If You Leave Without a Word - Chapter 156
‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.
read more chapters on luna kofi
It was a night when Cain, who usually never touched alcohol, drank an entire bottle.
The servant who had been watching over Agatha’s daily life brought strange news. Despite Cain’s usual indifference, he was always informed of her every move.
However, this time, the servant reported with a serious face that Agatha had pretended to go to the market and, instead, met with an unfamiliar man.
<A strange man was waiting for her at the temple?>
<Yes. She said she was going to the market for something, but when I followed her after seeing her carriage take an unusual route, she arrived not at a market, but at the temple. I thought she might be there to pray, but if that was the case, she could have just told the butler. I don’t understand why she lied. Then, while I was observing, I saw a stranger… >
The fact that Agatha had lied about her destination meant there was somewhere she didn’t want the mansion to know about, or perhaps someone she was trying to hide. The temple had likely been chosen because it would be an inconspicuous place where no one would be suspicious, even if they were seen together.
But that only raised Cain’s suspicions further. To be doubting his wife, whom he had left locked in the mansion with the chains of marriage. Looking back, he realized that he had no right to suspect her—he had been so foolish.
“Damn it.”
He cursed himself. What a pitiful, stupid man he was.
The headache that had been nagging him flared up again, and Cain pressed his temple with his fingers.
There was no excuse to offer for his behavior that day. Drinking for no reason and hearing that Agatha had met with a strange man. The resentment he had been holding towards the Duke resurfaced, and he had avoided Agatha for so long because of it.
Finally, under the influence of alcohol, he had visited her bedroom late at night.
The maid guarding the door was startled by Cain’s sudden appearance and knocked on Agatha’s door. But there was no answer.
Not hearing the knock or noticing Cain entering the room, Agatha was fast asleep. Considering she normally couldn’t sleep deeply, Cain assumed she must have taken sleeping pills. He staggered into the room.
The scented candle on the bedside table cast a soft glow in the room. Agatha’s face, shadowed by the candlelight, appeared more peaceful than usual. Cain, though, in his drunken state, looked for other reasons for her calm demeanor.
“…She met another man.”
Was she trying to leave him?
It was an excessive leap in logic. Before being the wife of a Marquis, she was the head of a noble house with many responsibilities and people to manage. She must have had something important to do, a meeting that required her to avoid the watchful eyes of the head maid, who was the eyes and ears of the Grand Duchess.
And yet…
The thought of her disappearing made Cain panic. Despite pushing her away himself, forcing her to distance herself, he felt that contradictory fear.
That fear soon transformed into overwhelming jealousy and anger. For him, fear was always directly tied to survival. That’s why he would always disguise that instinctive feeling as anger, deceiving himself.
Cain held her in his arms while she was asleep.
When Agatha briefly woke in a daze, she weakly tried to resist, but he disregarded it. It was as though he was taking revenge on the late Duke, who no longer existed.
He wounded her heart with harsh words. Pressing her down with his strength, he suppressed her struggles.
Twisted resentment, mixed with unearned jealousy and fear, led to a terrible outcome.
“Agatha…”
His unchecked desires endlessly sought her. He wanted her, but at the same time, he resented her. He wanted to protect her more than anyone, yet he treated her more roughly than anyone else.
It was the worst. Even the filth of the streets would be more noble than him. Cain gripped his head in agony.
⚜ ⚜ ⚜
“It’s been about two months.”
Two months.
Following the doctor’s words, Agatha muttered to herself.
She was pregnant. She was carrying a child. Her child…
She gently rubbed her stomach. The incredible things that had happened to her in the past few days felt unreal, as if they didn’t belong to her.
Her flat belly, without any noticeable bulge, made her doubt that a life truly grew inside her. Since she couldn’t tell she was pregnant just by looking at herself, Agatha even wondered if the doctor’s words had been some sort of dream.
“You need complete rest, your body and mind are very weak.”
But the doctor’s words weren’t just a figment of her imagination. Her pregnancy wasn’t a delusion either. A new life truly was growing within her. Agatha lowered her hand from her stomach.
The doctor had emphasized the importance of rest. Proper nutrition was, of course, necessary, but more importantly, it was essential for her to relax, stay calm, and sleep well. After repeating his advice several times, he had ended the consultation.
“To keep my mind at ease…”
How could she do that? Agatha scoffed.
Beneath her calm expression, a fierce storm and waves raged in her heart.
