The Contract Wife Tries to Leave - Chapter 4
Their gazes met, and his eyes were filled with overflowing possessiveness. The madness trapped in his black pupils glistened like glass. Only then did Johanna realize that something was seriously wrong.
Leonid, who had been mercilessly exploring her mouth, finally released her lips after a long time. He whispered in a heat-filled voice, close enough for his breath to touch her skin.
“I regret it every moment, burning with anger. I was a fool to trust you.”
“…”
“From the beginning, your goal was money, wasn’t it? Isn’t that right?”
It was too late to deny it now. Although her feelings for him were genuine, it was true that money had been her initial motive, so she had nothing to say in her defense.
Despite this, her heart ached as if pricked by a needle. Johanna grimaced in unbearable agony, clenching her jaw. Leonid roughly brushed her reddened lips with his thumb.
“I need to make sure you can never betray me and run away like this again. If necessary, I’ll break your ankle.”
After a moment’s pause, he bit into her swollen lips as if they were fruit, then spat out his words.
“Damn it… I’ve imprinted on you.”
…What?
A fierce shock spread like waves through Johanna’s ocean-colored eyes. Leonid grasped her face firmly with both hands and crashed his lips onto hers once more.
A twisted, destructive smile hooked sharply at the corners of his mouth.
Chapter 1
For Johanna Lucerne, family meant her mother and her young brother.
Her father, addicted to gambling and alcohol and neglectful of his family, might as well have not existed.
“March 8, 1891, 10:42:36 AM. She has passed away.”
The thunderous pronouncement fell from the doctor’s lips, clad in a white coat. Johanna stood holding her brother’s hand, blinking in a daze.
Their mother lay peacefully on the bed, finally free from the pain that had tormented her for the past few years. Her face was serene, showing no traces of her suffering. She had found eternal rest in an unending sleep.
“There is a program supported by the state for funeral arrangements… You can get guidance at the district office.”
The doctor, aware of the siblings’ dire situation, offered cautious advice. Johanna could only manage a slight nod, feeling as if her head had been struck with a blunt instrument, leaving her numb.
The doctor, who had been watching her with a troubled expression, sighed quietly and gathered his medical bag. As he bowed slightly and left the room, a sob from beside her caught Johanna’s attention, making her flinch.
Her younger brother, Daniel, was holding back his sobs but tears were streaming down his face.
“Sob, sniff, waaaah…”
“…”
Seeing her brother cry so sorrowfully, the reality of their mother’s death finally hit Johanna.
The dreamlike haze that had enveloped her consciousness began to lift, forcing her to face reality. Johanna looked down at the bed again. Her mother lay there, deeply asleep, in a sleep so profound she would never wake from it.
“…Sob.”
Suppressing the sob that threatened to escape, she bit her lower lip hard. Her expression, which had been frozen in shock, finally cracked as tears began to flow down her dry cheeks.
Crying silently under the weight of her sorrow, Johanna suddenly felt arms wrap around her waist. Her brother was clinging to her, sobbing uncontrollably.
“Huuu, waaaah…!”
With trembling hands, she hugged him back. It was the first time since he was twelve that the usually brave and mature Daniel had cried so much. Johanna’s heart ached even more for her young brother, who had lost their mother at such a tender age.
As his sister, all Johanna could do was comfort her brother and tell him that everything would be okay.
“It’s, sob, it’s okay, Daniel. You have… you have me.”
“Sniff, sob, Sister, Mother… Mother is… waaaah—”
The siblings clung to each other and cried. The sadness and fear of being left alone in the world overwhelmed them endlessly.
The bitter reality was that their beloved family, their mother, who had helped them endure, was now gone. She would no longer be there for them or show them her smiling face.
Would her last words of love, uttered in her final moments, have reached them?
Johanna closed her eyes and sank into the darkness. Until the profound sorrow of their loss eased even a little, her tears continued to flow.
* * *
The funeral for their mother was held at a small church close to their home.
Even during the funeral arrangements, with the help of the district office, their father did not appear. She no longer harbored any expectations of him and could only swallow a bitter smile.
Would he be saddened to hear of her death? Despite being an alcoholic and a gambling addict, he had genuinely loved his wife. Perhaps he would have broken down and cried as soon as he arrived at the funeral.
“Sister… you haven’t eaten anything since yesterday, have you? Go and eat something…”
Daniel, who had quietly approached, observed Johanna’s pale face as she sat motionless on the hard pew for hours and urged her to eat.
Despite her confusion and sorrow, Johanna felt a sorrowful smile form, touched by her brother’s concern. She patted his hand as he quietly sat beside her and began to speak.
“I’m fine. You need to take care of yourself…”
Just then, a group of three or four people entered the quiet funeral hall, murmuring among themselves.
Johanna squinted and looked at them. Though her vision was momentarily blurred by the backlight beyond the door, she recognized their familiar faces without difficulty.
“Johanna!”
It was her aunt, her aunt’s husband, and their two sons.
