***

Eliza returned home, unexpectedly pleased at having uncovered a weakness of Lorina’s.

The shock on Lorina’s face had made one thing clear, how desperately she wanted to hide the existence of her man.

With a crooked smile tugging at her lips, Eliza thought,

‘I understand, Lorina. If naïve Eliza found out you were seeing someone, she’d run straight to James and tell him. “Isn’t that wonderful?” she’d say.’

After stepping out of the carriage, Eliza paused to admire the clean, orderly exterior of her home.

It was immaculate, inside and out.

Once she had left, the house would be abandoned.

After all, James’s heart had left it long ago.

By the time she was gone, he would have moved to the most prestigious district in the East Quarter, just as he had always intended.

That neighborhood belonged to the elite of high society — a place where a man of common birth like James could never belong, no matter how wealthy he became.

Driven by ambition, James was determined to make a name for himself in Athern and earn his place there.

For a man like him, this modest, ordinary, two-storey house held no real meaning.

Consequently, he was drawn to the red-haired woman who could take him where he wanted to go.

‘If I had understood his ambitions better… if I had supported him more… would things have turned out differently?’

She briefly wondered—

‘What if I had dominated high society like Lorina and supported him from that position?’

But she shook her head.

Once a person had gained wealth, she said, they would inevitably begin to crave status and prestige.

Even if she could help him succeed financially, she could never give him a new identity.

Only Lorina could do that.

Perhaps his soul had always been more akin to Lorina’s than to hers.

Taking a deep breath, Eliza composed herself and went inside, quietly eating the dinner Marie had prepared.

When Marie left and the house fell silent, Eliza finally felt it.

She had been given three days of freedom.

Almost immediately, the weight in her chest eased, and she felt a gentle sense of relief wash over her.

“I’m going to make the most of this freedom!”

She took out the beautiful, floral nightdress that she had once saved for a special night with James and put it on.

Now, the only person she wanted to care for was herself.

With the soft fabric swaying around her, Eliza climbed onto the bed, notebook in hand and secret plans tucked safely inside.

After rolling over twice in each direction, she savored the joy of being alone before lying on her front and beginning to plan her escape in detail.

‘Still… I have to make sure I sell the jewels at a fair price…’

She decided she would wander through the city until she found a jeweler she could trust.

‘I’ll be busy from now on… what if a telegram from James arrives while I’m out?’

The thought of being questioned by him irritated her so much that Eliza buried her face in the blankets, muffling an “Ugh!” as she pounded the bed.

Because of that, she didn’t hear the sound of a carriage stopping outside.

A moment later, heavy footsteps approached down the hallway.

‘James?’

She sat up quickly and shoved her notebook between the mattress and the headboard, startled.

Before she could get out of bed, James opened the bedroom door.

He raised his eyebrows in a way that clearly showed his displeasure at her not coming to greet him as usual, and there was a hint of irritation in his expression.

However, the moment he saw her half-sprawled awkwardly across the bed, his expression softened and his brows relaxed.

As their eyes met, Eliza suddenly became aware of how she must look, and her face flushed immediately.

In her haste to stand up, one shoulder of her new nightdress had slipped down. Because she had been leaning forward to hide the notebook before turning around, the neckline had fallen.

Startled, she quickly reached for her robe on the bedside table.

“You—you said you wouldn’t be back today—!”

“Leave it.”

Even in her past life as Lim A-young, when fitting in with society was far from easy, she had never heard such a definitive order.

It sounded as if the words ‘or I’ll shoot’ had been left out.

Eliza froze, swallowing hard.

Meanwhile, James removed his jacket and draped it over a chair. He then began unfastening his cufflinks, his gaze fixed on her.

To emphasize that he didn’t trust her at all, he spoke.

“Right. I said I wouldn’t be back. But it seems you didn’t believe me.”

“Ah…”

‘D*mn this nightgown!’

Realizing how he must be interpreting the situation, Eliza felt her heart pound violently.

‘No, you idiot! I’m not trying to seduce you!’

But James only smiled faintly—a thin, almost mocking smile.

“You sent the clothes ahead.”

“…!”

Eliza flinched, forgetting even her embarrassment. His tone sounded like reproach—almost accusation.

‘What, as if I was waiting for you or something!’

Misinterpreting her silence, James stepped closer to the bed, his expression growing colder.

Eliza’s eyes flickered between his familiar face and the buttons of his shirt, which he was undoing one by one.

Panic seized her.

She knew exactly what was about to happen.

She should refuse.

But her body would not obey.

As always, James paid no heed to her silent pleas. He finished unbuttoning his shirt and leaned over her.

Eliza drew back stiffly until she fell onto the mattress, meeting the heat in her husband’s eyes.

Her mind went blank.

It was the harsh divide between her body and her heart.

Her feelings had changed completely, yet her body still remembered him as it once had.

‘I… I don’t want this…’

Her lips trembled as she tried to tell herself she would no longer find any joy in him.

“J-James… you must be tired…”

But her words trailed off as she watched his white shirt slip from his shoulders and fall past his back.

It was hard to believe he was a man who spent all day in an office—his solid frame filled her vision completely.

As he slowly lowered his head toward her shoulder, she squeezed her eyes shut.

‘Did he notice my plan? Is that why he came home early?’

But that wasn’t what she needed to focus on right now.

“…!”

When his lips finally touched her shoulder, she flinched sharply.

Caught between a body that responded as if by habit and emotions that no longer followed suit, Eliza froze.

She couldn’t think of an excuse to avoid her duties as his wife. If a man as perceptive as James sensed that something was amiss and turned his full attention to her, her escape plan might never get off the ground.

If he fell for Lorina even faster because of his dissatisfaction with her—

‘And why does his body have to look like that of all things!’

James lifted his head at her unusual reaction, irritation creasing his brow.

“Are you still unwell?”

“N-no! I’m fine—perfectly healthy!”

Healthy enough to leave you behind.

“Then—”

His hands were already moving with firm certainty, as if claiming what was his was not desire, but right.

The breath he let out near her ear washed her thoughts away.

“Then I suppose I can take my time.”

***

The next morning, Eliza woke to the familiar sounds of the street outside.

As she lay there, staring blankly at the ceiling, a dull ache spread through her body, ruining her mood.

To be honest, she wanted to feel nothing but disgust. But the fact that she couldn’t only made it worse.

James was, without question, a vile man. No — he was a bastard. Just as his safe in the study was certainly set to 0329, he would certainly betray and abandon her.

James Ashton was a bastard.

The fact that he happened to be good in bed didn’t change that.

It only made him a skilled one.

The man who would destroy her life was also the one who gave her the deepest, most intoxicating pleasure.

The contradiction was unbearable.

She hated admitting it, but ever since she started despising him, his touch affected her even more intensely.

And that only made her angrier.

‘But anyone would’ve misunderstood yesterday…’

She groaned, blaming herself for wearing that nightdress and greeting him in that manner.

Why were the wicked untouched while she sank deeper into misery?

She pulled the blanket over her head and let out a muffled cry.

“Ugh… I hate this. I hate it!”

***

James folded up the newspaper he had been reading during the journey, leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes.

Unbeknownst to him, the pale morning light revealed a hint of ease in his expression, a faint smile lingering from the night before.

In truth, he had come home in a foul mood.

Important documents that were due to arrive by ship had been delayed, forcing him to reorganize his entire schedule.

Such delays were nothing unusual at sea, but he believed it was his duty to anticipate the unforeseen, too. This was enough to keep him on edge.

And then his wife had acted unexpectedly.

That, more than anything, unsettled him.

She was a woman who used to grow restless if she couldn’t see him, even for a moment.

She had simply sent his clothes ahead without so much as a note and left.

‘Aftereffects from her collapse? Or…’

But when he returned home to find her waiting in an unfamiliar outfit, any lingering suspicions he had had disappeared entirely.

Eliza looked like a fairy who had fallen into a garden, wearing a vivid floral nightdress.

Her hair was softly disheveled, and her clear blue eyes were wide with surprise, like those of a startled wild creature. They were irresistibly provocative.