Chapter 8 (Part 5)

Sandra received the letter just as she finished preparing to go out. She was planning to attend a tea gathering with a lady she had met at a banquet.

But Patrick’s sudden request to come to the Lennox estate made her cancel her plans. Meeting Patrick took priority over the gathering.

What could he possibly want to discuss to call her to the Lennox estate?

It was the first time he had summoned her like this. And directly to the Lennox estate, no less.

Did my seduction work? 

A smile naturally formed on her lips. Though she was already dressed up, Sandra ordered her maid.

“Bring me the most glamorous dress. Preferably something that boldly shows off my figure.”

She had to be more beautiful and dazzling than anyone else. That was the only way she could outshine Lady Lennox.

She arrived a bit late at the Lennox estate due to paying attention to her attire. As the carriage passed through the sturdy iron gates of the Lennox estate and stopped at the mansion, Patrick, who had come out to greet her, approached. She expected the butler to be there, so it was surprising.

“You’ve arrived. I apologize for the inconvenience of asking you to come here.”

“No, if you call, Sir Marionus, I must go wherever it is. Why did you call me?”

“You will understand once you go inside.”

Sandra took his politely extended hand and stepped out of the carriage.

He always has such good manners.

Though he rarely let anyone close, Patrick was always polite and upright, making Sandra smile contentedly as she looked at him. Following him into the mansion, she felt excited the entire time.

However, the moment she realized he was heading towards Duke Lennox’s study, she felt a sudden tightness in her chest.

So it wasn’t Patrick who called her to the Lennox estate but Duke Lennox himself.

Did Duke Lennox want to meet me? Why?

It was natural to feel nervous, as he was a man not easily met. When the study door opened, she saw Duke Lennox sitting next to Reina.

Though the Duke was merely sitting on the sofa, his imposing presence was overwhelming. Just his gaze upon her was enough to make her body tense up.

“I’ve brought Lady Berkshire.”

“Greetings, Duke Lennox. I am Sandra Berkshire.”

Sandra managed to force an introduction, but Duke Lennox barely acknowledged her. His business seemed to be with Patrick, not her.

Why did they call me here then?

Feeling uncomfortable in an already awkward situation, Sandra didn’t know how to react. However, Reina soon invited her to sit on the sofa, quickly dispelling those feelings.

“Then let’s begin.”

As Patrick sat opposite Sandra, Duke Lennox spoke words that were hard to understand.

“Please understand, Lady Berkshire.”

What are they starting? 

Sandra wondered as Patrick called her name.

“Yes.”

Sandra, puzzled by the situation, gave a short response and looked at Patrick. At that moment, unexpected words came out of his mouth.

“Lady Sandra, I am here to break off our engagement. Consider this not a request or persuasion, but a unilateral announcement.”

Breaking off the engagement now?

Sandra was taken aback, never expecting Patrick to be so forceful. She broke the brief silence.

“Isn’t this something we should discuss together? It’s our engagement issue.”

“There was never anything to discuss. From the beginning, you never had a choice regarding the breaking of the engagement. And didn’t I already tell you to settle things within a month?”

“No. To outsiders, we are an engaged couple. Lady Reina is just an intruder in our relationship.”

Sandra pointed at Reina, who was sitting next to Duke Lennox.

“The intruder is you, Lady Berkshire.”

His voice was calm and composed, but his eyes were not. It would have been better if he had shown anger; his demeanor was as cold and sharp as a harsh winter.

“You’re not this kind of man.”

Sandra didn’t want to accept the situation unfolding before her. She thought that after breaking up with Bill, all she needed to do was win over Patrick’s heart. 

How could he unilaterally break off the engagement?

“How you perceive me is your own prerogative. But do not impose that image on me.”

No matter how much she pleaded, Patrick remained indifferent, as if the engagement had nothing to do with him.

“Weren’t you reluctant to break off the engagement out of consideration for me?”

“The engagement was a contract from the start, set without a fixed term out of consideration for you and Sir Bill. But since you broke up with Sir Bill, there’s no longer any reason to consider you. Having fulfilled my role, I’m now ending it.”

“What does Sir Bill have to do with our relationship? The engagement is an issue between the two of us. Didn’t you maintain the engagement for five years because you had feelings for me?”

“I was merely a shield to prevent you from getting engaged to another man. So I don’t understand why you’re under such a delusion. I’m not someone who would steal a friend’s woman. Besides.”

Patrick added, tilting his head as if he couldn’t understand.

“Lady Berkshire, you are not my type at all. In fact, I should be the one asking – if we’ve been engaged for five years, you must know by now that ordinary women don’t appeal to me. So I don’t understand why you thought I would be interested in you.”

“No. This can’t be! Everyone knows about our engagement. How can you unilaterally break it off? What about me?”

“That’s not my concern. If we had mutually agreed to break it off, it would have preserved some of your honor. But I don’t understand why you chose the worst possible option. Being unilaterally dumped will only make people think there’s something wrong with you.”

Patrick’s eyes, showing no mercy, appeared extremely cold. Even Reina found Patrick’s demeanor unfamiliar.

She realized she had misunderstood Patrick’s character. The courteous and kind image he showed to noble ladies was merely a matter of etiquette.

He was a man who looked at situations coldly and chose the best course of action. In that process, he was merciless when necessary.

‘There’s no need to worry about breaking off the engagement.’

Now she understood why Patrick had said that.

Instead of worrying, Reina just needed to trust him and wait, only intervening to stop Duke Lennox’s actions.

“This is absurd. What about my honor?”

There was a world of difference between a mutually agreed-upon broken engagement and being unilaterally broken off. If the engagement was broken off like this, Sandra would carry an indelible disgrace for life.

“I tried to keep our engagement a secret to protect your honor, but you were the one who exposed it. And if you’re worried about not getting married, there’s no need for that.”

Patrick answered with confident eyes.

“What?”

Sandra’s eyes, filled with bewilderment, turned to Patrick.

“I have already spoken with Baron Berkshire. He will soon arrange a suitable marriage for you with an appropriate gentleman.”

“I, I don’t want to! They will all be useless! I don’t want to marry a man chosen by my father!”

Sandra shouted as if she couldn’t accept it.

It was obvious that any man chosen by Baron Berkshire would be insignificant. Even when she was 20, he only picked strange men, so how could she meet a better man now that she was older?

“It’s unfortunate that you didn’t maintain your relationship with Sir Bill.”

Patrick had an expression indicating he knew who her match would be. From that alone, she could guess that she would likely marry a man from a much lower family, incomparable to Sir Bill.

Sandra’s actions to secure her engagement with Patrick had backfired, trapping her. Her excessive confidence had choked her own neck.

If Commander Marionus had been such a cold man from the start, she would never have thought of seducing him. She had merely been momentarily dazzled by his exterior.

No, not yet! I need to meet Bill.

If things continued like this, she would live a miserable life marked by disgrace. She needed to meet Bill and talk again. 

Hadn’t he recently come to me, begging for me to reconsider?

Bill must still love me!

She needed to tell him to get back together, to avoid further disgrace. If she said she got engaged to Commander Marionus to marry Bill as initially planned, it might still be salvageable.

In fact, her feelings for Bill hadn’t completely cooled. She still loved him but had been greedy and overreached.

“I hope you don’t intend to ask Sir Bill to meet you again. Even the most forgiving person won’t be merciful after being betrayed once. Remember that.”

As if reading her thoughts, Patrick uttered a warning-like statement. Then he opened the study door, gesturing for her to leave.

Sandra had no choice but to leave the Lennox mansion in a hurry. In such a helpless situation, there was nothing she could do but grit her teeth in humiliation.

Though her excessive greed had led to the worst-case scenario, she didn’t see it that way. She wanted to blame everything on Reina.

If only she hadn’t appeared, none of this would have happened, but she had to swallow that feeling.

Seeing Duke Lennox, who exuded sharp intimidation, she instinctively knew that any retaliation would lead to disaster.

Sandra walked towards the door with reluctant steps, eager to escape the hellish space as quickly as possible.

She left the study, determined never to get entangled with the Lennox family again.

Reina watched Lady Sandra with a bitter gaze.

She thought that it was Sandra’s mistake to have such a high opinion of herself and pride. Lady Berkshire’s arrogance and excessive ambition had led to her disgraceful reputation.

It would soon be revealed that it was Sandra, not Reina, who tried to steal another’s man. There was no point in making excuses now, as her story would soon spread through the social circles.

She should have known better than to be overly ambitious.

Although Reina had never spoken with Bill, she thought he must be a decent man. If Patrick was willing to make sacrifices for him, he couldn’t be bad.

It was just unfortunate that his taste in women was lacking.

“Are you satisfied now?”

Once Lady Berkshire was completely out of sight, Patrick asked Duke Lennox.

“If you go this far, I have no reason to oppose it anymore….”

Duke Lennox still had a troubled expression. Though he had no reason to oppose, he still seemed uneasy. He sighed deeply and said,

“I will no longer proceed with the marriage talks with Earl Selkirk. I will explain it to him well.”

“Father, thank you!”

Reina immediately ran to Duke Lennox and hugged him around the neck.

“Are you that happy?”

Seeing Reina so overjoyed, Duke Lennox couldn’t help but smile. He felt both sorry and regretful for not recognizing his lovely and pretty daughter’s feelings earlier, being too preoccupied with the magic necklace.

But in the end, he had given in to her, so he decided to shake off those feelings.