Looking for a Husband to Confine Me - Chapter 20
Chapter 20
Honestly, I’m not good at bullying or teasing. It takes so much effort just to respond to her. “A rival in love… well, even if things work out, you’ll just become a Grand Duchess who stole another woman’s fiancé,” I said, lifting my coffee cup for a sip.
Unable to bear it any longer, Vivian’s shoulders trembled as tears began to fall. “Please, don’t make things difficult for him! How could you…?”
“….”
“If you truly love him, let him go. Please, wish him happiness.” Listening to Vivian made me feel like the villain. I pursed my lips at her attitude, which painted me as the aggressor. Vivian’s increasingly loud and frantic voice grated on my nerves. My gaze fell upon a glass of ice water.
“It was a forced engagement from the start. So why are you being so greedy?!”
As I reached for the ice water, her gaze followed. She finished her sentence and squeezed her eyes shut, as if bracing herself for something to be thrown in her face.
But nothing touched her face. I watched, dumbfounded, as Vivian opened her eyes, confusion evident in her expression. “What are you…?”
Vivian looked at the ice water in front of her, bewildered. “You seemed overheated. Have some water.”
She must have thought I was going to splash her. A blush crept up her cheeks. I could practically feel her clenching her jaw. Her gaze, now fixed on me, sharpened. “You’re different from what I’ve heard.”
“Really? Hector doesn’t know me very well. Besides, everyone has things they’d rather keep hidden, don’t they?” I let my gaze drift down from her face before returning it to meet hers.
In the novel, Hector hadn’t simply abandoned Vivian. As time passed, he realized his true feelings, and also uncovered Vivian’s significant lie. Had the real Vivian told him the same lie?
Testing the waters, I spoke, “Like your child, for instance.”
“…!”
“Does Hector know?”
Vivian avoided my gaze, her eyes darting around as she frantically searched for an answer. The father of the child Vivian had in the original story wasn’t Hector.
“W-what are you talking about?”
Watching Vivian pretend not to understand, I feigned ignorance, the corners of my eyes crinkling slightly. “Surely Hector knows you have a child. I heard it from him, after all.”
“Oh, oh… Right.”
Seeing her relief, I laughed inwardly. Just like in the novel, the child’s father wasn’t Hector in reality either.
But I sincerely hoped she wouldn’t get caught. I hoped those two, so well-suited for each other, would somehow find happiness. That way, Hector would leave me alone.
Watching Vivian tremble, I stood up. The conversation was clearly over. “If that’s all you have to say, I’ll be going. Like I said, I’m busy. I’ll get this.”
I mentally calculated the money I had left. Today’s unexpected encounter with Vivian had been rather costly.
Tsk.
I turned to leave when my eyes met a pair of violet ones behind round glasses. He flinched when our eyes met, quickly averting his gaze. “…Sir Div?”
‘Why are you here?’
Ricardo Div stood awkwardly, his head turned away, his entire posture screaming, ‘I didn’t hear or see anything.’
***
Apparently, Ricardo had been at the cafe before me, and relatively close by. He had recognized me immediately, and unlike Damian, he also knew Vivian. He had tried to discreetly leave, but fearing he’d catch my attention if he moved, he’d remained seated, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. As the conversation took a turn he felt he shouldn’t be privy to, he’d attempted to quietly slip away, only to be caught by me as I stood up.
“You could have just left. Or stayed, for that matter.”
“I thought you wouldn’t want others to overhear…” Ricardo’s shoulders slumped. “I wasn’t thinking clearly.”
He apologized, his face etched with dejection, having unintentionally heard most of the conversation due to his excessive consideration for me. Startled, I shook my head and waved my hands. “No, it’s fine. It’s a cafe; anyone could have overheard. Don’t worry about it.” I added a nervous laugh.
Ricardo Div, whom I’d encountered in the cafe, reminded me of a small animal from a nature documentary I’d seen in my past life. A squirrel, caught by a predator while secretly gathering food, dropping its acorn in surprise. The image kept flashing in my mind, threatening to break my composure.
I quickly paid for both our drinks and left the cafe. It felt strange to pretend I hadn’t seen him after our eyes had met. Besides, I didn’t want to linger.
“But Sir Div, what were you doing…?” I began to ask, looking up at him. Suddenly, he pulled me towards him, shielding me with his body and reaching out behind me.
A high-pitched scream pierced the air. It was a familiar voice, one I knew well. After all, I’d just been speaking with its owner.
“Vivian?”
I gently pushed Ricardo away and turned around. Vivian, her face a mixture of surprise and frustration, stood there, her wrist caught in Ricardo’s hand. She had obviously tried to stop me.
“My apologies,” Ricardo said, releasing Vivian’s wrist. “You approached rather quickly.” He must have reacted instinctively when he sensed someone rushing towards him. The arm that had been around me naturally fell away.
Vivian rubbed her wrist and bit her lip.
“What is it, Vivian? I thought we were finished talking.”
“I… I’m not finished.”
We’d already talked quite a bit, hadn’t we? Although it was mostly pointless. I tilted my head, puzzled. She glared at me, a stark contrast to her demeanor in the cafe. The pretense seemed to have vanished. She looked ready to throw a punch.
“Vivian.”
At the sound of her name, Vivian glanced at Ricardo. Sensing the tension, he slowly began to back away. He needn’t have bothered.
Vivian, seemingly unfazed, smirked, one corner of her mouth lifting. “It’s the money, isn’t it?”
“I’m sorry?”
“What you want from Hector… it’s money, isn’t it? It’s all about the money! As long as you have the money, everything’s fine!”
“Technically, it’s not the money, it’s the person…”
The person being Hector Asid, of course. Though even that desire had vanished the moment I’d heard about Vivian’s child. Even though I knew from the original story that Hector wasn’t the father, I couldn’t forgive him. If Hector believed Vivian, it was because he was guilty of something similar.
‘He had been unfaithful to his fiancée.’
Ignoring my words, Vivian pulled something out and roughly shoved it into my hands.
“Oof!” I involuntarily gasped at the sudden force. My fingers closed around a paper bag.
“What’s this?”
“I’ll give you the money.”
A quick glance confirmed it. She had handed me an envelope full of cash.
“So break up with Hector!”
“If you’re going to give me money, couldn’t you have been a bit more generous? I take it this wasn’t from Hector?”
My nonchalant response made Vivian’s face contort. She gritted her teeth, her voice rising. “If you need more, just say so. I’ll give you as much as you want! But only if you break off your engagement with Hector.”
“I have no intention…”
“Think about it, Amelia!”
Before I could finish, Vivian turned and stormed off.
“Wait a minute!” I reached out to stop her, but she was too quick. She disappeared in an instant.
“…I don’t remember telling her my name.” I muttered to myself, examining the envelope. If this wasn’t Hector’s money, had she borrowed it from the Randy family? If Vivian needed money, she could have borrowed it like this. But the fact that she went to such lengths to get close to Hector, aiming for the Duchess title…
‘Could Vivian be related to Luke’s father’s side of the family?’
If that were the case, she couldn’t borrow from Chairman Landis, only from Luke. The Randy family name came from Luke’s mother’s side, and she divorced Luke’s father when she was pregnant with him. I knew she’d cut ties with his father’s side of the family after that. The Randy family seemed to dislike them anyway.
‘Luke would be the kind of bast*rd to introduce his family to loan sharks.’
So, unable to borrow freely, she must have sought other means.
“Are you alright?” Ricardo, who had discreetly kept his distance, approached again.
It wasn’t as if anyone couldn’t hear us. The news was already out, and Ricardo, especially, had overheard our conversation at the cafe. His deliberate avoidance brought a smile to my lips.
“I’m fine. Thank you for your concern, Sir Div.”
“Are you going to return that money?” He seemed to have grasped the situation just by looking at the envelope in my hand. I blinked slowly. This money…
“If Vivian comes back for it, I’ll return it. But if not…” I wasn’t about to go out of my way to give it back.
“Doesn’t it bother you to keep it?”
“Not really.”
I didn’t give it much thought.
