Chapter 4

Yvonne, who immediately understood the meaning of those words, clasped her hands together. The man’s stern face, encountered after a week, was as cold in its gaze as his sharp features.

“A miscarriage, huh….”

Yvonne’s eyes, which had been tightly shut, trembled finely.

“You did this. My child died because of you.”

Carlisle threw a crooked glance at her trembling voice. The gray eyes staring directly at her were chilling.

“A miscarriage when you weren’t even pregnant. What kind of trick is this?”

More than wondering how the extra edition had come out so quickly, what caught his attention was the reason for the divorce.

“You’re saying I’m lying?”

He seemed to view it as a form of protest or rebellion against him. It was so typical of Carlisle that it left a bitter taste in her mouth.

“If you claim to have been pregnant, why don’t you bring the body of the dead child as proof?”

“How can you say something like that?”

Yvonne flinched and glared fiercely at Carlisle. Her lips trembled as if she had heard something deeply insulting, but Carlisle looked at her with indifferent eyes.

Despite Earl Sellus’s fierce protection, Yvonne’s nature was not as fragile as a greenhouse flower. Rather, she resembled those cunning ladies who were thoroughly educated for marriage and hoped to marry a man from a decent family.

Of course, she also had the perseverance to achieve that.

He could overlook that much, but his wife wanted far too much.

‘Let’s do it together.’

‘Can’t I go too?’

Whether she couldn’t stand being alone or just liked to bother people, she would sulk or run off to her family if she was even slightly ignored.

‘It’s not like I want to go to my parents’ house. The servants at Glade Hills ignore me and dislike me. They treat me not as the lady of the house, but as someone just living in someone else’s house.’

She had the typical spoiled behavior of a noble lady raised with excessive affection, and now she was insisting on things that weren’t true.

In short, her unpredictable personality had caused trouble more than once. And each time, she always wore the same aggrieved expression as she did now.

“Both the pregnancy and the miscarriage are true.”

“Ha….”

His gaze grew colder at his wife’s blatant lies.

She used to apologize quickly, feeling sorry in the early days, but now she had changed so much.

“Don’t exaggerate so much. Looks like your mind finally snapped. Did you really think such an outrageous lie would work?”

He tossed the bundle of newspapers onto the table. Yvonne, seeing the sensational headline printed clearly on the front page, closed her eyes tightly.

“When did I ever hit you? Care to explain?”

“…….”

Yvonne didn’t answer. Perhaps she was at a loss for words.

A woman who grew up spoiled by her parents was exhausting for this reason. She caused trouble and only burdened those around her, never cleaning up after herself.

So he never felt the need to bother coming to see her. It was a scandal he could just ignore if he wanted. But since he had come here, he felt the need to settle things clearly.

“False accusation. It’s the charge for insisting on something that isn’t true.”

Yvonne’s shoulders flinched at the quiet threat.

“There’s no reason I can’t charge you with defamation, either. Do you think I can’t handle a dirty fight?”

“…….”

Watching her eyes tremble finely, unsure what to do, he continued.

“No matter what you try, your beloved parents will suffer greatly because of you, their daughter. Or rather, what do you think the couple, currently in the neighboring country, will say when they see this article?”

Yvonne’s previously lukewarm expression turned pale. As expected, he had struck her only weakness.

“If you don’t want to go to prison, correct it. It’s the least courtesy for having played the role of my wife all this time.”

He watched with satisfaction as her noble expression crumpled, but after a long silence, Yvonne spoke.

“……You’re always like this.”

His thick eyebrows twitched, unable to read the meaning, as she continued.

“You see me not as your wife, but as if I’m just a business partner. You’re indifferent to everything I do, only calculating the profits that will fall into your hands, no matter what happens. A selfish man.”

Carlisle was momentarily stunned by her words, which were more like complaints than true venom. Honestly, it wasn’t even venom, but compared to her doll-like, frustrating demeanor over the past three years, it was a change.

Even in bed, she had made suppressing herself a habit, obsessed with self-control and image. When had she changed?

In the first year of marriage, she often spoke brightly, but as the years passed, she became quieter and more withdrawn. From the second year, she began to meet lovers for comfort and act extravagantly, but he didn’t interfere. Rather, he hoped this would help her lose interest in him as her husband.

From the third year, he could barely remember anything. Since that incident half a year ago, they had hardly spoken.

They had maintained their boundaries well, so it was astonishing for her to now express such resentment.

“It was your father who sent you to this selfish man. If you want to blame someone, blame him.”

“I knew you’d say that. You’ve always been that kind of person.”

Yvonne, who had been looking down, released her tightly bitten lower lip.

“All right. I’ll change the divorce reason as you wish.”

Carlisle’s lips, which had been curling upward, dropped again. In her upright gaze, he could no longer find any lingering feelings.

It was just like the day she had come to his office to demand a divorce.

For some reason, that sight unsettled him, and Carlisle pointed out coldly.

“Make sure you do it properly, just like you leaked to the reporters. If you do that, I’ll pay you enough alimony to live comfortably for the rest of your life, including this house.”

“…I don’t need it. Just give me this house.”

Carlisle narrowed his eyes, wondering what scheme his wife, who usually had so many material desires, was plotting with such modest terms.

“If you try to trick me again, don’t blame me if I withdraw all my investments from Sellus Trading Company.”

“That has nothing to do with me, so do as you please.”

Her dry answer, when she usually trembled in fear at the mere mention of Sellus Trading Company, felt a little odd, but Carlisle stood up at that point.

* * *

The next day, every newspaper in Aerondo carried the same story.

[The claim of pregnancy and miscarriage was revealed to be the Duchess’s false assertion.]

[Out of remorse for failing to produce an heir, the Duchess suffered depression, gave a false reason for divorce, but soon changed her mind, revealed the truth, and stepped down from her undeserved position as Duchess……]

The correction article, printed in large letters, included what seemed to be a direct interview, with the Duchess explaining that she had made a mistaken decision due to depression caused by not being able to have a child during her marriage.

Public opinion split into two clear camps. Sympathy briefly leaned toward the Duchess, but quickly turned cold, while some understood the pain of not being able to have a child.

Regardless, her choice to leave out of guilt toward her husband seemed to set the divorce process in motion.

Until three days later, when completely different news spread through Aerondo.

[Yvonne Selus submits divorce papers—now predicted to be the most sought-after bride.

The former Duchess of Polshared, who recently filed for divorce, is drawing unusual attention. Suitors from the most prominent noble families in Aerondo are flocking to her…]

For some reason, Yvonne had become the most popular marriage prospect in the capital.

And among those suitors was a name Carlisle would never welcome.