C61
The embassy maiden came to see us while we were chatting in the garden and said,
"Miss, a man came saying he wanted to see Ethel-nim."
"Who?"
"Well. He didn't say his name, but he was tall, and by his way of speaking, he seemed like a knight. I couldn't see his face clearly because he was wearing a cloak. I don't think he's a reporter."
Could it be Terence by any chance?
"Should I guide him here?"
Suddenly, I got up from my seat.
"No, I'll go out and see. Where is he?"
"In front of the back door."
"Diana, I'll be back in a moment. Vinetta?"
"Yes."
Vinetta appeared out of nowhere and naturally followed me. She acted as my escort even after I left the villa, following Terence's orders. She said it was still time to be careful because there were many journalists targeting me.
As I headed toward the back door of the ambassador's residence with a somewhat excited heart, I felt like I had been splashed with cold water.
"Wife."
For some reason, Leandro, looking disheveled, was waiting for me alone, leaning against the wall.
I am also very stupid. If Terence had come to see me, he would have revealed his pseudonym, Tay, but he wouldn't have hidden his name suspiciously.
"I wonder why I didn't remember this simple fact before..."
I looked at Leandro with even more resentment for my stupidity.
"Why did you come here?"
When I looked closely, I noticed that, unlike someone who was very formal, he was wearing only underwear, and his hair was tangled. Did he escape after being caught?
"It's not too late. Let's cancel the divorce right now."
My head was throbbing.
"Please, face reality. We're already done."
"It can be reversed. No, let's start from scratch."
"Oh, seriously, why are you being like this? Leandro, you don't love me. What's the use of pretending to love someone when it's already too late?"
"...I love you. I like you."
At this point, I felt pure curiosity.
"Then tell me. You love me, but why did you treat me coldly? Don't try to disguise it this time, and don't say embarrassing nonsense like in court."
This time, too, he remained silent.
"If you're not going to talk, I'm leaving."
"Just wait a moment!"
The man who grabbed me urgently barely opened his trembling lips.
"In fact, I also... I don't know."
"Excuse me?"
"Well, it's hard to explain! I like you. That's right, but... I can't make love to you normally like other lovers."
"Then it's not love."
"But this is the first time I've felt like this for a woman who isn't even a family member!"
Leandro looked genuinely offended as he unbuttoned the top button of his shirt as if he were frustrated.
"From the first time I saw you, I inexplicably fell in love with you. I couldn't take my eyes off you while you treated my hand, and I was constantly worried about the vacant expression on your face."
I don't know about the emptiness, but if he refers to his hand, it seems to mean that he got injured the first time he visited the Wallace Mansion to buy the abandoned mine for his sister.
I applied medicine to Leandro's palm, which had been scratched by a tree branch on the way to the mountain. For some reason, I felt like he was looking at my face up close.
"Was it love at first sight?"
"Yes. I was sure it was destiny. It was the first time I felt something like that."
"But it turns out you didn't like me rationally, right?"
Leandro's face hardened.
"I heard you talked about it with the head butler."
"That..."
Leandro exhaled deeply and said, as if confessing an important secret.
"The first night, I felt that something was wrong. I just didn't feel like doing that with you."
"......"
"Before that, I didn't have a strong desire to kiss or hold someone in my arms like others did, but... I just thought that was my natural tendency. I didn't have any special feelings for any woman until I met my wife."
Once he began confessing, the words came out slowly. Perhaps he always wanted to confide in someone.
"Even so, the moment I touched my wife's shoulder, thinking we had to fulfill our duty as a married couple, I felt a strong sense of rejection. Like when you commit a sin."
The man's body trembled like an aspen.
"I could never overcome that feeling of rejection. After that, I had no choice but to keep running away. At least I wanted to be kind to you, but..."
"You were afraid that I would have hope again and ask you to treat me like a real wife."
"...that's right."
Is that why Leandro, who was kind to me before we got married, suddenly changed his attitude?
"Have you ever thought about telling your truth?"
"I tried countless times. There were some occasions when I used the help of alcohol."
I guess that was the reason he sometimes came to see me when he was very drunk. Now I understand.
"But I was afraid that you would get hurt or angry and leave me immediately."
Leandro's eyes welled up.
I admitted it honestly. Leandro was beautiful. As expected of the older brother of the heroine, his beauty was not dimmed by his disheveled appearance and awkward crying. It was even pathetic.