My Husband Caught Me Having an Affair - Chapter 114

When Ethan suggested taking a short break, I parked the wheelchair beside a bench in the garden and sat down. That brought our eye levels in line.

I was racking my brain for a way to naturally bring up Elodie, when Ethan suddenly asked,

“How is that child doing?”

“Who?”

“That Elodie girl from the orphanage.”

At his words, I couldn’t believe my ears. I had been waiting for the perfect chance to bring up Elodie, and yet Ethan mentioned her first.

“Ah… yes. She seemed to be doing well. When I visited the orphanage, the head nun said Elodie prayed for your safety every day. Isn’t that so sweet?”

“…Really? That child did that?”

Ethan asked again, sounding surprised.

“Of course. Why would I lie about something like that? When I saw her afterward, she asked me if you were alright. Isn’t she just the sweetest?”

“I see.”

“Oh, right. I also told her that you recovered safely thanks to her daily prayers. And do you know what she said? She said she only prayed, and it was the doctor who healed you. Isn’t that just the cutest thing?”

At my words, Ethan nodded with a serious expression.

“Indeed. It’s quite realistic and logical thinking for a child. I find her likable.”

“Huh? Seriously, that’s ridiculous.”

I giggled, and Ethan silently watched me with a smile.

“…Why are you looking at me like that?”

“You really do look the happiest when you talk about her.”

Ethan’s gaze was as soft and warm as the sunlight streaming down on us.

I stared at him blankly, then suddenly looked away.

‘…Wait. Did he bring up Elodie just to see me happy?’

My face flushed with heat. My heart was pounding like crazy.

‘Not again. Seriously…’

Every time Ethan acted like this, I couldn’t keep my expression in check, let alone respond properly.

Until now, I had always handled crises with ease. I prided myself on quick thinking and sharp wit.

But now I felt like I’d suddenly turned into an idiot.

‘Wait a second… Was Ethan always this straightforward?’

In the original story, after his denial phase ended, he had plenty of daughter-obsessed moments with Elodie. But even then, it felt different.

‘Well, of course he’d act differently around a daughter and a woman he’s interested in… Still, this is a bit too much all of a sudden…’

I pressed my hand to my chest and took a deep breath. I needed to stay calm.

Since Ethan had brought up Elodie first, I couldn’t let this chance slip away.

“Speaking of which…”

As I began, Ethan turned to look at me again.

“About Elodie. What do you think of her?”

“Hmm…”

Ethan didn’t answer immediately. He hesitated, watching me, carefully choosing his words.

“As I said earlier, I think she’s a good kid. She’s young, but smart and well-mannered… Considering she’s a commoner orphan, that’s even more commendable.”

“Right? I knew you had a good eye for people.”

At my words, Ethan gave a faint, wry smile.

I cleared my throat and continued, “Then what if… What if you had a daughter like Elodie? What would you think?”

“What would I think? What do you mean?”

“Just what it sounds like. Would you like having a daughter like Elodie? Do you think you’d find her cute and cherish her?”

“……”

Ethan looked at me silently. He seemed strangely tense.

Then he finally opened his mouth.

“That goes without saying. Of course I would.”

It was an even more positive answer than I expected. I instinctively leaned toward him and asked, “Really? You’d find her cute and cherish her?”

“Of course. Naturally. She’d be our child, born from you and me.”

“……”

That made me freeze.

Ethan tilted his head, looking puzzled. “What’s wrong? Did I say something wrong?”

“No, it’s not that…”

“Not that?”

Ethan watched me with a serious expression.

‘Ah…’

It hit me a beat too late.

“Why not try for one? Child.”

After Ethan asked me that last time, I still hadn’t given him an answer.

Of course, it wasn’t that I had deliberately ignored it. So many things had happened since then that the matter had just faded into the background.

‘But Ethan surely hasn’t forgotten…’

Maybe he’s been waiting for my answer all this time. That’s probably why he mistook what I’m about to say now as a response to that question.

Thinking of it that way, his slight look of tension just now made sense.

‘No, maybe he even thought the reason I suggested going on a date today was because of that.’

A sigh escaped me. If only he hadn’t picked up on it, I could’ve followed through with my original plan.

Now it was even harder to bring it up.

‘…No. I’ll just do it anyway.’

It was something I had to say sooner or later. Delaying it just because it was hard meant nothing.

With that resolve, I turned to Ethan again.

“Ethan.”

“Yeah. Go ahead.”

“I want to adopt Elodie into the Ducal House.”

At last, I said it, and Ethan’s eyes widened slightly.

“…What?”

“I want to adopt Elodie as our daughter. This isn’t something I just came up with on a whim. I’ve actually been thinking about it for quite a while.”

“……”

Ethan looked at me with a faint wrinkle between his brows.

“I understand that it must be surprising to hear something like this so suddenly. I really do. I’ve thought about it a lot myself. Even though we don’t have an heir yet, we’re still young, and I know it might not be the right time to talk about adoption. But…”

That’s when Ethan raised his hand to stop me.

“Hold on a moment. So you’re saying…”

He lowered his gaze for a moment in apparent confusion, then looked up again.

“…Are you serious? You really want to adopt that child into the Ducal House?”

“Yes. I mean it.”

“Why?”

“You know why. I care deeply for Elodie. I don’t want to leave her in the orphanage.”

“…Is something wrong at the orphanage? Has someone been mistreating her or—”

“No, nothing like that. Father Dreyfus and Sister Miriam are both wonderful people, and she gets along well with the other children. But…”

“But?”

I hesitated briefly before continuing, “If she stays in the orphanage, her future will be extremely limited. There are many children without parents, and the orphanage’s funds are limited. If she doesn’t get adopted by the time she becomes an adult, she’ll have to find her own way. At best, she might end up entering a convent.”

“You can’t say for sure she won’t find another family willing to adopt her.”

“That’s true. But even if she does, there’s no guarantee it’ll be a good one. If she’s unlucky, she could end up as a second wife to a man over thirty years older.”

At those words, Ethan’s brow furrowed.

“…Isn’t that too pessimistic a view?”

“It’s not. It’s something that could very well happen—and does. Especially for a pretty girl like Elodie.”

I couldn’t tell Ethan, but it was something that had actually happened in the original story.

There had been a girl named Sarah at the same orphanage as Elodie. Their birthdays were just a month apart.

A few days after Elodie turned eighteen, she received word from Miriam that Sarah had died.

Two years earlier, Sarah had been adopted by a wealthy merchant named Robert Gance.

But Robert had never intended to raise Sarah as his daughter. He had adopted her with the intention of making her his bride because of her pretty face. And as soon as she came of age, he forced her to marry him.

Robert was a cruel and sadistic man. That was the reason both of his previous wives had divorced and left him.

But Sarah, young, penniless, and parentless, had no option to escape.

In the end, Sarah died after being struck in the head by a liquor bottle Robert threw.

If Ethan hadn’t adopted Elodie, it could very well have been her instead of Sarah.

In fact, in the original story, there was a scene where Ethan grew furious thinking just that.

And now that the story had already diverged because of me, that future was entirely possible.