Chapter 28

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“…I’m a little scared.” 

“Why are you afraid?” 

Enoch asked the question in a rather tense voice.

It was really weird.

With just one answer from Ines, Enoch’s heart would end up in a mess like a tangled thread. What if Ines doesn’t want to leave Ryan, or what if she wants to reconsider her relationship with Ryan again?

Then Ines responded as if he was asking something obvious.

“It’s because I’m worried that the divorce won’t happen.”

“Oh, was that so?”

Enoch was relieved without realizing it.

At the same time, there were deep wrinkles over his beautiful brows.

‘Why the hell am I feeling relieved?’

Even though Ines’ divorce was just around the corner and he became sensitive, it was a bit excessive.

Ines’s every word and every small action could make him feel happy or sad.

On the other hand, Ines was reminiscing about the times she had been apart from Ryan. Life without Ryan was too sweet.

To the extent that she wished she had never married Ryan.

The thought of her having to live as a couple with Ryan once again was terrifying. 

Ines, who shuddered at the thought, looked at Enoch with a puzzled face.

“Then why are you smiling so much, Duke?”

“What?”

‘I smiled?’

Enoch, startled, reflexively touched his face.

‘Really…I was smiling.’

The tip of Enoch’s lips had suddenly soared high in the sky without realizing it. Fortunately, Ines didn’t pay more attention to Enoch.

“Ah, look at that tree fruit!”

Ines pointed to the coniferous tree that had grown thick nearby.

Under the branches of the coniferous tree, which remained blue even in chilly weather, red fruits hung mockingly.

“Isn’t it so cute?”

Excited, Ines trotted towards it.

Wanting to look at the scenery of the tree, she immediately took out her sketchbook.

Then she turned to look at Enoch with a troubled face.

“I’m going to sketch, can you please wait a little bit?”

“Of course.”

Enoch nodded his head warmly.

With permission, Ines began to play the pencil with a delighted face.

Enoch looked at Ines from behind.

How vividly the figure of a human being concentrating on something and letting her talents shine. And how pleasant it was to be able to watch her from the side.

‘Wait.’

In an instant, Enoch suddenly realized.

Who has ever shaken him like this…

There was none other than Ines.

***

Finally, the day of the trial dawned.

Ines looked up at the ceiling and blinked slowly.

‘My heart is pounding.’

She raised her hand and pressed it against her chest.

So many emotions rushed in, Ines barely slept the night before.

But she wasn’t tired or sleepy.

Rather, the full anticipation energized her whole body.

‘It’s okay, I just need to finish the court today well.’

Ines’ two eyes lit up.

Her long married life was finally ending as of today.

She would finally wrap up her relationship with Ryan, and become Ines Brierton instead of Countess Brierton.

There was little fear that for some reason her divorce case might fail.

‘Probably not …because the Duke supports me.’

When she thought of Enoch, a faint smile appeared on the corner of her lips without realizing it. Throughout her stay at the villa, Ines had received Elton’s magazine regularly.

Elton’s unique logical article was enjoyable every time she saw it.

One of the editorials was especially interesting.

The editorial that cleverly drove Ryan as an ‘incompetent man’ and made her laugh was excellent.

Contemplating the contents, Ines, who had been lying on the bed, got up.

‘Now I have to get up.’

As she opened the window, the cold and refreshing air characteristic of late winter rushed into the room. At dawn, a bluish light drenched everything. Ines captured the tranquil village scenery for a long time. 

“… …… beautiful.”

A voice like a sigh came out.

‘After the successful divorce from Ryan, I probably won’t be able to  look at this scenery any more.’ Thinking like that, Ines paused for a moment.

‘Then now… Does my relationship with the Duke of Sussex end here?’

There was a high probability.

Because he and she were only holding hands for their respective purposes.

Through a special article about Count Brierton, Elton’s sales soared day by day, and Enoch also faithfully kept his promise to Ines.

Because every time Elton magazine articles came out, Ryan’s reputation was thrown on the floor like garbage.

That was how they could bring Ryan to trial.

Ines tried hard to console herself, but it didn’t work out as well as he had hoped.

Until just now, she had been feeling so light. As soon as she realized that her relationship with Enoch was ending, her chest felt heavy as if she swallowed a large stone.

The hand that gripped the window frame gained strength.

‘Okay, let’s stop thinking about it.’

Ines shook her head and stepped back.

‘Wake up, Ines. Right now, you need to focus on the divorce case.’

Even after repeating it many times, Ines could not close the window in the end.

It was because the frustration as if swallowing a large stone was not likely to go away if she didn’t feel the cold wind.

***

it was because

***

After a while.

Ines, who had finished preparing to go out, got on the carriage a little early in the morning. She had to leave early because of the distance between Meldon House and Langdon.

Ines, who was quietly observing the distant Meldon House, paid attention to her reflection in the window.

Although her expression looked a bit tense, she didn’t look shabby when standing in front of others. It was thanks to breaking away from being the ‘simple woman’ Ryan had wanted her to be.

‘Alright.’

Ines clenched her fiery fists.

‘I can do well. I’ve done a good job so far.’

In a way, it was a miracle in itself to convince Enoch to join her.

She might not have created the situation in which she could file for divorce if it hadn’t been for Enoch’s help.

‘Come to think of it… the Duke of Sussex said he would attend as an observer.’ 

From the start, Enoch had suggested that he would take her to court himself if she wanted to.

But Ines refused.

Anyway, Ines was not yet divorced, so she was a little concerned about how others looked at her.

Above all.

‘Because I must not cause trouble to the Duke.’

In fact, she was sincere.

She wanted to avoid harming Enoch as much as possible.

Even though he said it was okay for Ines to stay at this villa. Because she was the artist the Duke of Sussex had promised to support and she needed protection from the press, and that people would understand.

However.

‘He shouldn’t be misunderstood for more than an artist-supporter relationship.’

The truth that Ines and Enoch weren’t really that kind of relationship probably didn’t matter that much to others.

Ines’ respect for Enoch, her benefactor, who gave her the chance to retrieve the precious things that she had lost.

She was just grateful.

But all of that will simply be consumed as gossip out of public interest.

Also, that misunderstanding may be a considerable blemish for Enoch, who has an impeccable reputation.

Ines’ green eyes sank deeply for a moment. 

‘Perhaps the Duke thought the same, that’s why he refrained from visiting the villa.’ 

Since lending the villa to Ines, Enoch had never personally visited her.

He only came to see her only yesterday.

But Ines understood why Enoch was cautious.

If she was him, she would not have been wiser than Enoch.

Also, didn’t he stop by and comfort Ines yesterday even though he was busy?

Although she knew that Enoch had already helped her plenty, and that it would be rather selfish to wish for more of him in such a situation.

‘… I wish he had come a little more often.’

Ines, startled for a moment, shook her head violently.

‘What the hell am I thinking!’

After thinking about it for a while, she realized that the town of Langdon was just a short distance away.

Ines looked at the courthouse in the distance. Even though the distance was still considerable, the size of the courthouse was big enough to come to her view immediately.

Under the dazzling morning sun, the Statue of Justice sculpted from pure white marble shone brightly.

‘Now… The trial will begin in a little while.’

Her mouth was dry.

About a month before the divorce proceedings start. During this time, Ines had never met Ryan.

And she realized.

‘Only one Ryan disappeared from her life, how could she live so peacefully.’

A life where she was completely focused on herself.

She didn’t know it at all, but the time when she got out of her bondage of being called Ryan was so intense.

‘I don’t want to go back to that hellish marriage again.’

***

*You’ll see your Eddy next chapter, H ????