The Dragon Duke's Wife - Chapter 34
“You know Kal went to war six years ago, right? It seems he met a battlefield nurse there and fell for her. When he came back, he demanded to break off our engagement. At that time, my grandfather was still in good health, so it was truly a battle of wills.”
Eleanor chuckled, mentioning how, thanks to that, she was able to avoid being seen as the bad person and got away as the victim. She said that was why the collateral relatives still missed her and felt sorry for her.
Ancia clasped her hands together to hide the trembling.
“So what happened to that woman?”
“….”
Eleanor paused for a moment, silently staring at Ancia. Then, with a gentle smile, she said, “Ask Kal.”
Ancia couldn’t find the words to respond. Suddenly, she realized Eleanor was reaching out to her. Startled, she stepped back, but Eleanor gently removed a small piece of leaf from Ancia’s hair. It seemed to have come from the fountain nearby.
“Niro told me you’re concerned about me. I wanted to tell you there’s no need for that. Don’t have such a stiff expression, Ann. You know, I’m the type who regrets things that are out of my grasp. If you keep acting like that, I might just end up wanting to steal Kal’s Heart away.”
Eleanor said this with a playful tone.
* * *
Back in her room, Ancia sat alone until nightfall. Laura was concerned, but Ancia didn’t have the energy to reassure her.
Eleanor was so beautiful and graceful, someone who was naturally suited to be Khalid’s wife both physically and by status.
Ancia felt envious and jealous. She feared that people might compare her to Eleanor and think that Khalid had made the wrong choice. She worried that Khalid might regret not marrying Eleanor.
But Ancia also knew that a lot of her anxiety came from her own insecurities and assumptions. When she imagined standing next to Khalid and seeing Eleanor there instead, she could somehow keep her composure. She hoped that if she fulfilled her duties, Khalid wouldn’t regret his decision and would continue to love her.
Now, though, she knew that Khalid and Eleanor were truly just cousins. But this realization only made her feel heavier inside.
Khalid had someone he loved. He had even gone against his family’s wishes and broken off the engagement.
That knowledge felt like a punch to her chest. What kind of woman could she have been, who Khalid wanted to marry so badly that he was willing to fight with his grandfather and break up with a woman like Eleanor? How had he loved her?
He was so kind to someone like her, so how kind had he been to the woman he loved?
What had happened to her? Did she leave Khalid? Or had something bad happened to her? Eleanor had said she was a wartime nurse…
Did Khalid place the marriage ad to find her, or was he looking for someone to replace her?
Ancia curled up in bed, pulling the blanket over her. How had he loved her? How passionate had it been? What kind of gaze had he had, and what emotions had he felt when touching her?
Since Eleanor arrived, Khalid had changed a little.
Before, he had insisted that they sleep together instead of using the Duchess’s bedroom, but now, even though she slept alone in this room without saying anything, he neither came to get her nor showed any anger. He didn’t pull her into his arms in the hallway or bring her into a room to indulge in desire.
She knew it was natural, given that there were not only employees but a guest around, but still, Ancia felt disappointed.
If it wasn’t because of Eleanor, perhaps he was just bored of her. It had been two months. It was enough time for the heat of their honeymoon to pass. Even if the intense passion they had shared held some truth in the moment, it was probably not the same as embracing a woman he truly loved. He might have felt like he’d tasted enough of it and thought it was time to move on.
She couldn’t feel the same way. If she hadn’t had real love for him, she wouldn’t have opened her body so deeply, trembling in joy as she embraced him.
She loved him beyond what was irreparable.
Ancia curled herself up in bed and sobbed.
She wanted to be held. She wanted to have a child. Not to completely fulfill the contract, but to experience all the happiness she could as his woman, to bear fruit and truly become his wife.
Once again, the ring felt too hot, so she removed it. Despite knowing she would regret it, she threw it aside.
She shouldn’t have fallen in love. She knew that. A man seeking a wife through a contract wouldn’t want the typical married life.
If she had just kept her heart out of it, she could have easily played the role of a shadow of the woman he truly desired instead of a lifetime nurse.
But now, with both her body and heart given to him, she couldn’t pretend otherwise. Even if the things he gave her were someone else’s or if he was prepared to give a love far greater than what he had given her to someone else, Ancia felt she couldn’t bear it.
So she buried her face in the pillow and sobbed.
Just for today, she would cry. Tomorrow, she will show a better face again. Even if there was another woman in Khalid’s heart, just being able to stay by his side was enough. Carrying his heir and being recognized as his wife, wasn’t that enough?
It was a happy future she never even imagined when she responded to the marriage ad.
Karine FA
For who is reading, Ancia is not connecting the (obvious for us!) dots because she doesn’t remember Khalid in the battlefront. Right now in her mind, the nurse he loved is dead or missing and he married another nurse with similar memories and features to give him a child and work as placeholder, while her love thirsty self fell for him.