My Former Lover Didn't Die And Came Back - Chapter 46

Elena recalled a few dates she had with Cedric. The man tried to maintain at least the minimal manners expected of him, but his mind was always elsewhere. There were several times she had to repeat herself because he wasn’t listening. He didn’t make eye contact well and often gave vague answers or avoided answering altogether. Remembering those humiliations made Elena’s fist clench tightly.

‘You could have made it less obvious that you were forced to come out. You’ve brought this upon yourself.’

Elena slowly unfolded her satin fan and fanned herself before getting lost in conversation with the young ladies again.

* * *

Several months had passed since Blair left the capital. While working in the store during her final month of pregnancy, Blair suddenly felt her water break, followed by immense pain.

Fortunately, a neighbor lady passing by asked someone to call a midwife, and soon after, the neighbor lady and the midwife arrived with hot water, cloth, and towels.

“……Aaaaah!”

“It’s not enough. You need to push harder!”

“……Aah!”

Blair was slim and she didn’t have a wide pelvis. More importantly, having survived several brushes with death had certainly affected her health negatively. Blair doubted whether she had the strength to endure this process.

“The entrance hasn’t opened yet. This won’t do.”

The midwife spoke with a worried voice. The neighbor lady, who had helped with many births, also fretted, clicking her tongue and swallowing her saliva.

“……Haah, Haah.”

“Oh, heavens. The bleeding has started again.”

The baby showed no signs of coming out, yet the sheets were getting soaked with blood. When the blood-soaked sheets were changed several times, fear grew in Blair’s heart.

Can I really endure this till the end……?

Blair couldn’t trust her own stamina.

“Miss. You can’t lose consciousness. If this continues, you both might die from excessive bleeding.”

“……Haah. Haah.”

It had been over 10 hours since her labor started. Having lost all her strength already, Blair moved her lips several times before speaking to the midwife.

“……Please bring me paper and a pen.”

The midwife looked at her with surprised eyes upon hearing her request out of nowhere.

“……What?”

“Please bring me paper and a pen……”

The neighbor lady quickly searched Blair’s house for writing materials, and Blair grasped the pen with trembling hands. But she hesitated several times before she could write the first word.

……Is what I’m about to do the right thing……?

As she held the pen, she couldn’t decide whether to leave ink on the paper now that she had the chance.

“……Aaah!”

But as the unbearable pain struck again, she hurriedly moved her pen. She squeezed out every ounce of her strength to scribble on the paper. It was a letter to Cedric.

【To Cedric.

Are you doing well? I’m sorry to contact you after such a long time, but I have no choice. Please don’t be shocked by what I’m about to tell you.

I’m bearing your child. The situation is not good. According to the midwife, I’ve lost too much blood.

If I die, please take care of the child.

—Blair Seymour】

The handwriting became more and more disorganized towards the end. The pen slipped from Blair’s hand after she signed her name.

“……Please send this letter to the capital, to Cedric Fitzgerald’s residence.”

“……Miss Blair!”

After barely uttering those words, Blair passed out. The midwife and the lady next door screamed in horror.

* * *

While she was escaping the crowd, the sound of Elena’s shoes echoed in the corridor as she headed to the powder room. She walked alone in the corridor to check her makeup, and Elena encountered Cedric coming from the opposite direction. The sound of footsteps stopped, and silence ensued.

“……”

“……”

Their eyes met briefly.

Cedric bowed first, followed by Elena performing the same gesture. Cedric continued on his way, passing Elena. As Cedric’s large shadow brushed past her, she stood frozen like a pillar.

‘……Ah.’

For some reason, Elena couldn’t move her feet. She needed to hurry to the powder room. She had to return to the banquet hall, where her friends were waiting. Blair’s pale face, which she had seen months ago, kept haunting her mind. It was an experience that was too shocking for Elena to forget.

‘Oh, heavens. What am I thinking?’

Blair’s pale skin, her cracked and burst lips…… and above all, what remained in her memory was her wrist. It was thinner than any of her friends, who prided themselves on their figures.

‘Shouldn’t the father of the child know……?’

It might be dangerous for her to give birth in such a small rural village.

“Get a hold of yourself, Elena. It’s not like you’re a saint.”

Elena muttered to herself to regain her composure.

The sound of Cedric’s footsteps echoed in the corridor, growing fainter. There was no time to hesitate.

“……Cedric!”

Elena turned around and shouted with all her might. Her voice cracked with urgency, resonating through the corridor.

Stop. The man, who was walking without hesitation, halted his steps. His body slowly turned around. Cedric’s gaze towards Elena was icy. Elena involuntarily flinched under his cold stare.

“……It’s Lord Fitzgerald.”

“……What?”

When Elena asked back in a low murmur, Cedric replied with an expressionless face.

“……I never gave you permission to use my name, my lady.”

“……Ah.”

Elena’s face flushed instantly, overwhelmed by the unexpected humiliation. She trembled, not knowing what to do. After giving Elena a fleeting glance, Cedric turned away without any regret. Elena’s fists trembled with shame.

Once Cedric was completely out of sight, Elena finally lifted her head.

‘……So much for someone from a poor background. He’s such a rude person.’

She straightened her neck and lifted her chin, looking straight ahead.

“……You’ll regret what you did today.”

Elena muttered as she watched Cedric’s retreating figure, devoid of anger or resentment. The regret would be his to bear.

The sharp sound of Cedric’s shoes clashing with the marble floor of the palace echoed. He was quickly leaving the Eleanor Palace as darkness began to fall.

‘I’ve been here long enough; it’s time to disappear.’

He attended the banquet out of obligation but was not in the mood. His mind was entirely elsewhere.

Cedric was currently searching for Blair’s whereabouts. Thus, he hurried back to his office to receive a report from his secretary, Eden.

Seated in the carriage, he closed his eyes and reminisced about their last moment together three years ago. The last time he saw her was when she boarded a carriage in front of the Cavendish residence.

* * *

「I feel suffocated when I see your face.」

Blair’s words became a spell that bound his legs. His legs turned to stone, unable to chase after the departing carriage. He could only move his eyes to watch as the carriage became a dot in the distance and disappeared. He knew it was heading towards the harbor but he couldn’t move. All the wrongs he had done to her became karma that held him back.

The wind that brushed past his ears was cold. Despite the chilly weather, she was dressed with her white neck fully exposed. A fur cape wrapped around her shoulders, but it seemed too light to fend off the cold. If he approached her, she would undoubtedly wrap the satin ribbon of the cape around his neck without hesitation. Her unusually thin and fragile neck seemed like it could break with just a little pressure.

After that, he lived like a recluse for months. During the day, he went through his duties at the office and palace soullessly. After work, he always drowned himself in alcohol. He couldn’t bear it sober.

One day, he finally sobered up and investigated all the ships that had sailed from Blue Port that day. The final destination of the ship she was presumed to have boarded was South Newston.

He spent a fortune combing through that place like he was hunting for mice. But it was a failure.

The target was ‘a blonde woman in her early twenties living alone.’ More precisely, a blue-eyed foreigner who seemed to have just settled down after leaving the capital.

Whenever there was a tip-off, he paid more attention. If the description sent by his subordinates matched Blair, he personally went to check. But Blair was never among them.

“……”

Eventually, he visited Adrian, but even he had no clue. Adrian had assigned her a surveillance agent when she left the mansion. But because they were drugged with a strong sleeping potion and locked in the ship’s cellar, he had no idea where she disembarked.

Cedric then scattered his men across all neutral countries on the map upon hearing that she wanted to go to a neutral country.

He regretted not chasing after the carriage that day. He should have followed her.

But the same question always followed: If I caught up to her, then what? She said she didn’t want to see your face. What’s the point of forcibly keeping her by your side after failing like that?

It always led to the same conclusion: Even though she hated me, I should at least have kept track of where she was heading.

Would she have enough money? Where would she be staying? What would she be eating?

I heard that you received alimony from Adrian. However, settling in a new place and finding a place to live requires a significant amount of money.

I always regretted that last moment. I should have given you a bunch of diamonds. Ordinary-sized diamonds that are easy to sell.

* * *

Evelyn visited her family home, the Fitzgerald estate, as usual.

Her vitality was both her strength and weakness. Some described her as being too meddlesome. Having lost her mother at a young age and living a long time as the acting madam of the ducal household, she always had to do the work of two people. Even now, with her younger brother replacing her father’s position when he retired, it was hard for her to break old habits.

“Father, I’m here!”

Her cheerful voice echoed through the Fitzgerald estate.

Even after getting married and becoming independent, she visited her family home too often because she was worried about her father, James Fitzgerald, who lived alone. After the death of his wife, he refused to remarry, wanting to keep his love for her. People called her father the romanticist of the century.

But Evelyn knew something others didn’t. After the birth of his children, James lost his ability to reproduce due to an accident he suffered on the battlefield. That was why James couldn’t remarry, even though they had no heir after the death of his younger brother.