Unrequited Love is Over, Fend for Yourselves (5 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 10
“Now there are two people who know my secret, instead of just one?”
Reinhart chuckled as he poured flower tea into another teacup. Fernando didn’t even glance at the tea placed before him—he only stared fixedly at Etienne.
“Etienne probably didn’t expect even more people would learn the secret.”
Since Fernando remained silent, Reinhart turned his gaze toward Etienne instead. Under Reinhart’s subtle pressure to respond in Fernando’s stead, Etienne spoke with an uneasy expression.
“That’s true. We’ll keep the secret well—both Fernando and I will never speak of it…”
“Wait.”
Reinhart raised his hand, cutting off Etienne mid-sentence. When Etienne looked toward Reinhart, Fernando’s face instantly filled with dissatisfaction.
“Why are you lumping us together? I have a mouth too and can speak for myself—why must you answer for me, Etienne?”
“Well…”
Etienne shot Fernando a quick glance. She wished he’d say something—anything—but his lips stayed stubbornly sealed, as if glued shut.
“It’s because Fernando only learned His Highness’s secret through me. That’s why I’m answering for us both.”
At Etienne’s explanation, Fernando smiled, looking pleased.
“You came to see Etienne and discovered my preferences… So just what is your relationship, exactly?”
As far as Reinhart knew, Duke Schupraher hadn’t yet chosen a partner for Fernando. He seemed to be narrowing down a few candidates—but whether Etienne was among them, Reinhart couldn’t say.
In contrast, Fernando clearly held Etienne in very high regard. Watching him, Reinhart grew even more curious about their connection.
As Reinhart alternated his gaze between them, Etienne gave a small smile and replied.
“I met Fernando when our parents met.”
“So your families know each other, then?”
“Yes.”
At Etienne’s straightforward answer, both men’s expressions shifted. Reinhart nodded and smiled—so they weren’t particularly close yet—while Fernando looked thoroughly displeased. Their reactions were complete opposites.
Etienne thought she’d smoothly moved past the awkwardness when Fernando suddenly interjected.
“Are we really nothing more than that?”
“Fernando?”
Etienne called out to him anxiously. Fernando’s behavior right before the Crown Prince’s eyes was deeply embarrassing.
“You saved me. You risked your life to save me.”
“Me? When did I ever—? I just pulled you out of the lake! Why are you saying I risked my life?”
“You jumped into the lake.”
“Jumping in doesn’t mean I risked my life.”
“You jumped in even though I was unconscious and weighed a ton.”
“It was fine—the water lightened the load. Besides, why must I have this conversation with you at all?”
Etienne asked, exasperated. Fernando then blurted out abruptly,
“Because we’re not just ordinary acquaintances.”
That, apparently, was the root of Fernando’s frustration.
Etienne wondered why he had to bring up their non-ordinary relationship right now—but soon nodded in agreement. There was no real need to deny it anyway.
Yet Reinhart, who had been quietly observing until now, seemed to think differently.
“Shall I tell you what your relationship really is?”
Reinhart pointed at Fernando and Etienne with his finger. Then he tilted the teapot again, poured himself more tea, took a sip, and grinned.
“You’re the ones who share my secret.”
Reinhart neatly summed up the situation.
“The three of us—Fernando, Etienne, and me.”
The Crown Prince had promptly grouped all three together. Etienne quietly swallowed a sigh.
‘Why is he so desperate to tie people together like this?’
She’d given up.
[This is the timeline separator]On her way home, Etienne rode in Fernando’s carriage. She’d been about to call for the Marquis’s carriage again, but Fernando insisted there was no need and pulled her into his instead.
He’d offered to take her home, and since she had no reason to refuse, she’d gotten in—but soon regretted it.
Why had she boarded his carriage without thinking? The first time they met, she’d been frantic trying to save him, and earlier, the presence of the Crown Prince had made her forget.
That she’d once harbored a one-sided affection for Fernando.
Before facing the executioner’s blade, she’d resolved to let go of her feelings for him. Even now, she often told herself she’d never give him her heart again and that she’d live a different life—but alone together like this, she couldn’t remain completely unaffected.
In the quiet carriage, where even each other’s breaths were audible, Etienne’s heart kept wavering.
‘But I don’t like Fernando anymore.’
It was best not to reveal her emotions.
Etienne deliberately fixed her gaze out the window, refusing to look toward Fernando.
“You’re not even going to ask how you found me?”
At Fernando’s question, Etienne belatedly realized something. She’d deliberately walked through the outer city to meet the Crown Prince, but Fernando had no such reason.
“I saw you by chance.”
“You? Ah… I suppose you could’ve spotted me while riding in a carriage.”
Etienne nodded without suspicion. Since the route to the inner city passed through the outer district, she didn’t think much of it.
With that, silence settled again inside the carriage.
Etienne gently rubbed her fingers. They weren’t particularly beautiful—stained with ink and calloused from use.
As she stared at her hands, she decided that once back at the Marquis’s estate, she’d finally read a book again after so long. She intended to dedicate time to herself and ponder ways to ensure the Crown Prince wouldn’t die.
‘I’ll read again, take walks with the butler…’
To forget Fernando’s presence across from her, she forced herself to continue thinking—and though it was only a tiny bit, his presence began to fade, like managing just one shovel of dirt against a massive mountain. It helped, however slightly.
Meanwhile, Fernando watched her with a blank face, as if he’d never smiled just moments ago.
He couldn’t tell her he’d waited outside the Marquis’s estate until she emerged and then followed her.
At present, he only showed his feelings as gratitude for her saving him. Even so, Etienne already looked puzzled by his behavior—so he had to be even more careful.
If she began to distrust him, drawing closer would become much harder—especially since the Crown Prince seemed quite taken with Etienne.
“Etienne.”
Fernando called to her, lost in thought, and flashed a wide smile.
“If you’re not too busy, would you like another cup of tea before you go?”
“Now?”
“I have something to say.”
It wasn’t truly urgent—but it didn’t matter. He could easily think of something to say. As long as he could stay with Etienne, nothing else mattered.
When Etienne didn’t answer immediately, Fernando started growing restless—just as he began fidgeting…
“If it’s just for a moment…”
Etienne replied in a soft voice.
[This is the timeline separator]‘This isn’t so bad, either.’
If the flower tea with the Crown Prince had left a faint sweetness lingering on the tongue, the tea with Fernando now felt refreshingly cool. Its clean aftertaste left Etienne’s mind feeling clearer.
As soon as Fernando suggested tea, the carriage changed direction and headed into the city. They happened upon a clean, spacious restaurant with a lovely terrace.
‘I’m glad I didn’t refuse Fernando’s invitation.’
She’d initially hesitated—eager to part ways quickly—but soon changed her mind.
She couldn’t avoid him for the rest of her life. As their families’ ties with the Crown Prince deepened over time, their interactions would only increase—so it was better to grow accustomed to seeing him without turmoil.
‘By then, I’ll be able to treat Fernando more comfortably.’
And perhaps her heart, wounded from forcibly severing her feelings, would have healed enough. Fortunately, the pleasant weather and sunshine lifted her mood as she sipped her tea.
“How did you meet the Crown Prince earlier?”
At Fernando’s question, Etienne paused briefly, carefully choosing her words. She couldn’t reveal her secret now. To protect the truth of her regression, she must avoid arousing suspicion.
“It was coincidence.”
Seeing Fernando’s eyes narrow slightly, Etienne pretended to sip her tea to avoid his gaze.
It was true that Fernando finding her had been accidental—but her seeking out the Crown Prince had been entirely deliberate. Still, their actual meeting truly had been pure chance.
“If a chance like that comes again, call for me.”
“You?”
“Yes. It’s better if I’m with you than if you meet the Crown Prince alone.”
At Fernando’s concerned words, Etienne couldn’t answer right away. She was curious about his true intentions.
“The deeper you tangle yourself with royalty, the more invisible shackles bind you.”
“Oh…”
“Just sharing tea alone with a royal could spark rumors. And if people learn you’ve become confidants through a secret, it won’t lead to any good gossip.”
His reasoning made sense, so Etienne nodded. She’d been so focused on meeting the Crown Prince that she hadn’t considered anything else.
‘Last time, I met him with my parents, and nothing happened—but this time, I acted alone.’
She’d met the Crown Prince, strolled through the outer city with him, and then shared tea—if Fernando hadn’t been there, who knew what rumors might have spread.
“I was shortsighted. Thank you. Next time, I’ll…”
“Lord Fernando.”
Someone suddenly interrupted, cutting off Etienne’s sentence. Fernando frowned.
This was the first time in days—after Etienne had finally managed to leave the Marquis’s estate—that they’d secured a moment alone. Whoever appeared now was an unwelcome intruder.
At the same time, Etienne let out a quiet groan. Unlike her encounter with the Crown Prince, she hadn’t sought this person out—but yet another figure entangled with her past had appeared. Silently, she spoke the name in her heart.
‘Hana.’
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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