I Abandoned the Male Lead Who Cheated with the Villainess - Chapter 126
‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.
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—Are you okay? You weren’t scared, were you? I’m sorry, I was just cleaning…
Ivonne had been reclining on the sofa, reading a book while breaking apart cookies. Yet, the man who had been like that was now raising his voice while holding a chain with clanking shackles.
In fact, Ivonne should have felt fear in this situation. How had she died before her reincarnation? Hadn’t she collided with a brick during a tussle with her ex-boyfriend?
Yet now, rather than feeling fear, Ivonne felt a deep ache in her heart. An ache so intense it felt like it might tear her apart.
“I… I came looking for you.”
Perhaps it was because the man she was now facing, who was struggling in their confrontation, looked like he might collapse at any moment. He appeared so fragile that a simple touch could send him into tears.
“I need to go back.”
Herix spoke in a halting voice, as if he was swallowing tears or his breath.
“In the end, I’m waiting for Ivonne again.”
Ivonne wanted to call him by his name, Rix. But her voice failed her.
‘Rix? Herix? Your Highness? What should I call you?’
She hesitated deeply. The name that once brought her joy now felt uncomfortable no matter how she addressed him.
While Ivonne struggled with her thoughts, Herix clenched his teeth and continued.
“Ivonne left me.”
“…”
“You didn’t go back to where I was; you made me come to where you are.”
Herix spoke like a child, but his jaw was so tightly clenched that even though his voice was low and his tone slightly muffled, it resonated strongly in Ivonne’s mind. Was it this intensity that rendered her immobile?
She watched the massive man approach, his shoulders trembling, hesitating with each heavy step. It was as if he was torn between whether this was acceptable and a resolve that this was the only way forward, mixed with a sense of resignation over how things had turned out.
Yet, Ivonne stood frozen before Herix, unable to say a word.
‘You tried to kill me; you had me labeled as a fugitive.’
He had even chased her all the way here and she had just seen him send Isaac away moments ago. She should have felt wary and fearful of him, yet she couldn’t even bring herself to say not to come closer.
“Please show me your… leg.”
Whether Herix understood Ivonne’s feelings or not, he remained as polite as ever. His voice was rough, yet his fingers trembled incessantly, and his arm extended slowly, as if afraid of upsetting her. In a way that felt too much like Rix, he didn’t fit the situation at all.
Thanks to this, Ivonne realized that he wouldn’t harm her—he couldn’t. So even though she knew what he was holding and how to use it, she couldn’t bring herself to stop him, even if she didn’t fully understand why he was acting this way.
After all, Ivonne was utterly vulnerable to Rix, the man she had fallen for.
What exactly is love? How can something be so powerful that one would willingly give up their freedom for it?
‘Or am I just being foolish?’
She had sworn to herself not to fall in love again. She had vowed not to rely on a man anymore.
That was just last winter. In less than a year, Ivonne had found herself in love once again—with a suspicious neighbor whose true identity she didn’t even know. It felt as if she was following the world’s truth, as if she had to.
She regretted it
‘What is love, really?’
She wished she had taken the time to learn more about Rix, to be more curious about him.
‘With the power of an ancient wizard, I could have found out enough.’
She felt grateful that Rix stayed by her side without asking her anything. She didn’t want to treat him like others did, with prejudice and misunderstandings based on appearances. She didn’t want to think of him as just another person among the crowd.
In truth, there was a fear within her that knowing Rix’s true identity would shatter the everyday life they had built together. So she had chosen to close her eyes, block her ears, and followed along with the comfortable silence he provided, only to find herself in this situation.
‘He’s the man who has issued a manhunt for me… the one who has kept his true identity hidden from me…’
She couldn’t escape from him at all. She could only offer herself up, willingly giving him her ankle. She should feel betrayed by this man, yet all she wanted was to see his innocent, sorrowful face, to stop the tears flowing down if it meant granting him freedom—even if it took ten or a hundred attempts.
“It won’t hurt.”
The hand gripping her ankle was agonizingly hot. From it emanated a sense of twisted pleasure, a malicious satisfaction at having gained control over her, even if it was through this method.
Click.
The sound of the shackles locking in place sent a chill through her.
As Herix straightened up, she was confronted with the imposing figure of a man much larger than herself. She was familiar with Rix’s body, but Herix, no longer pretending to be Rix, felt alien.
She couldn’t help but feel self-conscious, especially in the presence of the raw power and authority radiating from him, a menace that couldn’t be hidden away simply by trying to suppress it.
