My Former Lover Didn't Die And Came Back - Chapter 20

When Blair raised her head at the cold voice, she saw the man’s sculpted face filled with anger. It seemed that her attempt to show her inner feelings had clearly irritated him.

“… What’s gotten into you?”

He asked in a low voice.

“What are you talking about?”

She replied, questioning.

“Your behavior today is incomprehensible, Blair.”

Blair remained silent. She stared at Cedric with intensity in her eyes.

“I haven’t left you alone like this for just today. Why are you angry today?”

She was not the type of person to bare her soul so openly. She simply bit her lip, turned her head, and said,

“…Release my husband.”

“That’s something I’ll handle on my own.”

“But you can’t keep him detained forever, can you? It’s not a serious crime, is it?”

“What are you trying to say?”

His hands gripped her delicate shoulders. She flinched when Cedric’s grip tightened on her shoulder.

Cedric was trying not to exert too much force with his hands.

Blair slightly regretted her previous actions. It was clear from Cedric’s tone and the energy he exuded that he was currently angry.

‘…Should I say it, or not.’

Her heart raced as if it would burst.

…But now I’m exhausted too. She struggled to speak with trembling lips.

“……It’s hard.”

“…….”

“I… I’m really struggling, Cedric. I’ve been silent for months now! I’m just staring at walls all day! I feel like I’m going crazy now!”

It had been quite a long time since her confinement began. The seasons had changed. Clad in a three-quarter-sleeved dress, she waited for him, but now snowflakes were fluttering around Eleanor.

“You might as well kill me. If you’re going to slowly drive me insane by just staring at walls, you might as well kill me.”

“…….”

The man’s mouth remained closed.

“Ah, that’s right, you said that, didn’t you? You’ll make me taste a worse hell than death.”

When his mouth finally opened after much deliberation, sorrow poured out effortlessly.

“I think I’ve been more than accommodating to you. I’ve endured a month without supplies before. Are you saying it’s difficult to endure in this splendid mansion now?”

“You had comrades! I’m at the point where I’d welcome Mary’s spirit if it appeared!”

Blair knew that her words now would sound trivial compared to the suffering he had endured for three years. It was one of the reasons she had endured without complaint until now. But today was truly a difficult day to bear, and once her inner feelings burst out, they couldn’t be stopped.

“Everything you say is insatiable.”

Cedric responded coldly.

“…I know.”

Blair replied, her face turning red.

“If I were going to treat you the same way I’ve been treated, you wouldn’t even be here. After holding onto you a couple of times, I would have sent you off to the red-light district.”

“……!!”

Blair’s face turned pale at Cedric’s cruel words. Anger and resentment filled her blue eyes, and she looked at the man standing face-to-face with her. Her mind raced rapidly.

Why hadn’t she thought this before? He was someone in a position to sell her off to the brothel at any time.

‘…Ah.’

Cedric could abandon her at any moment. Besides, he had someone new in his life now.

Her birth family held no power. Although her husband repaid her family’s debts upon marriage, that was all. She didn’t think that the Cavendish estate would protect her while her husband was imprisoned. Her position as someone who couldn’t bear children made her inherently unstable.

Her in-laws considered her expendable. If she were to disappear at this opportunity, they might even be glad to remarry their son and secure an heir.

“Are you lonely all day, Blair?”

The man asked in a cold voice.

“C-Cedric…”

“Do you wish Mary’s spirit would appear?”

Blair carefully observed him. Dark shadows lingered under his eyes, indicating sleepless nights. His face showed signs of neglect from not shaving for several days.

‘I brought this up when he’s in a bad mood.’

Why hadn’t she thought about examining his face today? Why did she avoid meeting Cedric’s eyes today of all days?

As she hesitated on where to place her fleeting gaze, he said something after briefly glimpsing at her.

“There is no other way.”

Blair raised her head and looked at Cedric. The man’s hand, feeling her lower back through a thin dress, was warm.

“…You’re going to bear my child.”

Unbelievable words flowed from Cedric’s lips.

“…!”

At that moment, Blair’s expression seemed as if she had just heard a death sentence. Her face contorted like crumpling paper, and this time Cedric’s face hardened.

Blair couldn’t believe what she had just heard.

‘He wants me to carry an illegitimate child……?’

She was already married. Blair spoke with a trembling voice.

“…Say something reasonable.”

“Why, do you know? If you bear my child, maybe you will be spared?”

Cedric said coldly with a sneer.

“…Ah,”

Blair wore a lost expression.

“Why that expression. Did you really think I would spare your life?”

…That’s right. For a long time as the seasons changed, he hadn’t harmed her body. So she had a subtle assurance that he wouldn’t kill her at least.

“I wouldn’t do that, Blair.”

The man said, raising one corner of his mouth.

“…”

“You’ve done something to me.”

How could she have such arrogant assurance? The only reason he spared her was simply… to do those things.

“…”

Even that would end if he lost interest. If he developed a deep relationship with another woman, he wouldn’t look for Blair anymore.

Today, Cedric resorted to tactics he didn’t usually use. He teased her by laying her on the table and involving his subordinates in the debauchery. Although it ended in failure, it could be dismissed as a bit of a cruel joke. But if his feelings changed, it would be over. Next time, he might actually call his subordinates.

Blair blinked and lowered her head.

“…Cedric. I don’t want…”

Moisture seeped into the large wall. Cedric’s eyes turned cold as he watched her shaking her head.

Cedric clenched his fist once, then moved his hand over her body. The hem of her dress slowly lifted. His warm hand groped up her thigh. Her pale skin, barely exposed to the sun, wasn’t much different from the white dress. Cedric’s calloused hand gripped Blair’s soft body.

“W-wait, I don’t want this…”

Blair writhed and resisted. But today, he wasn’t in a mood to listen.

‘What if the words he spat out earlier weren’t a joke?’

Blair lowered her head, struggling. She met Cedric’s eyes. The golden glint shone, piercing through her. It seemed like he might indeed impregnate her tonight.

“Just a moment, Cedric.”

She wasn’t able to conceive after three years of marriage, and her in-laws were convinced that she was barren. Not just her in-laws, but also the housemaids at the mansion and acquaintances at work all seemed to see her that way.

What if her belly started to swell like a balloon while her husband was detained? It was an undeniable evidence of infidelity. She probably wouldn’t be able to live in Eleanor anymore.

“I really, really don’t want this.”

Blair twisted her body more forcefully. The more she resisted, the worse Cedric’s expression became. Even he could feel that Blair’s expression and movements were different from usual. He could tell she was genuinely refusing. In the past few months, she had never truly rejected him. Today was the first.

“…Do you not want me?”

A chilling tone flowed from Cedric again. His expression was blank, but with his changed voice, she knew he was very angry. When they met, he was scary, but it was different now. Now he seemed like he could kill someone just by being alive.

“…”

At that moment, Cedric’s hand began to slowly move away from Blair’s body.

‘Huh…?’

When Cedric removed his hand, Blair’s eyes widened. He slowly rose from the bed. The bedding rustled with his movement. Blair just looked up at him in a hunched position.

“…I’ll ask again, Blair.”

Standing by the bed, Cedric asked Blair.

“…”

Blair swallowed hard, nervous.

“If you don’t want it, I won’t touch you.”

His tone and face softened. But since the air surrounding them became unbearably heavy, chills ran down Blair’s body.

‘…What should I do…?’

Cold sweat dripped down Blair’s forehead. She hesitated. The man in front of her was terrifying, but… being pregnant with an illegitimate child was just as equally terrifying.

After much deliberation, Blair gathered courage and slowly turned her head to the side. The man standing like a statue bit his lips and hesitated before turning around to approach the bedroom door.

“…”

She focused all her nerves on Cedric’s movements. When he slowly turned back and opened his mouth, Blair focused on his lips. What would he say? Her heart beat so fast and hard that it hurt.

“…After today, I won’t lay a hand on you.”

‘…What?’

Blair furrowed her eyebrows unconsciously.

“…”

She couldn’t tell if she should be happy or sad. She tried to understand the meaning of the words she had just heard, but her mind was blank and she couldn’t do anything. What did I just hear…?

Thud.

The bedroom door closed, and the corridor floor echoed with his footsteps. But she just stared into the empty space.

‘…He won’t come back again…?’

The nights Cedric had her were not all willingly given. There were many times when she was undressed without exchanging a word. Him not coming back meant she wouldn’t have to endure those unwanted encounters anymore. But what did that mean?