The Contract Wife Tries to Leave - Chapter 95
“What will you do, Johanna? Will you pay the 40,000 rubles for him too?”
Ilian’s devilish smile only deepened as he spoke, and Johanna realized with chilling certainty that she had walked right into his trap. From the very beginning, this man had set the snare, waiting for her to fall into it.
“……”
“Marchioness…”
Nella’s worried voice reached her ears, but Johanna was too consumed by her emotions to respond. Her mind was in turmoil, a chaotic swirl of rage, despair, resentment, and humiliation. Each time she thought she found a way out, Ilian Rediess threw another net, tightening the noose around her.
For a moment, it felt like she couldn’t breathe, as if the weight of everything was going to crush her. The oppressive feeling was suffocating.
Ding.
The sound of the door’s bell cut through the thick tension. Someone had entered the coffee house. Unconsciously, Johanna’s gaze shifted, and her heart plunged into a free fall.
This time, her shock was for a completely different reason. Her eyes widened, trembling violently.
“L-Lord Marquis!”
Nella immediately recognized him and quickly bowed her head. Johanna, feeling as if she were seeing a mirage in the desert, could only stare in disbelief as Leonid approached.
As he drew closer, Leonid’s expression darkened when he saw Ilian. Without a word, he moved next to Johanna, his presence commanding. He glanced at Ilian with a slight frown before turning to Johanna. His arm reached out, wrapping around her shoulder protectively.
“I’d like someone to explain what’s going on here.”
His voice, brimming with both authority and arrogance, swept over the room as he surveyed the tense situation.
The warmth of Leonid’s touch and the familiar pheromones radiating from him gave Johanna a strange sense of relief that spread deep into her chest.
“I-I’ll explain everything!”
Nella quickly stepped forward, recounting the events of the past hour to Leonid in a slow, clear, and concise manner.
Meanwhile, the café owner and employees, who had been eavesdropping from behind the bar, were whispering among themselves, unable to tear their eyes away from the spectacle unfolding before them.
“Is that really the Marquis of Neubitz?”
“Yeah, it’s him.”
“He’s even more handsome in person…”
“Hyper-dominant alpha, right?”
“Not all alphas are this good-looking, though.”
“Yeah, but they’re usually better-looking than betas.”
“And the Marchioness is an omega, right?”
“Yeah, I read that in a magazine.”
“…So, the rumors about her father being a gambling addict and debtor are true.”
When Nella finished explaining, the hushed murmurs died away as everyone fell silent, watching Leonid closely. After a brief pause, a soft chuckle escaped Leonid’s lips.
“40,000 rubles.”
He muttered it like it was nothing, pulling out a blank check from his wallet and writing the exact amount.
Click. He capped the pen and slipped it into the outer pocket of his coat. Holding the check between his index and middle fingers, he gave it a small wave.
“Take this, and hand over the promissory note and the contract.”
“……”
Ilian’s eyes, filled with a seething darkness, flickered with barely restrained fury as he snatched the check. With a sharp movement, he handed over the contract and promissory note. Leonid barely glanced at the documents before tearing them into pieces, letting the white fragments flutter to the ground like feathers.
Johanna stood there, stunned, watching how easily this massive problem had been resolved. It all felt so surreal, so anticlimactic.
“…So, we meet again. Seems like fate has a way of bringing us together, doesn’t it, Lord Marquis?”
At Ilian’s quiet words, Leonid raised one eyebrow, a slight gesture that made Johanna blink in confusion, glancing between the two men. Could it be that they knew each other?
“I have no intention of getting tangled up with a disrespectful bastard like you again,” Leonid replied coldly.
“Why the harsh words? Aren’t we connected by such a… colorful history?”
“Still biting without thinking, I see. Want me to send you to your father’s side, where you belong?”
The moment Leonid’s biting remark fell, the atmosphere in the room plunged into icy silence.
After a long pause, Ilian let out a chilling laugh, the sound reverberating like eerie strings on a violin. It was the kind of laugh that sent shivers down Johanna’s spine, making her grip Leonid’s sleeve tightly without realizing it.
“My father might be waiting for me in hell, but it’s not my time just yet… I’ve fought too hard to survive.”
Ilian muttered to himself, his eyes flashing dangerously, though a light smirk remained on his lips. His gaze, which had been locked with Leonid’s, slowly shifted downward until it settled on Johanna.
For a brief moment, his expression softened as if he were amused, and then he chuckled mischievously.
“I wish you a successful marriage, Johanna.”
As he passed by her, Ilian leaned in slightly, his voice low and teasing as it brushed her ear.
“That way, you’ll finally be able to run away from me… isn’t that right?”
