Episode 14
Christine was surprised by Seimon’s sharp words. She carefully asked,
“Are you saying it’s all because of me?”
“That’s how it sounds, doesn’t it? So, do you feel guilty now?”
Seimon spoke bitterly.
“You think I’d feel guilty?”
“Who knows? You were always the hardest person to read.”
Seimon answered coldly, staring at the hallway through the balcony door.
He felt like he was stuck in a deep, dark hole.
Doctors kept repeating that there was no way out, and he was tired of hearing it.
He sighed and held his forehead. Then Christine spoke again.
“I don’t understand you either.”
“What?”
“You came looking for me without knowing I was pregnant. Did you really just come because you were curious about why I divorced you?”
Her voice trembled slightly. Seimon gave a cold, bitter smile and answered cynically.
“What if I did?”
“That’s… all?”
“All?”
Seimon snapped. Christine stepped back without realizing it.
“Yes. Just divorce. That’s all. When I came back from my business trip, my father had already taken care of the divorce papers.”
“…He decided our marriage too. So I guess he gets to decide everything.”
Christine avoided his angry eyes and tried to stay calm.
“So our opinions never mattered at all?”
His voice became even sharper.
Every time Seimon remembered how his father had forced him into that marriage, it burned him up inside.
And now Christine was bringing it up again, making him feel like his pride was being crushed.
The mood between them turned ice cold.
Christine could tell Seimon was truly angry. Not knowing what to say, she softly called his name.
“Seimon…”
He slowly turned to look at her. His golden eyes were full of pain and anger.
“Was divorce that easy for you?”
His voice was too calm—it made her uneasy.
“…I broke our contract. That’s why.”
Her voice got quieter.
“Because you got pregnant?”
He gave a cold laugh. He looked like he couldn’t breathe.
“Fine. Let’s stop running from this. Let’s talk properly.”
He stepped closer and looked straight into her eyes. His gaze was filled with sadness, anger, and deep wounds.
“Why was it your mistake alone? I was there too. Whether we divorced or raised the child, shouldn’t we have talked about it together?”
His voice shook, like he could break at any second.
“…Maybe.”
Christine looked down. She was scared.
She was afraid he would tell her to get rid of the baby. That this child, created in a marriage based only on a contract, didn’t deserve to live.
She was afraid of hearing such cruel words from Seimon—the baby’s father.
That’s why she ran away. Before he came back from his trip. Before she had to face him.
She had told herself she could handle it alone.
‘I wanted him to live happily,’ she thought. To marry the daughter of a proper Republican family, like he was supposed to. That’s why she had left.
Christine thought she had done the kind thing. But now, she was starting to feel hurt and unfairly blamed.
“You didn’t give me any reason to trust you.”
“What?”
Seimon raised his eyebrows. But Christine didn’t back down.
“You never made me feel like I could rely on you. Were we even the kind of couple that could talk about something like this?”
As she spoke, memories of their marriage came flooding back. It felt like her heart was bleeding.
She had accepted her fate and stayed married to a rich, popular, yet cold man. She endured it.
Living with a busy, distant husband she hardly ever saw—it was like swallowing mud.
And in that cold, lonely Deirt mansion, how could she trust anyone enough to raise a child?
Christine remembered all her pain and clenched her fists tightly.
“I’m leaving.”
She couldn’t take it anymore.
She didn’t know what awful things she might say next, and she didn’t want to hurt the already-sick Seimon.
“Where are you going?”
Seimon tried to stop her, but her expression had gone cold.
“Whether you get treated or not, that’s your business.”
“Christine!”
Seimon quickly followed her.
“I don’t understand! Even if you didn’t trust me, what kind of pregnant woman runs away without saying a word?!”
“Why not?! If I thought my child would be unhappy, then leaving is the right thing for a mother to do! Let me go!”
She tried to pull her arm away from Seimon’s grip, but he held on tighter.
“No!”
“Let go before I call the police, Seimon Deirt!”
Tears rolled down Christine’s cheeks as she glared at him.
“!!!”
Slip…
Shocked, Seimon let go of her arm.
Seeing her cry like that made him feel like she would disappear forever.
Christine opened the balcony door and walked quickly down the hallway, leaving him behind.
Seimon stood frozen like a statue, staring at the spot where she had been.
Only now did he truly realize what he had lost. He had let go of someone he should never have lost.
Christine’s tears and every word she said were stuck deep in his heart, stabbing him over and over.
A while later, Andrei came up to him carefully and reported quietly.
“Lady Oredot took a taxi. She said she was going shopping. She arrived safely, so you don’t have to worry, sir.”
Seimon slowly nodded and muttered with a hollow voice,
“…Okay.”
He was relieved to know she was safe—but at the same time, he felt empty.
The image of her walking away alone without even looking back made his chest ache.
The guilt of not protecting her, and the regret for how cold he had been in the past, were suffocating him.
He rubbed his forehead angrily, then suddenly had a bad feeling. He turned to Andrei sharply and asked,
“So where exactly did Christine go to shop?”
When Andrei hesitated, Seimon’s face twisted with frustration. His eyes were full of worry and urgency.
“Answer properly, Andrei. Tell me exactly where she went.”
Andrei’s eyes shook. Seimon was already clenching his fists, with only one thought in mind:
He had to find her and bring her back—no matter what.
“She said she was going shopping and to meet a friend. She went to the city department store. She also told us not to follow her.”
“A friend?”
Seimon frowned.
“Christine has friends here? Didn’t you say Ria is working late today?”
“Yes… that’s right.”
Andrei answered flatly, like a secretary reading from a file.
“That’s it?”
Seimon growled, and Andrei quickly corrected himself.
“Ah—should I follow her?”
Seimon exploded.
“Of course! She’s pregnant! What if something happens to her?! I told you to keep an eye on her at all times!”
Andrei wanted to explain that pregnant women don’t just collapse randomly in the street, but Seimon was so furious that he just nodded.
“Yes, sir. I’ll go.”
“I’m coming too.”
“You, sir?”
“Yes.”
He had a really bad feeling.
Something told him he had to go in person.
Who was she going to meet?
