deeply several times in a row. Once I finally calmed down, I glanced up at Cedric again.
Cedric simply stood there, still gazing down at me silently.
‘Does he… have something he wants to say?’
The moment that thought crossed my mind, I shook my head firmly.
He surely only had sharp, thorny words left to say to me.
It was obvious—he loathed my touch more than death itself.
This wouldn’t do. I had to run before Cedric got angry.
“Oh my! We’re almost at the glass garden already!”
I feigned exaggerated surprise and hurried ahead.
“Let’s go quickly. It’ll be better for both of us if we finish this as fast as possible.”
How much distance had opened between us by then?
Thankfully, Cedric’s voice didn’t call out to reprimand me during that time.
All I heard was the slow, steady sound of his footsteps trailing behind me.
[This is the timeline separator]All around the garden, various trees and flowers were in full bloom, and at the center, a small ivory-colored fountain sprayed water into the air.
I sat down first at the table prepared beside the fountain, and soon Cedric took a seat across from me.
“You brought the documents, right?”
At my question, Cedric untied the cord on the leather document envelope he’d brought and pulled out the papers.
“This is the divorce agreement. And this is the confidentiality contract for six months following the divorce.”
Cedric spread the documents on the table as he spoke.
I examined the confidentiality agreement first.
It stipulated that I couldn’t disclose the divorce for six months and that I’d remain at the Dark Mansion under conditions equivalent to those of a Grand Duchess during that period.
The contract was well organized.
“I like it.”
“Then review the divorce terms as well.”
Next, I carefully scrutinized each clause of the divorce agreement Cedric handed me.
“I’ll purchase a mansion for you within the amount specified in the documents—anywhere you choose.”
The sum allocated for the mansion purchase was substantial.
Just how many zeros were in that figure?
With this much, I could easily buy the mansion I’d dreamed of—and still have plenty left over.
“Alright. Ideally, I’d like a mansion near the seaside.”
“We’ll proceed accordingly.”
Now, how much had he allotted for living expenses?
Of course, considering I’d been his shuddered-at former wife, he probably wouldn’t be overly generous…
Still, I hoped he’d at least provide half of what I’d previously received as budget.
‘Honestly, even that amount alone would be more than enough for a single person to live lavishly.’
With a trembling heart, I flipped through the documents.
And that was when I saw the allotted figure.
“Is… this really correct?”
I rubbed my eyes in disbelief.
But no matter how many times I checked, the amount remained unchanged.
“What are you talking about?”
Cedric asked indifferently, clearly unaware of why I was so shocked.
“You’re really going to give me… the exact same budget allocated to a Grand Duchess?”
The Twins Grand Ducal House, lords of the North.
The living expense budget granted to its mistress—the Grand Duchess—was an unimaginably vast sum for an ordinary person.
‘Yet he’s offering to pay that exact amount annually to a divorced former wife?’
Still unable to believe it, I counted the zeros in the figure over and over again.
Watching me, Cedric quietly asked,
“Are the terms not to your liking?”
“Not at all. I just… didn’t expect you’d give me this much.”
At that, Cedric raised one eyebrow slightly.
He looked genuinely surprised himself.
“…You continue to show me unexpected sides.”
He exhaled a shallow breath, almost muttering to himself.
“You’ve always spent two or three times your allotted budget, yet I’ve covered it without issue until now.”
“…”
“Now that there’s no reason to cover those excesses anymore, I’m both willing and wealthy enough to provide this much.”
After losing their status as Imperial royalty in the human realm since ancient times, the Twins family had hidden their existence among half-blood demonkind within the human world.
Yet the Twins were originally a noble house with deep roots tracing back to antiquity.
Thus, their immense wealth was only natural.
Moreover, upon returning to the human realm alongside the founding of the Western Empire, the Twins family had seized even greater power—and an inexhaustible fortune.
‘Even so, this is hardly a small amount to grant annually as alimony to a divorced former wife…’
The thought made me feel an inexplicable pang of sympathy for Cedric.
He must have endured so much from Rebecca to act this way.
‘He probably just wanted a swift, clean divorce by any means necessary.’
Considering how he’d shuddered at the very word “marriage” for a long while even after divorcing Rebecca, it all made sense.
‘The terms suit me perfectly—and since he’s offering it, I might as well accept quickly.’
I hurriedly returned to the first page of the documents.
As I gazed at the imperial and papal seals stamped at the top, Cedric slowly spoke.
“I’ve already secured prior approval. There won’t be any issues maintaining our secrecy for the next six months.”
He’d already signed his name on his portion of the document.
Realizing what that meant, I nodded and picked up the fountain pen.
“Once I sign, the divorce will be finalized.”
“…That’s about right.”
He stared fixedly at my hand holding the pen.
He seemed unwilling to lower his guard until my signature appeared on the divorce papers.
‘You really don’t need to worry so much, honestly…’
Slowly, I placed the pen tip over the blank line reserved for my signature.
.
.
.
Cedric watched Rebecca’s hand holding the fountain pen and recalled how it had once rested against his lips.
‘Is she… really going to let me go now?’
Why had such a question slipped out?
As he’d followed Rebecca through the glass garden, his mind had been filled with gray fog.
‘Now that divorce is actually happening, I suppose some pointless sentimentality is inevitable.’
Even the most detestable life stirs a sliver of regret before death.
Though this marriage had been hellish, a shallow wave of emotion like this was only natural at its end.
Moreover, the belated thought that Rebecca might have genuinely loved him only muddled his feelings further.
If her feelings had truly been real…
Then his constant suspicion of her must have led them to this point.
Yet doubts still lingered—too many uncertainties remained to fully believe in her sincerity.
‘If Rebecca truly had no intention of using me, why did she follow me all the way to Mount Manakin that night?’
The sinister smile of her father, Duke Bold, flashed through his mind, tightening his jaw.
At the same time, Cedric forcefully pushed aside the unwarranted sentimentality he felt at this threshold of divorce.
‘This divorce must happen.’
Just as Cedric reaffirmed his resolve—
Shhk, shhk—
A soft sound reached his ears.
When he looked up again, Rebecca had already finished signing everything.
Five nightmarish years of marriage.
All that suffering ended so easily, almost absurdly—
With just two signatures from Rebecca.
“Don’t feel like you have to tiptoe around my feelings. Go ahead and rejoice as much as you like.”
Rebecca set the fountain pen down on the table and lifted the corners of her lips slightly.
But Cedric was utterly bewildered.
He couldn’t even clearly identify the emotion stirring within him.
This should have been a moment of joy—yet all he felt was an inexplicable emptiness.
“Cedric, you’re having trouble believing it, aren’t you?”
Following a soft chuckle, a pale, slender hand was suddenly extended toward him.
“After all, a divorce agreement is still a contract. Since we’ve wrapped it up neatly, let’s at least shake hands as a final gesture.”
Cedric was stunned all over again.
This was the same woman who’d once sobbed and clung to him daily, claiming she couldn’t survive even a moment apart from him.
To see her now, calmly offering a handshake after the divorce was finalized—was unbearably unfamiliar.
“…Very well.”
As he slowly clasped Rebecca’s hand, he felt a warmth different from before.
While he was silently gazing down at her small hand—
“Thank you… for everything you’ve endured because of me.”
Her soft voice gently resonated through the air.
That unfamiliar yet comforting tone made Cedric slowly lift his eyes to meet hers.
“I hope you won’t suffer long from the trauma of our failed marriage.”
“…”
“It’s terribly shameless of me to say this… but please forget quickly the painful time you spent married to me.”
“…”
“And next time… I hope you find a woman you truly love and live happily ever after.”
She continued softly,
“I mean it.”
Soon, a serene smile bloomed on Rebecca’s lips like a lotus flower.
It was peaceful—and unlike any smile she’d ever shown him before, perhaps even her very first.
As he stared at her, dumbfounded as if witnessing a mirage—
“Then… take care, Cedric.”
With those quiet words, Rebecca released their clasped hands.
In that instant, all that remained with Cedric—instead of her lingering touch—was only…
An unexpected sense of hollowness.
[This is the timeline separator]On my way back after signing the divorce papers,
My mind was a garden in full bloom.
‘Not only a seaside mansion—but such an enormous allowance too…!’
The thought of the luxurious, carefree life awaiting me made my lips curl into an involuntary smile.
And the more I thought about it, the more determined I became to avoid Rebecca’s original fate of death.
Wouldn’t it be a terrible waste to die without ever spending all that alimony?
‘Great. With my divorce from Cedric, I’ve just pulled out one dead flag…’
Now all that remained was to win back the hearts of the half-blood demonkind.
‘Still, just in case, I should bring along some half-blood demon allies six months from now. I’ll definitely take Mina—and hey, I should just ask her to bring a few more friends.’
Living together had taught me that Mina was incredibly well-connected among the half-blood demon community.
Plus, she possessed immense physical strength and could concoct every kind of poison and antidote.
Having such a girl as my confidante was like gaining an entire army—if I kept building her trust, that is.
‘Everyone says being reincarnated as a villainess is tough… Am I the only one having it this easy? Huh.’
Humming a tune in admiration of my own planning,
I had just stepped into the corridor of the Grand Duchess’s quarters when—
“Your Highness Rebecca! Why are you only returning now?!”
Mina, spotting me at the far end of the hallway, came rushing toward me in a panic.
“Oh, our Mina! Haha, I was having such a pleasant stroll I completely lost track of time.”
I should probably start mentioning soon that I’ll be moving to the Dark Mansion.
Just as I was thinking this with perfect ease,
Mina’s expression slowly began to harden.
“Your Highness… did you really forget who’s visiting today?”
Ex-husband Wants Reconciliation
One-line summary: Chasing the wife to the crematorium (making an effort to attract someone who has become indifferent), the female lead doesn’t look back, the second male lead takes the position.
Intro:
To repay the kindness of the older generation, Su Mu crossed into a female-dominated world and became a live-in daughter-in-law of the Yan family, single-handedly saving the Yan family from fire and water.
But her husband, Yan Jiyue, the eldest son of the Yan family, treated her with sarcasm and never showed her a good face.
It wasn’t until after Su Mu’s death that this pampered and arrogant young master shed a few fake tears and pretended to want to die for love.
This life’s kindness was enough. If there was a next life, she would definitely kick Yan Jiyue away.
Who knew that the heavens would be so kind as to allow her to be reborn, returning to the time when she had just married into the Yan family.
Su Mu glanced at the Yan eldest son, who still spoke coldly to her, and threw a divorce letter in front of him.
“Let’s divorce!”
***
Yan Jiyue never imagined that he would be reborn. He happily went to find Su Mu, wanting to make up for the mistakes he had made in his ignorant youth.
Wasn’t the reason the heavens allowed him to be reborn to let him reconcile with Su Mu?
But when he pushed open the door to Su Mu’s room, the person lying on the bed was another man.
Su Mu’s personal attendant, Xie Yi.
Yan Jiyue hated him so much that his teeth itched. In front of Su Mu, Xie Yi was a gentle and considerate whisperer of sweet nothings, but in reality, he was vicious-hearted and deliberately sabotaged their husband and wife relationship.
In the previous life, it was he who secretly hid in Su Mu’s coffin and committed suicide, stealing a step ahead of him to be buried with Su Mu.
Yan Jiyue’s eyes were filled with hatred as he cursed, “What kind of thing are you? Your background is lowly, what right do you have to occupy Su Mu?”
Xie Yi looked at the sleeping Su Mu and no longer pretended to be a whisperer of sweet nothings.
He proudly stuck out his belly, “I have the right because my belly is capable of giving the Wife-master a daughter.”
***
Yan Jiyue was consumed with jealousy. He spread rumors that Xie Yi had once been branded with the mark of a “harlot” on his chest.
But on the night Xie Yi cut off the flesh bearing that mark, Su Mu suddenly realized something was amiss.
“How did you know the exact moment I was poisoned? And why did you show up a month early?”
Xie Yi remained silent, blood from his wound soaking through his robes. His sapphire eyes brimmed with anguish – or was it just a flawless act?
Between a once-arrogant husband now seeking redemption, and a gentle soul willing to die for her – who truly held the darkest secrets? And could it be that Su Mu and Yan Jiyue weren’t the only ones given a second chance at life…?
[Reading Guide]
1. True divorce, chasing the wife to the crematorium, the female lead doesn’t look back, the male lead is Xie Yi.
2. The ex-husband did not cheat, he just realized too late and didn’t realize that he liked the female lead.
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It had to be something like this, Original Rebecca sounds pittiful
He’s going to be soooo surprised when the new Rebecca comes back
LOL I KNEW IT. LOVE IT. I’M IN LOVE WITH THIS NOVEL!!!