~Chapter 2~
“What did you say?”
I stared blankly at Tiana, completely at a loss for words.
“It’s the Duke’s birthday banquet in this estate, of course I should attend too, don’t you think?”
“….”
“I don’t have anything to wear… You know my situation, Cecilia.”
It was absurd.
After she had moved into the ducal estate, I had already gifted her more than five dresses.
I had done it simply because she was the Duchess’s friend, and I thought she should maintain at least some dignity while staying here.
Of course, I couldn’t charge those expenses to the ducal household. I had paid for every single dress out of my own pocket.
A faint scoff escaped me.
“If kindness is repeated, people start thinking it’s a right.”
It seemed Tiana had become exactly that kind of person.
“You’ll do it for me, right, Cecilia? I saw a new dress from Madame Charlotte’s latest collection—it was beautiful.”
Her eyes sparkled with anticipation.
It was as if there was no possibility that I would refuse her.
“No.”
“…Huh?”
At my firm voice, confusion flickered in her bright eyes.
“Why not?”
“I believe I’ve already given you enough dresses, Tiana.”
“But they were always cheap ones. I want to wear something nice this time too. It’s the Duke’s birthday banquet, after all…”
“I said no.”
When I shook off her hand from my arm, she looked startled.
A strange sense of rejection welled up inside me whenever she mentioned Kaiden.
“Tiana, why should I use my money to buy your dresses?”
It was the first time I had ever refused her.
If she still looked as lovable as before, I might have pretended not to notice and bought her one more dress.
But I didn’t want to anymore. Dresses weren’t cheap, after all.
Flustered, Tiana quickly changed her tone and clung to my arm again with a familiar smile.
“What’s wrong, Cecilia? You know my situation.”
“I’ve been struggling too lately. The duchy’s finances aren’t in good shape, and I can’t afford to casually buy dresses either.”
“That’s a lie—I saw you ordering dresses just a few days ago!”
She raised her voice, recalling how she had seen me summon a dressmaker recently.
“That’s not fair, Cecilia. I also know you ordered a dress from Madame Charlotte not long ago.”
“…”
“That’s so mean. I want to wear nice dresses too! You always wear the best ones while I get the cheap ones. Is it really that hard to buy me just one dress?”
“Then what about you?”
“…Huh?”
“You think everything I’ve done for you until now was something you were entitled to?”
“….”
I looked at her with cold, steady eyes.
Buying dresses for myself was natural. It was my husband’s birthday banquet, and I was his wife.
As the mistress of the ducal house, I had to receive many guests. Of course I needed a new dress for such an occasion.
And in a place where many eyes would be watching, it was only natural to care about appearance.
But Tiana?
Why did she so casually demand that I provide for her?
As if my resources were simply hers to use.
“Tiana Emel. Let me ask you something.”
“…Cecilia.”
“What am I to you? Are we really friends?”
In truth, there were many more things I wanted to ask.
Since when had she started looking at my husband in a way she shouldn’t?
Had she really been involved with Kaiden, knowing he was her friend’s husband?
She must have known… that I truly loved him.
There were so many questions I wanted to ask, but I held them back.
I couldn’t let her know I already knew about their affair.
Tiana seemed to notice how different I was acting today.
She inhaled sharply, startled, and grabbed my arm again.
“Cecilia, what’s wrong all of a sudden? You’re scaring me… Did something happen?”
“Let go.”
I shook her off.
“And Tiana, there’s something else I need to say.”
“…What is it?”
She asked cautiously, tension creeping into her voice.
I exhaled slowly and met her eyes directly.
“I want you to leave the ducal estate.”
“…!”
The entire afternoon, I felt terrible.
Of course I did. The shock of what I had seen during lunch lingered in my chest.
My husband… and my closest friend—betraying me together.
No matter how one looked at it, it was infuriating.
Nobles taking mistresses is common… but this?
What angered me most was the possibility that they had been deceiving me for a long time.
Since when had their relationship begun?
How many secret meetings had taken place within these walls?
How many times had they whispered love in places stained with my presence?
Just thinking about it made me unable to tolerate Tiana wandering freely in this estate.
When I told her to leave without explanation, she clung to me, begging and crying—until she finally broke down and left the room.
If it had been before, I might have softened at her tears.
But not anymore.
If anything, I only felt more disgusted.
Her reaction to the dresses made everything clearer.
Perhaps… she had never truly considered me a friend at all.
By evening, a message arrived.
“Madam, His Grace the Duke Hamilton requests to have dinner with you.”
As I was working to calm my mind, Camilla informed me, leaning in excitedly.
“Oh my… it seems His Grace is trying to open his heart to you again!”
Kaiden Hamilton.
My husband had grown distant over the past three years.
In the early days of our marriage, we ate together every day. But that was long gone. Recently, he always had work or engagements that kept him away from dinner.
Camilla probably thought this was a hopeful sign for our strained relationship.
But…
Was it really a coincidence that he chose today—after my confrontation with Tiana—to invite me?
Somehow, I already knew what this was about.
Still, I decided to go.
I wanted to hear what my husband had to say.
Just as I had listened to Tiana earlier that day.
It was perhaps the last fragment of hope I had left.
A hope that every betrayed spouse holds onto at least once.
A foolish hope—that everything might not be what it seems… or that even if it is, they would at least tell the truth to my face.
When I arrived at the dining room, Kaiden stood up from his seat.
“Cecilia. You’re here?”
“…”
“Come, sit. I thought we could have dinner together for the first time in a while.”
He unusually escorted me to the table himself.
The table was set with dishes clearly ordered specially by him—soup, salad, steak… a luxurious spread unlike usual.
“This is your favorite wine. I brought it because it reminded me of our early days.”
He poured wine into my glass.
It was indeed the same brand we used to drink in our early marriage.
Though those days and these days are completely different now.
He raised his glass.
Clink.
The sound of glasses touching echoed like fragments scattering in the air.
Dinner began.
As Kaiden cut into his steak, he spoke.
“How was your day? You worked hard again today, didn’t you, my lady.”
“…”
He finished cutting the steak and placed his plate in front of me, taking mine for himself.
I silently watched his actions.
It was strange.
The man I had once loved so deeply.
The man I once believed I couldn’t live without.
The man I once thought felt the same way about me.
Why did everything he do now feel so unbearable?
Even though it was the same gestures from back then…
