The Wicked Wife's Dark History Keeps Coming Back To Haunt Her - Chapter 108
On impulse, he had pretended to kiss his wife, and the ripples of chaos that followed stretched late into the night.
The soft touch of her fingertips grazing his lips as she had placed the chocolate into his mouth.
Or perhaps the warmth and plumpness of her lips as they had pressed against his thumb, the faint dampness of her breath.
Or maybe even the way her watery eyes had trembled endlessly.
A strange thirst stirred in his throat.
The memory of her body nestled against his without resistance surfaced in his mind, making him acutely aware of her presence beside him as she slept.
“Mmmh…”
To make matters worse, she shifted in her sleep, and her fingertips brushed against the back of his hand.
“……”
Ash ran a rough hand over his face.
He needed to get a grip.
This was Nina Bayern, of all people.
“…Still though, if you ever do end up keeping a courtesan or if there’s someone you like in the future, don’t mind me. You can meet them.”
She had even given him permission to see other women.
What kind of fool would suddenly start becoming conscious of his wife now?
…Conscious?
Ash let out a short, hollow laugh, scoffing at himself for even using the word.
…Conscious of what?
He was just exhausted.
And when a person was exhausted, unnecessary thoughts crept in.
Frowning deeply, he forced himself to sleep.
This strange feeling—this unsettled state—had to be because of his impulsive act of pretending to kiss her earlier.
He kept repeating that to himself, as if trying to hammer it into his own mind.
But somewhere deep inside, he already knew.
As he had watched her change, something within him had started to change as well.
He wasn’t yet sure what name to give this feeling.
But one thing was certain—
He no longer wanted to stand by and watch as she was hurt by people’s words.
Whether she had brought it upon herself.
Whether he had deliberately allowed it to happen.
It no longer mattered.
His decision was clear.
Staring at the dark ceiling as if it were a target, his gray eyes deepened into an unfathomable abyss.
***
If it were just the princess of Osk, it might have been different.
But the crown prince, as the next king, could not be away from his country for too long.
After five more days at the imperial palace, the two royals returned home.
“If the opportunity arises, I’ll treat you as the person closest to me, just as you did for me. You must visit Osk someday.”
“We are close, Madam. Men and women can’t be friends. We will meet again.”
Those four days had been truly enjoyable.
The crown prince had been gentlemanly, and the princess was an energetic delight.
Was this what it would feel like to have an older brother and younger sister?
In any case, Nina had done well in her role as a tour guide alongside Ash for those four days.
As for Collin and his younger siblings, they were sent to an orphanage under the sponsorship of House Bayern.
She had originally intended to connect them with a facility in the capital, but for some reason, she couldn’t stop thinking about them.
Perhaps because she had found them herself, she felt an odd sense of attachment.
So, she decided to send them somewhere nearby, where she could check in on them from time to time.
It was close enough that she would have opportunities to visit.
‘Come to think of it, Osk… seems like a good place.’
Since the crown prince and princess had personally declared her as someone close, maybe when she divorced, she could settle there?
She entertained the thought for a moment, but the language barrier would be no small hurdle.
‘Maybe I should just retire to the countryside instead?’
Marsha would likely follow her anywhere, but neither of them would want to start learning a foreign language at this point.
With that, Nina quickly abandoned the idea of moving to Osk.
“Ah. Finally home…”
Stepping down from the carriage, she let out a groan and stretched, pressing at her sore lower back.
Maybe it was because she had once been accustomed to modern conveniences, but no matter how much time passed, she could never quite get used to the discomfort of riding in a carriage.
Thankfully, since they had taken a relaxed pace on the way back, there had been no need to camp outdoors like on the way there.
If they had, she would have likely ended up holding back the entire group.
Just getting out of the carriage made her body feel unbearably heavy.
She felt a slight chill creeping in—perhaps the onset of a cold.
She planned to bathe and go straight to bed.
“Your Grace, you’ve worked hard. You must be exhausted, so get some rest.”
“Aren’t you eating dinner?”
“No, I’ll be skipping it tonight. I’m too tired.”
Pressing her fingers into her stiff shoulder muscles, Nina turned away.
Between the banquet and the nonstop itinerary afterward, the exhaustion had settled deep in her bones.
She had no appetite, and her entire body felt weighed down, as if she were dragging heavy chains.
On top of that, she had spent far too much energy not looking at his lips, constantly forcing herself to avoid the thought of them.
She was mentally exhausted, too.
For the time being, she would need to be extra mindful about keeping her distance from her husband.
Erica
Yes, yes, YESS!! FINALLY there’s some progress between them. Even though their relationship didn’t necessarily improve THAT much, at the very least, Ash is FINALLY beginning to acknowledge that he’s feeling something for her. Now that that’s happened, things should start moving along. Especially since now she’s thinking she should avoid him, that will only make him more want her even more! I guess the “regretful/obsessive male lead chapters will begin now. I can’t wait for him to regret hoping for that divorce. 👌