Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Eric was in the same carriage.

She brought up the divorce with him a few days ago, so she thought that he would take another carriage, but it was amazing that he had waited for her.

Chloe tried not to show her surprise as she sat across from him.

Giddy up. The coachman stirred the horses forward, and the locomotive started moving.

Black smoke covered the car window, and the screeching sounds of the engine pierced the air.

“…….”

However, inside the carriage, it was quiet. Neither of them opened their lips to speak.

The silence lasted a long time. Until they eventually saw the Imperial Palace outside the window.

“It’s so frustrating. I’m going crazy.”

And what broke the silence was Eric’s muttering.

He unclasped his sleeve cuffs and turned his wrists. Then, he faced Chloe.

“Why didn’t you come out of your room?”

Chloe thought for a moment about what answer she should give.

“Because… I didn’t have a reason to go out?”

She answered only with that, nothing more and nothing less.

She didn’t go out of her room because she had nothing to do outside.

This was the truth, but Eric didn’t look very happy.

“Didn’t you think about coming to me?”

Chloe was perplexed by this. The ribbons tied on her hat were slightly disturbed.

“You’re… busy.”

Eric furrowed his brows.

That’s right. He’s busy.

He was going crazy because he was so busy. However, despite being so busy, he was also tired of just looking at the door that never opened again.

Eric had to admit it, that he was waiting for Chloe.

Ha. He let out a sigh and unbuttoned his collar.

“It’s your birthday soon.”

Eric continued to speak, looking into Chloe’s wide eyes.

“I made a reservation at the Antoinette Opera. I hope we can go there together on that day.”

“Pardon?”

Chloe blinked her widened eyes several times.

“Together?”

“Then, you’d rather go alone?”

At Eric’s firm words, Chloe couldn’t stop her mouth from gaping.

But she soon tightened her lips together, looking away with discomfort in her eyes. Then, she turned back and met his gaze.

“Suddenly? Why?”

With a sigh and with his Eric clenched his fingers into a fist, but he soon unclenched this and straightened his furrowed brows with his fingers. He let out a sigh.

“I believe I’ve been good to you, Wife.”

“…Pardon?”

“I think I’ve done a good job so far.”

He leaned forward, interlocking his fingers.”

“But maybe that wasn’t the case for you.”

“It wasn’t.”

Chloe answered immediately. Then, she looked over to Eric. Seeing how his expression didn’t change, Chloe sighed in relief.

“So I’m saying I’ll give it a try.”

Eric straightened his shoulders and raised his chin.

“To be a good husband to my wife.”

Chloe looked blankly at him the whole time she listened to his words. She stared at Eric with eyes that were out of focus, as if she had gotten lost. Then, she slowly raised her head.

“Why?”

Chloe’s question was unexpected.

Of course, he thought that Chloe would like what he said, but he didn’t know that he would ask like this.

His conversations with Chloe always went beyond his expectations. And he was always left with no choice but to be rendered speechless.

“I was going to spend my birthday alone. As always.”

Chloe could barely speak through her confusion.

“But why…”

She grabbed the skirt of her dress unconsciously.

“Is it because I brought up divorce? That’s why you’re trying to be nice to me?”

Eric saw sadness in Chloe’s eyes—despair. He tried to think of a reason why it was there.

So he couldn’t understand even more.

Why? Why was she reacting like this? He felt betrayed and unfair again.

Chloe seemed to keep brushing off his efforts to do better down the drain.

“Then what are you going to do?”

Eric answered her sharply. Chloe’s expression soon grew distorted.

“You’re really too much.”

And she replied with a voice that was not emotional—it was calm, yet so deflated.

“If I hadn’t done that, you’d still treat me the same way.”

Chloe recalled Eric’s attitude towards her over the past five years.

“You ignored me, you were indifferent to me, and you were completely… absent. Isn’t that right?”

Eric’s forehead wrinkled. He shook his head slowly.

“I never did that.”

“Do you really think so?”

Chloe looked into Eric’s eyes as she asked.

Eric chewed the inside of his cheek instead of answering.

It felt like he was cornered, as if he had been trapped there with no chance to escape. It’s not something he usually felt.

“So what do you want me to do? Do you want me to be with you or not?”

“Darling.”

Chloe sighed heavily.

She looked at his strong chin, his splendidly shaped lips, his high nose and his two gleaming eyes.

This was the man she loved.

She wondered if this man…

“Do you love me?”

Did he love her?”

With Eric verbalizing the words in her mind, Chloe’s eyes shook in all directions.

The sound of her gulping dryly filled the carriage.

The silence persisted.

How much time had passed?

Eric turned out the window, withdrawing his gaze from Chloe.

“You can’t answer.”

Chloe smiled helplessly and bowed her head.

“You don’t even love me.”

The ball that the royal family held was the same.

It was equally colorful, magnificent and glorious just as it was five years ago.

What’s different this time was that she didn’t enter with her brother by her side, but instead with Eric.

With Eric, her husband who she fought with just now.

“I’ll be over there.”

Chloe only nodded to answer him.

Eric stared at Chloe for a while, then soon walked slowly towards the other side of the banquet hall.

Chloe didn’t watch Eric’s back as he left.

Hadn’t she seen it far too long? She was tired of that now. She didn’t want to do that anymore.

She shouldn’t have to see the back of the person who didn’t love her.

Chloe picked up a glass of champagne and took a sip of alcohol. As the prickly alcohol went down her throat, she felt that her heart was more calm now.

After she finished her drink, she reached out to pick up another glass.

And then…

“Who do we have here? Chloe!”

It was the voice of Harris, the second prince. In fact, Chloe turned her head and welcomed the voice she hadn’t heard in a long time.

“Brother!” ¹

She smiled broadly and greeted Harris.

“It’s been a while. Have you been doing well?”

“How have you been? Goodness, come here. You’ve grown a lot.”

“I’m not a child. It’s already been a long time since I’ve come of age.”

“In my eyes, you’ll always be a kid.”

Harris patted Chloe on the shoulder. Feeling this warm touch melted her frozen heart a little. Chloe exhaled somewhat heavily with a gentle smile.

“Oh right, did the Marquis come with you?”

“Yes, he went to the other side because he had something to do.”

“Tsk, tsk. What a terrible guy to have left you alone like this.”

Chloe smiled bitterly instead of answering. Then, she turned away and looked around.

“Where’s Wiliam?”

Harris pointed behind Chloe, and at that, she turned around in a hurry. There, the third prince William stood. He was Chloe’s childhood friend and former fiancé.

“Chloe.”

Boasting his bright blond hair, he walked closer to Chloe with a relaxed smile as always.

“It’s been a while. How have you been?”

“I’ve been well, of course. And you?”

“It’s the same for me.”

“Doing well, this guy?”

Harris cut into their conversation.

“He’s still not getting married even though he’s gotten so many marriage proposals. He’s a nuisance to the royal family.”

“Brother, don’t say that,” William replied.

“Why? Are you being shy in front of Chloe?”

“Brother.”

“Okay, okay.”

Harris chuckled at William, whose face had turned red. Then he shifted his gaze to Chloe.

“Well, let’s stop chattering so much.”

And at that moment, his eyes flashed.

“Chloe seems to have something to say.”

Chloe opened her lips unconsciously.

Did she have anything to say?

There was.

She had a lot to say to them, towards his childhood friends she considered to be older brothers. The most urgent topic to bring up was to borrow money.

But…

The reason why she needed money was because of her divorce with her husband. But right now, her husband was stubbornly refusing to divorce, so she couldn’t bring up the matter of money so hastily. So instead of speaking about that, Chloe shook her head.

“No, I don’t have anything to say.”

“Really?”

Harris touched the back of his neck, his lips twisted up into a smile.

“Well, I have something to say.”

He spoke in an undulating tone.

“I thought you knew about the marriage talks between Marquis Aslan and my younger sister.”

“…What?”

Chloe still had the innocence of a child. Even so, she was a clever woman who knew how aristocratic society worked. That’s why she noticed that Prince Harris said this intentionally to gauge her.

“What do you mean?”

Chloe calmly asked back. Harris’ eyebrows shot up.

“I mean exactly what I said. There are marriage talks between my younger sister and the Marquis.”

“Does my husband know of this?”

“Just because one person doesn’t know doesn’t mean that it’s not going on.”

Chloe was deeply immersed in her thoughts.

Harris laughed inwardly as he looked at Chloe, but he couldn’t get caught.

“It hasn’t been finalized yet, Chloe.”

He took one step closer to her.

“But if the Marquis remarries, we’ll take care of you. You don’t have anything to worry about.”

He patted Chloe’s shoulder just as he did earlier.

“Poor Chloe. If we knew this would happen, you should have married William back then.”

——

t/n:

¹ they’re not actually blood related, Chloe just calls Harris ‘Brother’ because it’s a term of endearment between close friends

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