My Former Lover Didn't Die And Came Back - Chapter 21

When she thought about her future disposition, she couldn’t just be happy. The words of his subordinates in the garden came to mind.

「When the boss married a good girl from a good family, she somehow became a burden or something.」

「Oh, that’s really unfortunate.」

「In the end, he handed her over to us. ‘Handle it yourselves.’ That’s all he said.」

“…Ah.”

She gasped for breath, feeling suffocated, and grabbed her head. The sticky glances she usually received came to mind.

‘What should I do.’

Regret surged like a storm.

It was true that she irritated him when he returned. Today was, for some reason, a difficult day for her. But it was clear that today was also such a day for Cedric. The weather was bad. She remembered his eyes and his stubble.

‘What if he really did call his subordinates…?’

Blair’s complexion turned ashen. Without hesitation, she rushed out of bed and ran downstairs.

“…Cedric…!!”

Blair shouted Cedric’s name loudly as she ran down the hallway.

“…Cedric…!!”

When she reached the end of the stairs, she saw his back walking towards the door. Blair quickened her pace.

The sound of her hurried footsteps down the stairs echoed loudly in the hall.

“Cedric…! Don’t go!”

He turned around when he was about to open the mansion door. She almost tripped over in the hallway, but he just looked at her with a cold expression.

“Cedric…”

“…”

As their eyes met, Cedric looked down with a cold expression. Approaching him step by step, she took hold of his forearms and hesitated for a moment before saying,

“…I was wrong.”

Tears fell from her eyes simultaneously.

“…”

He only had an indifferent expression. She held onto him more firmly.

“…Don’t give me to other men…”

Once the words were out of her mouth, her sorrow rushed in like a storm. Tears streamed down from Blair’s blue eyes.

“…”

But the man’s gaze sank even deeper. His closed lips seemed to tighten even more.

“…Please don’t call for anyone else. The only man I know is you.”

Blair’s legs weakened as she desperately pleaded, shaking her head. Her knees gently touched the floor without strength. The hand that held Cedric’s forearm slipped down to his wrist. With a wet face, Blair looked up and pleaded again,

“Please? I beg you…”

She vaguely knew the reason why she didn’t share a bed with her husband.

“…”

Hadn’t it occurred to her, not once in three years, that Cedric might be the reason?

“…”

But she couldn’t admit it readily to her husband. He paid off her family’s huge debt, and she couldn’t abandon her parents. Among the many people she had met in her life, she was most grateful to him.

Every attempt to share a bed on their wedding anniversary always ended in failure. Blair’s body didn’t open up every time. Unable to provide an heir, even if she would face a hefty alimony claim and divorce, she had nothing to say.

「It’s okay, dear.」

「I can wait for you until you’re ready.」

Feeling uncomfortable, she said she would cover her parents’ living expenses herself. But her husband sent large gifts and allowances to her parents on their birthdays. He also shielded her from the criticisms of her in-laws directed at her for not bearing any children. Even though many husbands disliked their wives working, he always supported her.

And although she was the one at fault, he always looked at her with eyes filled with understanding.

“…”

Blair raised her head. Cedric stood stiffly, watching her sitting on the floor crying without any emotion in his eyes. Despite pouring out her heart like this, his endless lack of response was disheartening. Her heart felt like it was being torn apart.

‘Even if I plead like this… why is he so cold? Wasn’t there a time when he loved me…?’

Cold sweat ran down her spine. It felt like the cold man in front of her would open the mansion door and call in his subordinates at any moment. It was clear that not an ounce of affection was left in that man who’s made of blood and iron.

Blair wiped the sweat from her palm onto the edge of her skirt for a moment. Then she tightly closed her eyes and opened her lips that she had been biting for a moment.

“…It wasn’t me.”

She spat out the words she had been holding back.

“…”

Her grip tightened on the hem of her dress. Uttering these words now meant giving up something.

“…My parents were the ones who sold you as a slave. I didn’t know anything. I only found out after it was all over.”

With each syllable she uttered, her heart felt colder.

‘If only I hadn’t lied from the beginning. She was always lacking. She couldn’t be a perfect daughter or lover. She was half a daughter and a lover.’

“…”

But there was no change in Cedric’s expression. The fact that he didn’t seem surprised actually made her pale with astonishment.

“Cedric, did you hear me…?”

Blair asked in despair.

“Blair.”

Cedric uttered in a cold voice.

“…Yes?”

“Do you hate being next to me so much?”

“What…?”

For a moment, Blair felt as if all the blood drained from her body. His reaction was so different from what she had expected.

“If you say that, do you think I’ll let you go?”

He asked with a smirk on his lips. Blair realized that her tears had stopped flowing long ago.

“…Cedric. What I said is true.”

Blair spoke with determination, tightening her grip on his neck.

“Do you think I can trust you…?”

“…”

Ah, oh god… Now it seemed like laughter would come out.

“…Don’t give me to other men.”

“…”

“How ridiculous. To hear such words from your mouth, a married woman.”

“No, Cedric… That’s not it. My husband and I,”

As soon as the word ‘husband’ came out of her mouth, flames seemed to leap from Cedric’s eyes before he abruptly knocked her to the ground with a thud.

“…Ah…!”

Suddenly, the ceiling came into view, then it changed back to Cedric’s face. A thick body climbed on top of her. He held her shoulders with both hands and spoke.

“…Do you think I’m a joke?”

“…Ce-Cedric…”

It wasn’t his usual emotionless face. His expression was completely distorted.

“Did you know? No one in the world can mess with me anymore, and yet you still have a hold over me. Do you think I’m a joke? You think I’m funny because, despite the despicable things I’ve done, I can’t even kill you like a coward?

Cedric’s voice grew louder. It was the first time he raised his voice that much in front of her. Not even three years ago, nor after they reunited, had he raised his voice like this.

Rustle.

Cedric’s hand moved towards his chest. It seemed like he was searching for something in the pocket of his top. Blair focused her gaze on the tip of Cedric’s hand.

“…”

After a moment, he pulled out a yellowed piece of old paper.

“…”

Intuition told her that this paper was related to an event from three years ago.

“This is my slave document. I brought it out when I left the ship.”

“…!”

Blair quickly grabbed the paper to confirm.

【 I hereby transfer all physical rights of Cedric Peterson to the said ship and have received compensation of 100,000 gold, so I sign here.

-Blair Seymour- 】

“…!”

The contents stated that she received compensation for his body, and at the end, there was her signature.

‘…My father signed on my behalf.’

Blair’s face turned pale like a corpse. Her hand holding the paper trembled.

…Cedric… had a reason not to trust her. If anyone saw this document, they wouldn’t trust the other person, either.

Blair bit her lip.

「Do you think I can trust you…?」

The words he spat out earlier kept repeating in her mind. Even if she said, ‘My father imitated my signature,’… this man wouldn’t believe her.

Blair’s blue pupils were filled with resignation as her gaze naturally lowered to the ground. The man’s expression, interpreting her avoiding eye contact as deliberate, softened.

His hand slowly gripped her delicate neck.

“…Do you think I wouldn’t want to kill you…?!”

It was difficult to describe his expression. His voice, supported by malice, sounded like he was laughing and angry at the same time.

“I don’t know what feelings I’ve kept you alive with…!!”

Yet she felt like he was about to cry.

“…”

Blair looked up at him with wet eyes. Unlike hers, there was no moisture in the man’s eyes. She could only see his blood vessels bulging red from shouting.

Her back and waist that hit the floor hurt slightly. Her head felt hot and painful as if a fever was rising. But the man in front of her wore an even more tortured expression than her.

Her mind was foggy and she couldn’t continue thinking. It was clear that Cedric was very angry with her.

“Is this hell? You call this chaos hell?”

“…”

Blair closed her eyes. Her cheeks were getting hot with embarrassment.

“Stop it… Cedric…”

She shook her head.

“Do I want to kill you…? Yes, that’s right…”

Ah.

Tears streamed down again from her closed eyes.

Had he always harbored such thoughts?

There was a big difference between imagining his inner thoughts and hearing the words spoken out loud. She felt like there was a gaping hole in her chest.

“I really want to kill you.”

He gently kissed her tears with a sigh. She trembled as he licked his tongue over them. For a while, he licked her wet face like a beast.

“So be good to me, Blair.”

He smirked as he raised one corner of his mouth.

“If I get tired of you, you will be receiving any guests on the street, understand?”

Contrary to his horrible words, his eyebrows were arched like he was crying.

Blair felt heat rising in her body. It was clear he wasn’t feeling well, being out here in the cold, wearing so little clothing, and causing this commotion made her feel unwell. The heat starting from her forehead began to spread towards her ears. His words didn’t register well in her ears.

That was when it happened.

The door of the mansion creaked open, and some subordinates, including Theo, entered.