The Contract Wife Tries to Leave - Chapter 168
“Since our days at the academy… I genuinely liked you.”
Lucas’s tone was relaxed, as if he were speaking to an old friend, as though they’d slipped back to the time when they could be informal with each other.
“But I’ve moved past that now… I need to move forward with my life.”
“…”
“I know… that you saw me as a friend. It was my mistake to betray that trust. If I truly cared for you, I should have kept my feelings hidden and let go of my desires.”
“…”
“I’m sorry, Leonid.”
Lifting his head slightly, Lucas smiled, a bittersweet expression on his face. His features reflected both sadness and a newfound sense of relief, as though a weight had finally lifted from his heart.
* * *
“Marquis Neubitz is far too rude, if you ask me.”
In the carriage headed back to Bamberg Academy, Daniel sat with his arms crossed, grumbling about Leonid in a disgruntled tone.
Lucas, with a soft smile, shifted to sit beside him and gently patted his shoulder, offering a kind reminder.
“Don’t be too hard on him. He is, after all, your sister’s husband. And Leonid… well, he’s a bit prickly, but he’s not a bad person.”
Daniel wanted to argue about just how much of an understatement “a bit prickly” was, but as he noticed the faint sadness on Lucas’s face, he kept his thoughts to himself.
…It was something he’d never expected. That his sponsor and his brother-in-law would have such a complicated history.
Daniel recalled what had happened about ten minutes prior. Despite Lucas’s sincere apology, Marquis Neubitz hadn’t responded—he’d merely glared at him and then abruptly left the room.
Daniel couldn’t shake the feeling that Leonid had serious character flaws. He was arrogant, rude, and full of himself… What could his sister possibly see in a man like that?
Was it just that he was a hyper-dominant Alpha, and Omegas were naturally drawn to that, as Lucas had been, and as countless others seemed to be?
“…Do you think Marquis Neubitz treats my sister well?”
As Daniel voiced this question aloud, Lucas’s comforting hand on his shoulder paused. Not waiting for an answer, Daniel continued with another question.
“Do you think she’s happy?”
“….”
Lucas recalled the look in Leonid’s eyes as he gazed at Johanna. Within it was an unmistakable sense of care and affection.
It was almost shocking—he would have never thought Leonid Neubitz could look at anyone that way.
Perhaps people truly could change. There are many reasons for change, but love… love can sometimes alter a person down to their very core.
The Leonid he’d seen today was as arrogant as ever, yet his gaze toward Johanna had been different… though Lucas wasn’t sure Leonid was even aware of it himself.
Lucas lifted his hand from Daniel’s shoulder and gently ruffled his soft, platinum-blond hair. The siblings shared the exact same hair color; Johanna’s eyes held the depths of the sea, while Daniel’s carried the expanse of the sky.
“She’s happy, I’m sure of it.”
Lucas met Daniel’s gaze, smiling warmly. And in that moment, he realized something—he could now think of Leonid and genuinely smile, effortlessly.
The love he thought he’d never be able to let go of had finally reached its end. It wasn’t nearly as painful as he’d imagined.
Just because you love someone deeply enough to ache doesn’t mean you can hand over your life’s compass to them. That had always been within his own hands, even in the moments he hadn’t realized it.
Perhaps that was why.
There was no longer any need to cry.
* * *
Johanna quietly reflected on Lucas’s words.
‘If I truly cared for you, I should have kept my feelings hidden and let go of my desires.’
She didn’t know exactly what had happened between the two of them, but one thing seemed clear.
At one time, Leonid had considered Lucas a friend, despite him being an Omega, and Lucas had betrayed that trust.
Was it because he couldn’t contain his overflowing emotions?
If that was what led to Leonid’s cold demeanor towards him…
‘…I, too’.
Revealing these feelings recklessly, even by mistake, was something she must absolutely never do.
If she wished to end things with him cleanly… in as good a way as possible.
“…”
Johanna raised her hand to knock on Leonid’s door but then let it fall. She had come all this way, troubled by how he had left without a word, but still… this would be presumptuous meddling, wouldn’t it?
Better to return to her room and stay quietly there. Just as she decided this and turned around—
The door suddenly burst open, and before she could turn to look back, a strong hand grasped her arm.
“…!”
The startled Johanna was pulled by an intense force straight into the darkness of the slightly ajar doorway, unable to resist.
