Chapter 4 – Prejudice (Part 7)

“I thought it would be good to get a little closer since our relationship seems awkward.”

Killian released her waist.

“….”

Since there was nothing wrong with what was said, Sophia had no reason to refute it. However, she felt an uncomfortable atmosphere, so she glanced at Killian.

At that moment, their eyes met, and she felt as if his gaze had softened a bit.

“I’ll remove the cloth now.”

“I would appreciate that.”

It was Sophia who had drawn the line in the room, yet she was the one who kept crossing it. Therefore, it was a meaningless boundary, and she decided to remove it as a gesture of accepting his apology.

Once the boundary was gone, getting into bed with Killian became a natural process. After lying in their respective places, Sophia blew out the candle, and darkness quickly enveloped the room.

Now, all she had to do was close her eyes, and it would be a night like any other. However, Sophia’s feelings were different from yesterday. Simply removing the cloth made her feel strangely closer to Killian.

She couldn’t quite express this feeling, but it wasn’t unpleasant, so in the darkness, a small smile appeared on her lips.

* * *

“What did you say? Say it again!”

Annette’s eyes widened upon hearing the servant’s words.

“It seems the two are getting along well.”

“Are they really getting along?”

“Yes, that’s what they say. Even though it was a marriage of convenience, Sir Killian believes in fulfilling marital duties, so he takes good care of Lady Sophia, and they have become quite close.”

“Alright, you may leave now.”

Since it wasn’t the answer she wanted, she had no desire to hear more and ordered the servant to leave her room.

As the servant nodded and left, Annette’s face twisted in frustration.

‘Why are they getting along well!’

Annette bit her lower lip, recalling what the servant had just said.

Lately, she was so upset that she couldn’t sleep properly. So hearing that Sophia was doing well wasn’t welcome news.

It wasn’t because she disliked Sophia. In fact, Annette wished for her happiness. But she hadn’t wanted Sophia to find happiness after taking what Annette desired, so she felt resentful towards Sophia for taking what was hers.

“Why did the groom change suddenly at the wedding! And why, of all times, when I was sick!”

Annette couldn’t believe it when she first heard that Sophia’s groom had changed. At first, she thought it was a lie.

‘Don’t lie. Why would Sofia’s groom change?’

She denied the truth when the Duchess conveyed the news.

‘Since the second son of the Loden family didn’t appear, the third son had to step in.’

That wretched man!

Upon hearing the explanation, Annette couldn’t help but curse Clive.

If Killian had been presented as the groom from the start, Annette would have insisted on marrying him no matter what. Since Sophia despised the Loden family, she would have gladly given up the marriage.

‘What did Sophia say? Did she want the marriage?’

‘Of course, she didn’t want it. She wished you had married instead, but your father refused.’

‘My father? Why on earth!’

‘Because you weren’t there.’

Seeing the Duchess of Dveshi’s firm expression, Annette had to leave the drawing room without further argument.

Why did it have to be Sir Killian!

As she walked down the hallway, Annette stomped so hard that it echoed, but it did nothing to ease her frustration.

The more she thought about the past, the more unfair it felt. 

Why did I have to miss the wedding that day….

Annette had always been healthy and rarely got sick. But strangely, the day before Sophia’s wedding, she was struck with severe stomach pain and couldn’t get up. She also had a high fever, making it impossible to attend the wedding.

It wasn’t because of bad food, so why did I have to get sick then!

If someone else who ate the same food had the same symptoms, she could have blamed the food. But since none of her family members who ate with her had any issues, Annette couldn’t blame anyone.

However, the more she thought about it, the more infuriated she became, unable to sleep.  It couldn’t have happened without someone meddling in the middle. It was unfair enough to be sick, but why did she have to lose her supposed husband too!

Moreover, if she hadn’t heard that Killian was treating Sophia well out of a sense of duty, she might have felt less resentful. But hearing that made it worse.

If Annette, not Sophia, had married him, she could have been enjoying a sweet newlywed life by now, and that thought was too precious to let go.

What kind of cruel joke is this by fate!

When she thought they weren’t meant to be from the beginning, she could easily give up, but having missed it so narrowly in front of her eyes made her greedy.

No matter how well Sir Loden treats her, as long as he remains a man of the Loden family, there’s no way Sophia would come to like him, right?

Sophia truly hated the Loden family. No matter how well Sir Killian treated her, her life was bound to be unhappy.

Therefore, Annette thought she needed to rescue her sister from the Loden family as soon as possible, and there was only one way to do that: getting Sophia to divorce Sir Killian before it was too late!

Of course, there was no guarantee that Annette would have a chance with Killian if they divorced, but if there was even a slight possibility of rekindling things with him, she wanted to try.

With her mind made up, Annette set out to meet Sophia.

* * *

“Sister Annette!”

Sophia, upon entering the drawing room, warmly greeted her sister, whom she hadn’t seen in a while. She was just as happy to see her as she was to see Liam, and a big smile spread across her face.

“How have you been?”

“Oh, I’ve been well. How about you? Are you feeling better?”

The last time Sophia saw Annette was when she was bedridden on the day of the wedding. Even though she had heard Annette was doing well, Sophia was still worried about her.

“Of course, I’m fine. But you don’t look so well.”

“No, I’m doing fine.”

“If you’re having a hard time, just tell me. I’ll help you with anything.”

“Just hearing that is reassuring. Let’s sit down and talk.”

After exchanging greetings, Sophia invited Annette to sit on the sofa. As soon as they sat facing each other, Emily brought in some refreshments and carefully set them down in front of them.

Annette picked up the steaming cup of tea in front of her and was the first to speak.

“Is Sir Killian treating you well?”

“Better than I expected. He seems to take this arranged marriage seriously, as if it’s a real marriage.”

“That must be difficult, right?”

“What? Not really….”

Sophia was about to deny it, feeling as though Annette was insisting she was having a tough time in her marriage. But Annette interrupted her.

“Isn’t it? You’re having a hard time living like this, aren’t you?”

“What? It’s not that hard.”

Sophia was bewildered by Annette’s insistence, and Annette changed her line of questioning.

“Do you love Sir Killian?”

“What? No, I don’t.”

“Right? Living with a man you don’t love must be difficult, right?”

“Well, it is…?”

Realizing that Annette would keep asking similar questions until she agreed, Sophia gave the answer Annette wanted. However, even as she answered, she felt uneasy, and her voice trailed off awkwardly.

“Exactly. Your marriage was wrong from the start. I should have been the one to get married. If only I hadn’t been sick that day, I would have been by Sir Killain’s side….”

Seeing Annette’s face filled with regret, Sophia felt a pang of guilt but was also intrigued.

Since childhood, she had heard from her father that the people of the Loden family were wicked, so she wondered how Annette could have feelings for Sir Killian.

“Aren’t you bothered by the Loden family?”

“Why are you talking about such outdated things? People should be judged by their character, not their family.”

Annette started to scold Sophia but quickly changed her tone.

“Well, I suppose you’re right to dislike the Loden family after your original groom ran away on the wedding day.”

“I did dislike them.”

Sophia nodded but used the past tense. After hearing from Liam and Annette, she felt like she had been judging people from within too narrow a boundary.

As if reading Sophia’s thoughts, Annette’s voice suddenly became urgent.

“You want to divorce him, right? I’ll help you get a divorce.”

“What? How?”

“I’ll use any means necessary to help you.”

Startled by the sudden mention of divorce, Sophia asked in confusion, and Annette’s response was vague.

“No, I don’t plan to divorce right now, so you don’t have to step in, sister.”

She didn’t want to divorce immediately. So, Sophia couldn’t help but feel flustered by Annette’s insistence on divorce.

It seemed like Annette was forcing her to divorce without considering her opinion, so Sophia felt she shouldn’t rely on Annette’s help.

“What do you mean you don’t want a divorce right away? Has your mind changed?”