My Husband Caught Me Having an Affair - Chapter 21

“I’ve managed to endure it up until now, but I no longer want to continue a meaningless marriage. So please, help me. I’m asking you.”

The image of the Duchess’s eyes, faintly glistening with tears, lingered in Victor’s mind. He might have been right. Perhaps the Duchess’s heart hadn’t completely left Ethan. That could be why she had chosen to wear the dress Ethan had picked for her after so long for their rare outing together. She might be giving her husband one last chance.

“Have a safe trip,” the household staff said in unison, bowing their heads. Victor found himself following Ethan.

“Master,” Victor called out urgently.

Ethan turned around indifferently. “What is it?”

“I need to speak with you urgently. Could you spare a moment?”

Noticing the seriousness in Victor’s expression, Ethan glanced at Camille. “Wait for me in the carriage.”

“Alright.”

Once Camille had walked away, Ethan asked, “What’s this about?”

“Did you notice the dress the Duchess is wearing today?”

“What about it?”

Just as he had expected, Ethan seemed to have completely forgotten that he had once chosen that dress.

“It’s the dress you picked for her yourself, right after your wedding, when you went to the boutique together.”

“……”

Ethan’s forehead creased with confusion. Honestly, he couldn’t recall it at all.

“Did I?”

“You did. She wore it quite often for a while after that.”

“And? What of it?”

“The fact that Duchess is wearing that dress after all these years is undoubtedly to see if you recognize it.”

“To test me? Why?”

“The Duchess has harbored feelings of disappointment for a long time because you’ve rarely shown her any attention. She even mentioned wanting a divorce because of it. She told me so with tears in her eyes, saying she couldn’t live with a husband who doesn’t love her anymore.”

“……”

Ethan, frowning deeply, suddenly looked at Victor. “Wait. Camille said that to you? When? Why?”

“That’s not important right now. What’s important is that she’s undoubtedly giving you one last chance tonight.”

“A chance? What do you mean by that…”

“Listen to me. Don’t take this outing lightly. Mention that you recognize the dress as the one you picked for her and compliment her on how well it suits her. That will surely make her reconsider.”

“……”

Ethan remained silent, his expression troubled.

Victor, uncharacteristically stern, leaned closer. “Do you truly want to let the Duchess go?”

“What? No, that’s not it, but…”

“Then please, get a grip and be kind to her for just this one day. I’m begging you,” Victor said, bowing deeply.

Ethan looked at Victor with a perplexed expression.

***

As the carriage rolled along, Ethan remained silent. Occasionally, he would glance at me for some reason, but he didn’t start a conversation. Not that I minded the silence; I had expected it from the start and was busy recalling the names I had memorized over the past week.

Suddenly, Ethan broke the silence. “That dress.”

“Yes?”

“The dress you’re wearing today.”

“Oh, this? What about it?”

“It’s… well…” Ethan hesitated after starting his sentence.

I tilted my head in curiosity. “Well?”

“…You’ve taken good care of it. It’s quite an old dress, but it doesn’t show any signs of wear,” Ethan mumbled, causing me to frown.

“What?”

“……”

Ethan clammed up again, not saying anything further. I replayed his words in my head.

“Do you know what dress this is?”

“Of course I do. Did you think I wouldn’t?” Ethan’s voice held a peculiar tone of irritation.

‘So, there is a story behind this dress.’

I had suspected something was off about it compared to the other dresses. Honestly, I was surprised that Ethan recognized it. A man who showed no interest in his wife remembering one dress among thousands? It was hard to believe.

‘This isn’t a wedding dress, so what is it?’

As I pondered, something clicked when he mentioned the ‘old dress.’ Could this be the dress of the late Duchess?

Ethan lost both his parents at a young age. By the time he married Camille, he was already alone. If this was the previous Duchess’s dress, it made sense for Ethan to remember it. Despite losing his parents early, he seemed to hold deep feelings for them. There were times in the original story when Ethan saw Elodie and was reminded of his parents.

Is he upset because I wore it without permission? Considering his restless glances and uncomfortable demeanor, it seemed a plausible theory.

But if it wasn’t Camille’s dress, it wouldn’t be in the wardrobe, right? Unless the late Duchess left it as a final wish for her future daughter-in-law.

Maybe it didn’t suit Camille’s taste, so she never wore it and left it in the wardrobe. But seeing me suddenly wearing it could understandably unsettle Ethan.

‘What should I do? I think I’m right.’

I glanced at Ethan again. His uneasy expression seemed to confirm my suspicion.

“Um, does it bother you that I’m wearing this dress?” I decided to ask outright.

Ethan’s frown deepened. “Why would you think that? I never said it bothered me.”

“But your expression says it all. You look very displeased.”

“When did I ever—” Ethan, who was speaking irritably, suddenly fell silent.

‘Why is he acting like this?’ I wondered as he furrowed his brow, remaining silent for a long time.

“It’s a misunderstanding. I never thought that at all. Quite the opposite, in fact,” Ethan finally said.

“What do you mean, the opposite?” I asked.

Ethan mumbled something under his breath, but it was too quiet to hear clearly.

“What? What did you say?”

“I said it looks good on you,” Ethan repeated reluctantly.

I widened my eyes and stared at him. “You mean… it’s alright for me to wear this dress?”

“It’s your dress in the first place. You don’t need my permission to wear it. You can wear it whenever you like.”

‘My dress? Ah, since the late Duchess left it to me, it’s mine now,’ I thought. It seemed to make sense, but there was still a chance I was making an entirely incorrect assumption.

‘Should I confirm it one more time?’

“But this dress is special. It’s not something I bought myself,” I said, trying to gauge Ethan’s reaction.

His eyes seemed to flicker slightly at the word ‘special,’ or perhaps it was just my imagination.

“What’s the difference? In the end, it’s you who’s wearing it,” Ethan said, his voice noticeably softer.

‘So, I was right,’ I thought. If this dress were just one of the many that Camille had bought, Ethan would have likely responded with confusion.

“Did you keep it tucked away all this time because you thought I didn’t like it?”

“Well, um…” I trailed off, unsure of what to say. Camille probably hadn’t worn the dress because it wasn’t to her taste, but I couldn’t bring myself to say that in the current atmosphere.

“It’s not exactly that. It’s just that, as I mentioned, it’s a precious and special dress, so I thought I should only wear it on important occasions,” I explained.

“And today is such an occasion?” Ethan asked.

“Well, yes. It’s the first time in a while that we’re going out together,” I replied. According to Ethan, our attendance at this event was to show people that the relationship between the Duke and Duchess of Dumont was still strong, dispelling the rumors about Camille and Liam.

Given that, it was indeed an important day.

‘Why is he asking this when he’s the one who said it was important?’ I wondered, tilting my head as I looked at Ethan.