Chapter 46
Through the window, Marsha’s figure flickered into view—damnably beautiful.
To think I wasted both my youth and my heart, all because of that face…!
A surge of rage welled up in James.
If it were up to him, he would’ve leapt through that window right then and there.
No matter how pitiful his own state was, surely he could overpower one woman.
I deserve more than just money for what I’ve lost.
She owes me something else too!
A vile grin spread across James’s lips as he entertained the thought. Just then, Marsha stepped out of the room.
James scrambled, ready to slip through the window—when a voice stopped him.
“—Does it look strange?”
“Not too strange.”
Huh? James blinked, convinced he’d misheard.
After all, there couldn’t possibly be a man in Marsha’s house.
A young man, at that.
“I just wanted to ask you something…”
But the voice came again.
Clear, undeniable. James froze.
There was a young man in the house.
Panicked, he pulled his hands back from the window frame.
I… I can’t go in now.
Even standing here was dangerous.
The spot he’d chosen was perfect for sneaking in—but just as easy to be spotted from inside.
Where… where can I hide?
As he weighed his options, a sudden rustle came from nearby.
!
It was only a rabbit darting through the brush—but James, startled out of his wits, bolted toward the woods.
A heartbeat later, the sharp crash of a window being thrown open rang behind him.
Crouching behind a tree, James held his breath.
Only after a long silence did he dare peek out. No figures lingered at the window.
D… Did they see me?
Just as relief loosened his chest, a familiar voice rang out.
“Marsha! Mother might insist you stay for lunch. Oh, and if you’re too full for orange cake, I’ll pack you some to take home!”
The voice was so loud that it carried clearly even from afar.
That unmistakable chatter belonged to Berry.
It seemed Marsha was heading out with Berry.
Whether the “young man” was accompanying them remained uncertain.
James slumped against the base of the tree, trying to piece the situation together.
Marsha’s been searching for her husband…
Could that young man be him?
No… impossible.
There’s no way she’d have found her missing husband overnight.
Then who was he?
Not her husband—just a lover, perhaps?
Some worthless pretty boy she was keeping around?
That filthy woman!
How could she degrade herself like that?
And after all that, why had she rejected him?
There’s a limit to how much a man can be scorned…!
James’s teeth ground together until his jaw ached.
His eyes burned red with fury, his body trembling as hot, ragged breaths forced their way through his lips.
Unforgivable. Absolutely unforgivable.
***
As the setting sun painted the world in crimson, Marcia hurried home…
Marsha started toward home, quickening her pace.
It’s later than I thought.
Berry’s family had been reluctant to let her leave after her long absence.
Their warmth filled her with both gratitude and guilt.
I’ve been too busy with my own life to visit often.
But she hadn’t even been able to focus properly on their conversations.
I kept hearing Claudio’s words echoing in my head…
Had she really forgotten the question he wanted to ask her?
Or had it been too important to slip her mind so easily?
His voice, when he first said he had something to ask, had carried such weight.
…I’ll just have to ask him. I can’t stand leaving things unsettled.
Especially not with someone she lived under the same roof with.
It was then—
Rustle.
A heavy step crushed the leaves behind her.
Marsha whirled around, startled, just as a figure broke through the brush.
“Marsha…!”
It was James.
Her heart pounded violently at the sudden, unwelcome sight.
So it’s true—you never really left for Sedem?
“You filthy wench!” he spat, stumbling toward her. But almost immediately he tripped and went sprawling face-first into the dirt.
Marsha froze, utterly dumbfounded by the absurd scene.
“Argh, my leg!”
He sat up with a groan, rubbing spit into the scrape on his skin, then glared at her with eyes full of venom.
“This is all your fault! Why don’t you just move into Berry’s house already, huh?!”
What on earth is he talking about?
Had he been tailing her—waiting here until she came back?
A chill ran down her spine.
Fixing him with a hard stare as he struggled to his feet, Masha demanded,
“Why are you here?”
“I know everything!” James raved, words tumbling out like a drunkard’s slur. “You’re married, aren’t you? You’ve got a husband, don’t you?!”
“What nonsense are you babbling now?”
She snapped, her brows knitting.
“Don’t play dumb! You dirty whore! Pretending to be some innocent maiden while you tricked me—when you’re already used up…!”
The filth of his words made her recoil in both fear and disgust.
“I don’t know what you think you’ve heard, but you’re horribly mistaken—and frankly disgusting,” she retorted coldly. Yet even as she said it, the thought snagged at her. Who would tell him something so absurd?
“…Or did you just make this up yourself?”
“What? Delusions? Did you just say I’m delusional?!”
James lurched closer, so near now he could have grabbed her if he reached out.
His breath came hot and ragged.
“Who else would spread such vile rumours about you?!”
“Vile?” Marsha shot back, her voice sharp.
“The only vile one here is you. Stalking me, spouting filth, and accusing me of things you invented yourself.”
“No, you’re the vile one! Hunting for your husband while shacking up with another man!”
Her eyes widened—he knew.
He knew she was living with Claudio.
Her pupils trembled as James thrust a finger in her face, trembling with rage.
“My devotion to you! My precious time, wasted on you! How are you going to repay me for that, huh?!”
“What the hell are you talking about!”
Marsha shouted, her voice breaking through the night.
James flinched, recoiling slightly as though struck.
“I have no idea what nonsense you’re spewing right now! And that so-called devotion and time you claim to have sacrificed for me? To me, it was nothing but relentless torment!”
“Y-you—!”
James’s face flushed so red it looked like it might burst, his fists clenched so tightly his knuckles whitened.
“If you hadn’t pretended to be some pure little maiden, I wouldn’t have gone through all this trouble! So you’d better pay me back for it all!”
“What on earth do you even want me to pay you back with…?”
Marsha’s exasperated words were nothing but disbelief, yet James twisted them into something else.
His lips curled into a crooked, vicious grin.
“Obviously with money. Don’t even think about making excuses. I know you’ve got savings. Enough to track down an information broker, right?”
Marsha’s breath caught in her throat.
She had assumed James lingered nearby because he somehow knew about Claudio, but to think he’d even learned about that…
Wait.
She suddenly remembered her past conversation with the broker.
So that’s what this was about? He had taken her words at face value and twisted them into this disgusting fantasy.
A sigh slipped from her lips, heavy with regret.
I never should have played along that day.
But to James, her sigh was proof of defeat.
His eyes lit with a grotesque satisfaction, and his mouth split into a wide, grimy smile.
“Ha! Thought you could fool me? You’ve been dancing in the palm of my hand this whole time! If you don’t want that man you’re living with to throw you out in disgust, you’d better hand over the money!”
“Do whatever you want.”
“…What?”
James blinked, his eyes bulging in disbelief.
But Marsha’s glare was steady, her voice sharp as steel.
“I said do whatever you want. Rant to him, spread your filth—I don’t care.”
Her words sounded dismissive, but her chest was tight with unease.
She hated the thought of Claudio hearing even a whisper of James’s lies.
Still, there was no way she’d bend to his blackmail.
“It’s laughable, really. You, trying to threaten me. Aren’t you the one on the run right now?”
James’s throat bobbed with a hard swallow.
“…What are you talking about?”
Marsha’s eyes narrowed, her voice fierce and unshaking.
“You conned people, didn’t you? Are you out of your mind? How could you pull something like that? Do you really think you can keep living with a clean conscience?”
She knew too well what it meant to live as prey, always hunted.
The way your heart seized whenever a constable passed too close.
The way you lie awake at night, terrified of being discovered, of being driven out.
Even when you wore a calm face, deep inside you were rotting with fear.
And yet here he was, a man who had deliberately committed crimes—who thought he could go on as though nothing weighed on him.
No.
He didn’t deserve peace.
“Go turn yourself in. Right now. That’s the only shred of responsibility you’ll ever show for what you’ve done.”
“You…! You are insolent—!”
James’s whole body shook, trembling with rage, until at last he lunged.
Marsha stumbled back, startled, but his filthy hand still managed to snatch the scarf from her neck.
“What the hell are you doing?! Let go!”
“Shut up. Tonight I’m going to teach you a lesson you’ll never forget!”
With a violent tug, James ripped the scarf from her throat.
“Ugh—!”
The violent tug sent Marsha’s body lurching forward, and in that motion the necklace hidden beneath her clothes slipped free, dangling in the open.
James’s gaze froze.
His eyes locked onto it, unblinking.
A necklace—no, a pair of rings strung together, glinting in the dim light.
So she did have a husband.
And yet she’d tried to deny it? Tried to claim he’d abandoned her?
Wait…!
The sparkle of the rings made his throat go dry.
They weren’t ordinary trinkets; even at a glance, they screamed of worth.
A treasure.
James’s eyes rolled wide with greed, and his hand shot out like a viper.
Marsha flinched, gasping, and instinctively clutched the pendant to her chest with both hands, twisting her body to shield it.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing? Back off!”
She struggled fiercely, but James only tightened his grip, his fingers crushing painfully around her wrists.
“Agh—!”
Pain contorted Marsha’s face, her strength faltering.
At this rate, her hands would give out, the rings slipping into his filthy grasp.
No.
She couldn’t—she wouldn’t let that happen.
“Let go of me!”
Her teeth clenched, fury and desperation blazing in her eyes.
Then, with every ounce of strength she had, she drove her knee upward—hard.
“Guhhh—!”
The sound tore from James’s throat, guttural and broken.
His eyes rolled back, his body doubling over as he staggered, clutching himself in agony.
