The Wicked Wife’s Dark History Keeps Coming Back To Haunt Her - Chapter 54

The position of a guardian comes with significant responsibility, but declaring yourself as an adoptive parent requires even more.

That’s what it means to be a parent.

You hold the power to influence a person’s precious childhood and, ultimately, their distant future.

“If you’re going to claim the role of protector, you need to show the child through your actions that they have nothing to worry about. You’re an adult, and above all, just sitting around doesn’t solve anything.”

Nina shrugged as if to say, Isn’t that right?

Ash, who had been seriously listening to her words until now, let out a low laugh.

“…You mean like how you showed it through your actions?”

What’s this?

Did he just make a joke?

“Just don’t overdo it…”

Why does it feel like I’m hearing the sound of hopeful gears turning in my head?

Wasn’t it just the other day she promised herself to take a more conservative stance on things?

At the small but definite change, Nina couldn’t help the smile that crept across her lips.

***

Thum.

Ash sat on the edge of the bed, sighing.

At the moment when he had lashed out at his wife, accusing her of showing up deliberately.

The sorrowful flicker in her blue eyes, her resigned voice, and the undeniable sound of her stomach rumbling had made him realize.

He had been overly sensitive due to their small argument earlier in the day.

It was he who had arrived late to the dining room, not her.

“…I’m not sure if this was the right thing to do.”

But contrary to his words, there wasn’t a hint of regret in his gray eyes.

“I will attend the school festival.”

“Yes, I think that’s a good idea.”

“And I’d like you to come with me on that day.”

At the thought of her wide, disbelieving eyes, as large as a mouse’s, he couldn’t help but laugh.

He had asked his wife to come with him.

Why had he done that?

It was a thoughtless remark that had slipped out, purely unintentional.

A thoughtless, unintentional comment.

…This wasn’t a good sign.

It meant that her changed demeanor had managed to loosen his tension.

After enduring two years of torment, was he really thinking about trusting her?

The moment he asked himself that question, the smile that had been playing on his lips slowly flattened into a line.

Since the day his wife had abruptly confessed her pain, after all her previous cruelties, an odd sense of unease had settled in his heart, as if he had become the guilty one.

Was that when the first crack appeared in the walls around his heart?

The servants’ brightened faces, the fact that she had saved both his and his only friend’s lives, and finally—

“You need to show the child through your actions that they have nothing to worry about.”

Her sharp words had exposed his cowardice.

All of these factors had worked together to dull the two years of hatred and anger.

The moment he realized this, he let out a dry laugh.

Despite his constant doubts, his constant surveillance, and his refusal to accept her changes, he had somehow begun to trust her without even realizing it.

It was still small, like a newly sprouted seedling that could easily be crushed at any moment—a desire to believe.

A person’s nature doesn’t change easily.

Unless you split open someone’s heart, you can’t be sure what they’re truly like.

And that woman, of all people, had always possessed a sharp eye for exploiting weaknesses.

Just as his relatives had claimed in court, to outsiders who didn’t know the whole story, he appeared to be nothing more than a wretched man desperately coveting his young nephew’s inheritance.

No one had considered that Ian was his greatest weakness, yet Nina had seen right through it.

…So, what if she had noticed a vulnerability in him that even he hadn’t been aware of?

He suddenly heard laughter from outside and moved toward the window.

Beneath the bright light of the full moon…

He saw his wife taking an evening stroll with a maid.

“…”

She was laughing so brightly, as if something truly delighted her.

It was a peaceful smile, one she had never shown in front of him.

For a long time, he stared at those lips, which had once spat curses and venom, now forming a serene smile.

Suddenly, the memory of her charging at him fearlessly flashed through his mind.

And then, the image of her collapsed between his legs, crouching in agony and groaning.

“…Insane.”