My Husband Caught Me Having an Affair - Chapter 48

I frowned and asked, “What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“I’m talking about the Bache incident. You dragged Mael and Jacques into it without telling me, and you did some pretty reckless and dangerous things… But, in the end, you caught the criminal. Thanks to that, Jacques’s wife is safe, and Dumont’s reputation has been enhanced, so it’s not all bad.”

“……”

I stared at Ethan. “What’s your angle?”

“What?”

“A few days ago, you were grilling me, asking what my scheme was, how I bewitched Sir Mael, and how you could trust me.”

“What? No…”

“So why the sudden change? Did you feel guilty after learning the truth? If so, be a man and apologize. Don’t try to brush it off by pretending to compliment me.”

“……”

Ethan frowned at me, then roughly ruffled his hair. “Damn it, Camille. Can’t you keep that mouth of yours shut for once?”

“Why? Did I say something wrong? It’s all true.”

“I already told you, part of the blame lies with you for not explaining anything at the time.”

“Then you should just act your usual insufferable self and leave it at that. Why the sudden out-of-character comments?”

“……”

Ethan glared at me as if he wanted to devour me. I glared right back at him.

“…Damn it,” he muttered, exhaling a long sigh. “You said it yourself. You did what you thought was best for Dumont. I’m acknowledging that it was true.”

“And who are you to acknowledge anything? If you think you did something wrong, apologize. How many times do I have to say it?”

“…I keep telling you, I didn’t know the circumstances, so why should I apologize? How many times do I have to say it?”

Ethan ground his teeth, clearly furious, his words barely intelligible by the end.

“You really can’t let anything go, can you? How tiresome,” I said, shaking my head.

Ethan let out a huff of disbelief. “I don’t know who you think you’re talking to.”

“Whatever. There’s no point in continuing this conversation since it’s just making us both upset.”

“Fine. Do whatever you want. Who said I wanted to talk anyway?”

“Great. Earlier, you asked what I wanted to talk about. Here it is: let’s get a divorce.”

“…What?” Ethan looked at me with narrowed eyes, clearly taken aback by the sudden topic. “We settled that a long time ago. No?”

“Why not? You treat me like a thorn in your side at every turn, so why won’t you just let me go?”

“When did I ever—” Ethan began to raise his voice but then stopped, seeming to suppress his emotions. “…When did I ever treat you like a thorn in my side? I just said I acknowledge you did what you thought was best for Dumont.”

“So, does that mean the incident with the ledger doesn’t count? You still don’t trust me, do you?”

“You’re hiding something from me. How do you expect me to trust you? Why won’t you tell me how you knew everything?” Ethan demanded.

“I told you, there are reasons I can’t explain,” I replied.

“Then what are those reasons? Why can’t you tell your own husband?”

“So you had me followed?”

“……”

Ethan fell silent, his mouth slightly open.

“When I spoke to Jacques, he didn’t even deny it. Have you ever thought about how it feels to be openly monitored by your husband?”

“…If you suspected I had someone following you, you should know the reason why. It was also to protect you,” Ethan said, his voice tense.

“That’s a good excuse. Anyway, I don’t like it. I don’t want to live with a husband who doesn’t even try to trust me.”

“I don’t trust anyone. Not just you, but anyone. Humans will betray you given a reason,” Ethan muttered bitterly.

“Exactly. That’s why I’m asking for a divorce. If you can’t trust anyone, you should live alone. I’m trying to help you with that, so why are you against it?”

Ethan gritted his teeth and stepped closer to me. Unlike last time, when I had stepped back in surprise, I took a step forward, lifting my chin defiantly.

In doing so, I accidentally stepped on Ethan’s foot and lost my balance.

“Ah!”

Ethan instinctively caught me. His scent filled my senses, and I couldn’t help but swallow nervously. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from his intense gaze. Though I wanted to turn my head, his eyes held mine captive. The fiery blue-silver in his eyes began to shift into something else. His gaze slowly traveled down my body and then back up to rest on my lips.

Ethan exhaled softly, and the sensation of his breath on my lips made me shiver involuntarily.

“You are, really…” Ethan murmured, almost as if in pain. What was he trying to say? I had no idea. Maybe he didn’t know either.

He reached out, his large hand hovering just before my face, hesitating. Finally, his fingertips brushed against my cheek.

“…Ah,” I gasped at the unfamiliar touch. Ethan flinched at the sound, his eyes darkening with a strange light.

I hadn’t made the sound intentionally. As I quickly lowered my gaze, Ethan tilted my chin back up. I looked up at him, forgetting to breathe.

Just then, a knight walked in. “Your Grace, the carriage is ready—”

He stopped abruptly, bowing his head. “I apologize for the intrusion.”

The knight quickly turned and left. We stared at where he had been, then awkwardly looked back at each other and stepped apart.

An indescribable and awkward silence hung between us.

“The carriage seems to be ready. I’ll go ahead,” I said, breaking the silence.

“…Yes. I… I’ll stay a bit longer and then head back.”

“Alright, then.”

I quickly walked out of the barracks, feeling so dizzy that I thought I might collapse at any moment. I had no recollection of how I got into the carriage or how I returned to the main building.

“Madam, where have you been without telling me again? …Madam?”

Ignoring Marie’s questions, I went straight to my bedroom and threw myself onto the bed, punching the pillow in frustration.

‘…What just happened? What was that?’

I couldn’t stop thinking about what might have happened if the knight hadn’t walked in. My face still felt like it was on fire, and the heat didn’t subside until the sun set that day.

***

‘It was just because it was so hot.’

The next day, when I woke up, I decided to conclude it that way.

‘It was hot, we were arguing, and we both lost our minds for a moment. Yes, that must be it.’

Ultimately, nothing had actually happened between us. It was just a brief, strange moment.

‘What does it matter if he looks good on the outside? He’s filled with distrust, has an obsession with cleanliness, and lacks any manners. Even if he became a great father to Elodie later, it was because she was Elodie.’

I must remember that the person I possessed was Camille, a wife who had been neglected by Ethan for five years before being kicked out for having an affair with another man. I must not forget that.

Stick to the plan—divorce quickly and pass the baton to Elodie. That was the path to everyone’s happiness.

With my resolve reaffirmed, I sprang out of bed.

When I came downstairs to the first-floor hall, Victor bowed as he saw me.

“Good morning, Madam.”

“Victor, is Ethan at home?”

“Yes, he is having breakfast in the dining room.”

I charged up my determination and marched to the dining room. Flinging the door open with a bang, I saw Ethan sitting at the far end of the ridiculously long table. He narrowed his eyes as he saw me.

“Camille.”

“We need to talk.”

“…About what?”

“Don’t tell me you’ve already forgotten about what happened yesterday?”

Ethan’s expression turned awkwardly uncomfortable. He put down his utensils and reached for his water glass.

“Is there really anything to discuss?”

“Of course there is. Finish what we started—since it got interrupted, we need to properly conclude it.”

“Cough, cough!”

Ethan choked on his water and started coughing violently.