The son-in-law darkened, and only the husband’s face filled her pupils.
She now clearly understood the meaning of the gaze that had caused confusion and swallowed countless emotions.
And still, that gaze was there.
Dizziness overwhelmed her, and La Maine tightly closed her eyes.
The eyelids that had erased her husband trembled.
He must have resented.
He might have been angry.
If he had shattered the carefully accumulated emotions, would it have been better?
Because she already knew the difference between him and herself.
Because he, too, learned that her love was insecure.
Even if he hated her endlessly, she couldn’t say a word.
However, he gave her a chance.
“I must hold you tonight.”
To directly hear the truth she had already discovered.
So, speak.
She foolishly let go of the plea to avoid the arrowhead of resentment.
La Maine slowly opened the eyes she had closed.
She silently stared at the pupils that had never left her face.
“Cedric, I’m sorry.”
I didn’t want to hurt you.
In fact, I was a little afraid too.
The words rushing through her mind were just excuses.
Now, it’s just,
“I’m sorry for not being honest.”
She couldn’t say anything else.
The grip in Cedric’s hand, which held her tender shoulders, loosened.
Tap.
The large hand that cut through the air fell beside his thigh.
At that moment, an inexplicable anxiety rushed in, making her body tremble.
But she felt she had no right to show any signs.
It was when she thought she might collapse and hesitated to give strength to her whole body.
“Haa…”
Cedric’s thick sigh flowed out.
Tap.
Leaning his forehead against her shoulder, he made no other movement.
Red lips firmly locked, as if never going to utter a voice again.
Veins pulsating on the tightly clenched fist.
The tension surged through her body to the point of tingling, as if he were holding back his anger.
“La Maine…”
With a warm breath over her shoulder, my name flowed.
“Yes, Cedric. Tell me.”
She barely let out her voice with trembling breath.
What are you going to say?
La Maine bit her trembling lips.
At that moment, in the breathless moment, where she barely endured the oppressive silence.
“I was afraid.”
The weak, transparent voice that came out pierced her heart.
Sniff. An indescribable emotion pierced through, and tears welled up in her eyes.
Cedric buried his face deep between La Maine’s shoulder and neck.
His trembling arms tightly pulled her small body.
“I was afraid you wouldn’t tell me the truth until the end.”
Thump, thump.
The strong beats of Cedric’s heart echoed over La Maine’s chest.
The fallen eyelids swallowed La Maine’s pupils.
She barely swallowed the hot breath blocking her throat.
Embracing the body that seemed to collapse without strength, the husband was warm, as always.
You realize the warmth carries affection when it touches you.
He who knows everything will hate and resent himself.
She thought her heart would only ache with remorse and guilt caused solely by him.
But, no.
I was afraid.
Afraid you’d let me go in this moment.
Afraid you’d leave, abandoning everything.
Afraid, most of all, that I might never see you again.
“Now that I know, it’s okay.”
And I realize again.
“Now that you’re in front of me like this, it’s okay.”
My love is still feeble compared to your love.
‘I feel like I’m truly happy.’
The fact is, the truly happy person is not you but me.
I realize it because of you.
Around the table in front of the window, the tense atmosphere disappeared, replaced by a calm air as the two people faced each other.
Cedric, with eyes that softened his sensitivity, quietly observed his wife.
Suddenly, he realized that he had never seen her shedding tears.
The tears he had seen when he saved himself on the battlefield were the first and last tears.
Did she become toughened by the harsh times, or did she become dulled?
Thinking of her, who endured without relying on anyone during those cruel times, one side of his chest ached.
Who could not be afraid of death?
She must have struggled and been afraid too.
But to her, who became accustomed to a life without reliance, enduring alone might have seemed natural. And,
“I didn’t say anything because I was worried you might worry about me.”
That was what he knew about her.
“You must have thought about it many times and eventually chose silence.”
The reason for all her actions. The first reason was someone other than herself.
“I’m sorry, Cedric.”
Cedric responded with a bitter smile to the voice uttered without strength.
“As you said, I thought about it a lot. But…”
La Maine’s voice disappeared into the air without proper punctuation.
Staring at her eyes entangled with numerous complicated thoughts, Cedric spoke.
“You don’t have to say more.”
“…”
“As I said, now that I know, it’s probably okay.”
La Maine swallowed her breath slowly.
Looking into her somewhat calm eyes, Cedric continued.
“I feel like I want to stab myself with a knife.”
“Cedric.”
“If saving me means you can live. I can endure any pain.”
After Being Cheated On, She Picked Up a Treasure (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: The husband I married on a whim had been secretly in love with me for a long time.
On the day when Jun Shao finally obtained the imperial decree for her marriage, Lan Qu, the person she had admired for six years, defied the decree and ran away.
Her gentleness and devotion, her promise of a lifetime together, were all disregarded by him. Instead, he dreamed of entering the palace to serve the Emperor’s sister as a sixth-rank attendant.
News of this incident spread throughout the capital, and the alleys in front of and behind the Lan mansion were crowded with people who came to watch the commotion.
Jun Shao should have been embarrassed and angry.
But someone stepped in to protect her dignity.
The figure was in a miserable state, yet still possessed an undeniable elegance and handsomeness.
The young lord struggled to climb the wall of the Lan mansion and shouted to her, “If he won’t marry you, I will!”
So, Jun Shao took advantage of the situation and married the person.
She thought the young lord did it to save the Lan family from the crime of defying the imperial decree, but never imagined that from beginning to end, what he coveted was her.
*
After the wedding, Jun Shao felt like she was living in a dream.
Her Wife-master was as beautiful as a fairy in a painting, skilled in the six arts, well-versed in poetry and literature, capable of being gentle and attentive, and also grand and dignified. Most importantly, she was the only one in his heart and eyes.
Jun Shao didn’t know how Lan Shiwu, as a illegitimate son without a father and blessed with beauty, had managed to preserve his purity, recklessly escape, and use his last ounce of strength to ruin his own reputation, all because of his love for her, just to stand before her.
She could only see him gazing at her with eyes full of love, and when she bestowed a name upon him, his eyes shone like stars.
“You have come to me like a weary bird perching on a branch. I shall call you A Qi.”
