Chapter 5.9

“I’ll do anything, anything. Just please leave the canal rights… Please…”

As Yvonne pleaded and clung, Liam’s face hardened more. If she had continued worrying about the child, his heart might have softened.

It was infuriating. No, it was beyond infuriating. He knew he should immediately throw this woman out.

Yet, whether it was emotional attachment or something else, despite speaking harshly, he couldn’t bring himself to say she should leave.

She didn’t realize how much he was accommodating her, and what? The annulment is fine, and she’ll get rid of the child, but just leave the canal rights?

“Ha…”

In the end, this woman was no different from Marceau de Debroge. As long as she could use the Rido Canal, it didn’t matter if the partner was old, young, or disabled.

After all, she had already given her heart to the man she eloped with. If it wasn’t him, anyone else was the same.

Would she have said she’d get rid of the child if the one in her womb wasn’t mine but the child of the man she eloped with?

Liam couldn’t answer his own question, neither yes nor no. That made him angrier. If he had been sure it was the other man’s child, he could have dismissed her as a heartless woman.

“Really… you make me miserable…”

“Liam, ah…”

Liam gripped Yvonne’s shoulders tightly. The pain made her grimace, but in his excitement and anger, he didn’t notice.

“Is the canal access that precious? Well, that’s why you tried to marry Natong de Marlon, that old man. You didn’t avoid his touch, and you visited him regularly with a smile.”

“No, no…”

“What do you mean no? Is ‘no’ the only thing you can say?”

“No…”

“See, you were about to say no again.”

Liam gripped her shoulders harder, as if to break them. His low voice was like that of an angry beast.

“All you have is this pretty face and a hole that grips my manhood… And you couldn’t even manage that, causing this mess, huh?”

“Liam, I’m sorry… I’m sorry. I…”

Yvonne began to sob again. The true nature of her once-kind husband was shockingly violent. It was a wonder he had hidden such a temper.

But as Liam said, it was her fault things had come to this. Knowing this, Yvonne could do nothing but beg for forgiveness.

“Really, I’m sorry… I was wrong…”

Tears fell from Yvonne’s large eyes.

“Even your crying is tiresome.”

Liam truly thought so. But he couldn’t be completely cold-hearted. Despite being tired of it, he loosened his grip.

Watching her any longer, he felt he might forgive her, so he pushed Yvonne away and left the mansion.

* * *

In the end, blood was shed. This was the result of Yvonne enduring all of Liam’s actions to protect Emma’s medicine.

The doctor, Gavain, who visited the mansion, was shocked into silence upon seeing Yvonne’s condition.

“My God… Madame, how did this happen…”

“…”

While Gavain worried about her torn hand, Yvonne felt anxiety for a different reason, biting her lips. Her mind was filled with concern for the child.

After Liam’s visit, and the shock from his behavior and harsh words, she bled a few days later.

From previous experience, she knew it wasn’t a miscarriage. The amount was too small. It must have been her unstable mind affecting her body.

Even knowing this, Yvonne couldn’t shake her worry. She couldn’t wait for Gavain’s female assistant and asked,

“Doctor, I bled… Is the baby okay? It has to be okay…”

“Madame, I’ve called my assistant, she’ll check as soon as she arrives. But first, we need to treat your hand. It’s also a problem.”

Gavain, being male, couldn’t directly examine Yvonne’s condition. Though it seemed trivial, some valued gender in treatment. Liam especially did.

After wandering outside for days, Liam returned to the mansion. Watching Yvonne, who couldn’t easily approach him, with cold eyes, he instructed to call a female doctor and left again. Fortunately, one of Gavain’s regular assistants was female.

However, as the only female doctor in the village, she had a busy schedule, and since Yvonne’s injuries weren’t only below but also on her hand, Gavain came first.

Thus, he was now examining Yvonne’s injured hand, unable to hide his shock.

Just days ago, he had barely managed to treat her hand, which was covered in cuts from a flowerpot.

‘What on earth did she do to reopen the wound?’

…he thought, but he had an idea. He couldn’t help but know.

Given the severity of the injuries that required a doctor and Yvonne’s reaction, worrying about the child, there was only one possibility.

But Gavain held his tongue.

It was a premature judgment, and if his guess was right, it was a private matter.

He couldn’t interfere, but he couldn’t help feeling sorry for Yvonne.

As Gavain suspected, the reopened wound on Yvonne’s hand was because of Liam. He had tormented her all day, often making her grip the bed or exert pressure on her hands.

As a result, the healing wound reopened.

However, Yvonne was more concerned about the child in her womb than her own pain.

Gavain cleaned and treated Yvonne’s hand, applied medicine, and bandaged it tightly. He advised her to use her hand as little as possible before leaving.

Later in the afternoon, the female doctor, Gavain’s assistant, visited the mansion. After examining Yvonne, she diagnosed that it wasn’t a miscarriage, allowing Yvonne to finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Before leaving, Gavain’s assistant warned that if this happened again, there was a high risk of miscarriage, but there was nothing Yvonne could do. All she could do was pray for Liam’s anger to subside and for the child to endure.

In the evening, Yvonne anxiously paced the hallway, looking outside. From the hallway, she had a clear view of the mansion’s main gate, so she could see when Liam arrived.

Just until recently, she went outside to wait for Liam, hoping he would return soon.

But now she was only afraid. She wanted him to return, yet didn’t want him to. As the time for his return approached, her heart pounded, and cold sweat trickled down.

Liam… hadn’t promised Yvonne anything.

Not about getting rid of the child, claiming annulment, or cutting off the canal rights to pressure the Debroge family. He hadn’t promised not to do any of it. He just shouted, insulted her, and satisfied his desires before leaving the mansion with a sunken face.

Even though the past two days had passed like that, today she worried if his mind had changed, or if she would have to endure the same torment as the past two days.

How long had she waited for Liam? Finally, she saw a carriage approaching. The carriage door opened, and Yvonne held her breath, watching, thinking it was Liam.

But it wasn’t Liam who got out of the carriage. The hair color illuminated by the lantern in the darkness was dark blonde.

“Monsieur Saint-Laurent?”

Yvonne recognized the man who got out of the carriage as Gabriel. He usually came to hurry Liam if he didn’t return until late in the morning.

It was rare for him to come alone in the evening. The unusual occurrence made Yvonne suddenly afraid.

‘Could it be that Monsieur Saint-Laurent is here to throw me out…?’

All sorts of anxieties and imaginations swirled around. Meanwhile, Gabriel said something to the butler and got back into the carriage. She saw the carriage leave and the butler enter the mansion.

“Madam.”

Not long after, the butler who had come up to the floor where she was called Yvonne.

“Viscount Saint-Laurent asked me to tell you that the master might not be able to come home today.”

“Do you know why?”

“Yes. The business discussion went on too long, and he got too drunk… He said he would sleep there.”

“…I see. Thank you for letting me know.”

“It’s nothing. Have a peaceful night.”

The butler withdrew.

‘He’s not coming home because of business…’

This was also the first time since she married Liam. She felt relieved for the moment but also uneasy. Yvonne tossed and turned all night, tormented by an inexplicable anxiety.