The Contract Wife Tries to Leave - Chapter 5
“Sister…”
Johanna tightly held Daniel’s hand and stood, watching their cousins intently.
It seemed true that their recent business ventures had been successful. Despite being of the middle class, they appeared as affluent as any noble family.
Her aunt wore an expensive silk dress, a hat adorned with pearls, and sapphire necklace and earrings. Her husband was dressed in a fine wool suit and held an ebony cane. Even their two sons were dressed as elegantly as young gentlemen from a prestigious family.
Johanna bit her lip to keep her expression neutral. What were they thinking, coming here? Whatever it was, it didn’t seem to be with good intentions.
“We heard the news this morning. We had just returned from overseas yesterday. My goodness… what a tragedy. I never imagined your mother would leave us so soon…”
Her aunt expertly feigned sorrow, almost like a professional actress. A single glance at her eyes was enough to see she wasn’t truly grieving.
As her aunt approached, a strong scent of perfume wafted over. Johanna shook off her aunt’s hand with a bitter smile.
“What brings you here?”
“What? What do you mean by that?”
Her aunt raised an eyebrow as if Johanna had said something absurd. She seemed irritated that her attempt at consolation had been rejected. Johanna kept a polite smile on her face as she replied sarcastically.
“It’s just curious that you all show up for the funeral when you never visited while Mother was sick.”
“What? How can you say that…”
Her aunt opened and closed her mouth as if lost for words. Johanna observed her aunt’s face, remarkably smooth for her age, and her hands, free from any calluses—so different from her mother, who had toiled all her life.
The background of her aunt’s marriage to an ambitious businessman was rooted in her mother’s sacrifice. Their maternal family had noble blood but was impoverished and lacked a male heir to continue the line. Thus, their grandfather aimed to marry off his daughters to good families. The problem was the insufficient dowry they could provide.
Moreover, her aunt, the second daughter, was ambitious despite their financial constraints. She didn’t want to marry just anyone and preferred to become the wife of a wealthy man. It was a practical decision, considering it was better than marrying into a noble family struggling to maintain its lineage.
To marry her current husband, her aunt had asked her mother to forgo her own dowry. Caring for her younger sister, her mother agreed out of kindness.
Once her aunt had secured the life she desired, she cut off contact with their maternal family, almost as if she had become a different person. She severed ties with her family, though she occasionally kept in touch with her mother out of lingering conscience. However, when her mother fell ill and needed expensive medical treatment, the contact ceased altogether.
‘She didn’t want to spare even a penny for my mother or our family.’
Her aunt was a cold and selfish person. Although her mother never blamed her, Johanna’s feelings towards her aunt were filled with resentment.
“What kind of mother raises a daughter with such poor manners? Well, I suppose you didn’t have much of an education in that poor household. You couldn’t attend school or afford a tutor.”
Her aunt clicked her tongue, muttering as if she understood everything. Johanna clenched her fists tightly to suppress her anger. She looked her aunt and her family in the eye and retorted in a calm voice.
“Did you come to my mother’s funeral just to provoke me?”
“What are you talking about? She was my sister. Of course, I came to pay my respects! And I have some business with your father.”
“…With my father?”
A sense of foreboding crept over her. As a troubling thought crossed her mind, sweat began to dampen her tightly clenched hands.
Her father… He often caused trouble wherever he went. She didn’t know where he was or what he was doing now, but if he had caused another problem…
“Your father borrowed money from us two weeks ago. About 20,000 rubles.”
The unexpected revelation made Johanna snap her head up to look at her aunt. When their eyes met, her aunt smirked slightly, not hiding her disdain. Johanna asked in a trembling voice.
“…My father borrowed money?”
“Yes. Apparently, he needed it for some new medicine to treat your mother’s illness, which was very expensive. Originally, he asked for 50,000 rubles, but we couldn’t lend such a large sum, so we gave him 20,000. It seems your father planned to double the money at the gambling tables. He borrowed the money and showed up at the gambling hall the next day.”
“…..”
