Chapter 6
The best thing to do was to run far away before Linus realized who I really was.
There were so many eyes watching and protecting “me” in the mansion—Helen, the servants, and the private guards. I thought I’d be caught right away if I ran barefoot, so I was going to wait until morning. But now that Linus had found out, I had no choice.
I shouldn’t have told him who I was… but I just couldn’t hold it in.
“…!”
As I turned to grab the doorknob, a large hand suddenly covered my mouth and pushed me backward. My head hit the wall with a loud bang. I couldn’t scream. I held my breath.
In the dim moonlight, I saw a shadow. It was Linus.
His dark eyes, which had no light in them, looked down at me.
“Mm! Mmm!”
“Shh, Florence…”
“Mm!”
I couldn’t breathe. He pressed his whole body on me so I couldn’t move. Then, he suddenly smiled gently. I looked up at him, shaking in fear. But his dark eyes were not smiling at all.
“I thought about it, Florence.”
I couldn’t even turn my head. As he watched my face twist in pain, he spoke calmly.
“Oh, you’ll die soon. I’m sorry, Florence.”
Damn it. If I could use magic, or spirit powers, I wouldn’t be so helpless. Maybe I could have run away a long time ago.
“You’re different from Hyunji.”
Don’t compare me to that woman. Don’t say I’m worse than her. That thief…
“I’ll let you go if you promise not to scream. Blink twice if you understand.”
“…”
“You’re still stupid. Don’t you get it? You have no choice.”
It was frustrating, but he was right. That’s why I hadn’t run away earlier. I bit the inside of my cheek. I was so angry I wanted to cry. I blinked twice, and he took his hand away.
“Gasp, gasp, cough…”
“If it were Hyunji, she’d be trying to burn me alive right now. You really are different from her.”
“Don’t… compare me to… that woman…”
“But this body belongs to the woman I loved.”
“…What…?”
“This is the body I held. Over and over again.”
“You’re crazy…”
“I married this body. So it’s still mine, right?”
I felt like throwing up. He looked at my body like it was something he loved. And horribly, he probably knew it better than I did. Just like he said, he held this body every day. Not just in the bedroom—anywhere, like an animal.
“Ugh!”
I couldn’t stop myself from gagging. The feeling of him having ‘held’ me hit hard now that he was right in front of me. I could be treated like an animal, used, even if I didn’t want it.
I should’ve run. Even if I got killed right away, it would’ve been better. Being stabbed by a spear would’ve been better.
But I didn’t run because… I wanted to live. I wanted to find a way to survive. I couldn’t lose everything again right after getting it back.
I was terrified of this man. He could kill me at any moment. I curled up and shook.
I knew—once he fully realized everything, he would kill me. He just recovered from the shock faster than I thought. I should’ve run when I slapped the coachman. That was my last chance. The room felt warm, but to me it was freezing.
Should I beg for my life?
Why should I? I didn’t do anything wrong. The ones who ruined my life are the real villains. Why should I beg?
But still… I want to live. I don’t want to die.
“Don’t look at me like that.”
Linus’s voice shook.
“That face, those eyes… don’t look at me like I’m a stranger. It hurts so much…”
“What, mm?!”
He grabbed my chin hard. It hurt so much I almost screamed. But before I could, his rough lips pressed against mine. I felt like bugs were crawling all over me. No!
“Hyunji…”
“Stop! Let go!”
His hot breath came into my mouth. No, no! His big hand moved up my leg. That’s when I realized—this man was not in his right mind. I thought he came to kill me after realizing everything, but no.
“Let go! I said no!”
“Hyunji, don’t be like this…”
“Let go, Linus!”
His body froze. He couldn’t resist that voice. That made me feel even worse—my body knew this man’s weight and warmth too well. I clenched my teeth. I tasted blood.
Linus was still weak. He hadn’t recovered from losing the woman he was obsessed with. I felt sick. I wanted to die… but.
I wanted to live.
“I’m just tired right now, Linus. My love.”
“…Hyunji.”
His voice softened right away. I wanted to curse, but I held it back. Just like I did with Helen, I copied that woman’s way of speaking.
“Let’s sleep first. Okay? We’ll think after that… You haven’t slept in a long time, right?”
“Because… you weren’t here.”
“I’ll stay by your side. Sleep well. Don’t even dream…”
As if hypnotized by this voice, Linus blinked with wet eyes. He let out a long breath and leaned on my shoulder like a child. I patted his back gently until he was fully asleep. His breathing calmed quickly.
He hadn’t slept for almost ten days while taking care of Jang Hyunji. He wouldn’t wake up easily now. In my memories, he only slept peacefully when he was with her. So once he fell asleep, he stayed that way until his body caught up.
With trembling hands, I gently pushed his body away. I wrapped myself in a thin blanket and sat in a corner of the room. I felt miserable.
Dying would be better.
But I don’t want to die.
I don’t want to lose anything else.
Linus Shane Lindquist.
In the novel, Linus was the male lead who ended up with the female lead, Lila Green. Even though Jang Hyunji had taken over and claimed him, Linus still held the position of the male lead. In the end, he beat all the other men who loved Jang Hyunji and got her.
Linus was the kind of man everyone wanted.
He was the second son of the famous Lindquist Duke family, heir of the Marquis of Baldwin, the leader of the royal knights “Blue Dawn,” and the youngest sword master on the continent. All his titles were amazing. A normal person might spend their whole life trying to earn just one of those.
He was too good for a girl like me—the youngest daughter of the Seymour Marquis family.
Our engagement was my grandmother’s last gift to me. Maybe she thought I wouldn’t have to worry about life if I married such a great man. She pitied me because my mother died when I was born. She gave me my name and worried about me until her last breath.
Whatever happened, I became his fiancée. The word “fiancée” made my young heart beat fast.
The person I was going to marry.
The person who would be with me.
The person who would become my family.
Maybe it was like a baby bird imprinting on someone. I dreamed of starting a new family with my fiancé. I believed I could be happy if I married him. I thought, since my grandmother chose him, he would love me like she did. I thought once we became a family, things would change.
Even though I knew not all family loves you.
