My Husband Caught Me Having an Affair - Chapter 15

“I understand what you’re trying to say. But you can’t place all the blame on me, can you?” Ethan finally spoke after a long silence. “You said I judged you one-sidedly, but that’s not entirely true. The way you presented yourself over the past five years didn’t exactly inspire confidence for discussing matters like this.”

‘Well, that’s fair enough,’ I thought. It was a valid point. If I were in Ethan’s shoes, I wouldn’t have considered discussing Dumont’s security issues with Camille either.

“Why did you hide your true self and pretend to be someone else in the first place?”

“I’ve already answered that question. It was a part of my external strategy for dealing with people.”

“And internally? There was no need to keep up the act in this house, in front of me.”

In other words, why did I need to appear foolish even to him? From Ethan’s perspective, it was a natural question. I had anticipated this and prepared an answer.

Taking the first step of my plan, I responded with a calm expression, “Because I wanted to impress you.”

Ethan’s expression showed he was caught off guard.

“…What?”

I shrugged, watching him stare blankly. “As your wife, I wanted you to love me. So I acted naive and clueless. I heard gentlemen dislike headstrong women.”

“……”

“In the end, it was a futile effort. You showed no interest in me throughout our five years of marriage.”

Ethan remained silent, his expression complicated, as if reflecting on the past.

Given that I didn’t know exactly what had transpired between them, I might be at a loss for words if he were to ask, ‘Was all of that just to impress me?’ So, I quickly continued speaking.

“Of course, now I understand. It’s not that you had any particular grudge against me. You’re just not the type to feign interest or speak kindly without meaning it.”

“……”

Ethan looked extremely uncomfortable, like he was sitting on a bed of thorns.

I chuckled softly. “No need to feel so uneasy. As I said, it’s all in the past, and I no longer have any desire to impress you.”

“……”

“Which brings me to my point. Do you remember that you promised to grant me a wish if I read all those books?” As I mentioned this, Ethan, who had been avoiding my gaze, suddenly looked wary.

But this was something that would work out well for him too.

“It’s not a difficult request. It won’t harm you in any way. In fact, you might even find it convenient.”

“What is it?”

“Well… I was thinking we should use this opportunity to sort out our relationship.”

“…What?” Ethan looked stunned. He stared at me incredulously and asked again. “What did you just say? Sort out what?”

“Our relationship. I’m asking for a divorce.”

This was the final step of my plan. I had decided from the beginning: if I managed to avoid the original story’s ruinous path, I would safely part ways with Ethan.

Being the mistress of such a grand estate didn’t suit my temperament, and more importantly, I didn’t want to remain in a meaningless marriage with a man who didn’t love me.

If I had been a native of this world, I might have accepted it without much thought, but I had lived my entire life in modern Korea.

‘It’s a bit sad that I won’t get to see Elodie if we divorce now.’

Given that the story had already deviated from the original, Ethan might not adopt her as in the story. In the worst-case scenario, Elodie could end up with other unsuitable adoptive parents and lead an unhappy life.

I didn’t want such a thing to happen because of me. However, that didn’t mean I was willing to sacrifice myself for Elodie’s happiness. It was more about minimizing harm where I could.

“From the beginning, your reason for marrying me was simply to continue the ducal line. But after five long years without an heir, it seems only reasonable to end this marriage,” I said.

In truth, the lack of children wasn’t necessarily a medical issue. Our distant relationship likely meant that our intimate moments were infrequent. But from my perspective, the cause didn’t matter. What mattered was that it was a valid reason for divorce.

Ethan, who had been staring at me blankly, suddenly shook his head vigorously. “That’s ridiculous. Plenty of couples have children later. Both you and I are still young. Divorcing over not having children in just five years is absurd.”

“We have a convenient excuse now, don’t we? The scandal between me and Baron Bernard is already all over society. Think of it as a way to rid yourself of a burden.”

Ethan’s frown deepened at my words. “…What?”

“Of course, demanding a separation settlement from you would be unreasonable. But let’s make it a mutual divorce on paper. While my reputation has suffered and I don’t have much to say about that, it would be too unfair to lose my family’s assets as well.”

To ensure a free life after the divorce, this part was crucial. Legally, in a mutual divorce, the husband had to provide a settlement to the wife. Considering the Duke of Dumont was one of the wealthiest men in the empire, I could expect a substantial settlement, enough to start a new life without any problems.

“You think I’d take money from you in a divorce?” Ethan looked more than indignant; he seemed genuinely angry.

‘But that’s exactly what happened in the original story. Camille ended up destitute, wandering the streets until her miserable end.’

Though I didn’t blame Ethan for that, it was simply the way things had unfolded.

“Talking about divorce is nonsense. As I said before, we’re still young. We can find a solution to the issue of heirs in time,” Ethan said in a firm voice.

‘…Huh?’

His reaction was completely different from what I had anticipated.

“Um, do you not want to?” I asked cautiously.

Ethan furrowed his brows. “Did you think I would just agree happily if you suddenly brought up divorce?”

I had thought he might not be thrilled, but I didn’t expect him to outright reject it.

“Honestly, you haven’t found any meaning in this marriage either. This is a chance for both of us to be free. Why are you opposed to it?”

“Free?” Ethan repeated incredulously. “I never said I wanted to be free. So what do you mean by ‘both of us’?”

…Wait. Didn’t he say that in the original story? In the very first chapter, Ethan had told Victor, who suggested he remarry, “Once was enough. Don’t ever bring it up again. I have no intention of giving up my freedom now.”

I felt like protesting that this was a different story than I had been prepared for.

“I understand you have many complaints about our marriage. But suddenly demanding a divorce is unreasonable. I will pretend I didn’t hear that.”

“What? No…”

“It’s true that we’ve had a lack of communication. I’ll try to accommodate your requests as much as possible, and we can discuss ways to improve things.”

Ethan stood up as if the conversation was over.

Before I could respond in my stunned state, he walked out of the room.

***

Ethan walked down the hallway, a thin line of wrinkles etched across his forehead. He had never imagined that the word “divorce” would come from Camille’s mouth.

“I wanted to impress you. As your wife, I wanted you to love me.”

“In the end, it was a futile effort. You showed no interest in me throughout our five years of marriage.”

Recalling Camille’s words left him feeling oddly unsettled. Thinking back, she had often thrown tantrums in the early days of their marriage, as if trying to seek his affection.

“Are you really not coming to the ball tonight? Then I won’t go either!”

“If you keep treating me like this… I’ll go back to my family! I mean it!”

Back then, she had thrown a fit, her face flushed red and tears welling up in her eyes. But she had never followed through. She went to the ball alone that night, and even when she left for her family’s home as if she would never return, she never stayed more than three days.