My Husband Caught Me Having an Affair - Chapter 49

I stared at Ethan. “Why are you looking at me like that? Did I say something strange?”

“……”

Ethan wiped his mouth with a napkin and glared at me. “Are you serious?”

“Of course. You might have hoped to just brush it off, but I’m not like that. We need to settle this right now.”

“…What? Here?” Ethan asked, looking shocked.

‘What’s his problem?’

I tilted my head in confusion. “Why? Is there an issue with that?”

“Are you saying you’re okay with this?”

Ethan glanced over to one side of the dining room, where the maids were standing by, ready to serve.

“Since when do you care about what others think?” I asked, frowning.

“Isn’t it normal to care?” Ethan replied, looking rather confused.

‘What could be so secretive that he doesn’t want to talk in front of the servants?’ I thought. ‘I always assumed nobles here treated their servants like air or background noise, especially in the Dumont household where servants wouldn’t dare spread gossip about the family.’

“Alright, fine. Should I come to your room once you finish breakfast then?” I suggested.

Ethan looked at me for a moment, then sighed softly. “That would be appreciated.”

“Great. See you in thirty minutes.”

I turned and walked out. As I did, I heard Ethan’s voice behind me.

“Aren’t you going to have breakfast?”

“I never eat breakfast,” I replied, heading back to my room.

***

‘She’s really unpredictable,’ Ethan thought as he watched Camille’s determined stride away from the dining room.

Just yesterday, she was demanding a divorce, and now she’s coming on to him in such a confusing way.

‘Even so, here is not the place for that,’ he thought.

To be fair, Ethan understood her perspective, at least a little.

If someone asked if he hadn’t felt anything at that moment, he couldn’t honestly say he didn’t. Just a little, very little.

At first, he was astonished to find her adorable, staring up at him with wide eyes instead of her usual sharp tongue. Then he couldn’t take his eyes off her slightly trembling gaze, the pink flush on her cheeks, and those particularly red and moist-looking lips.

If that knight had been a minute later entering the barracks…

Thinking about it made his throat dry. Despite having already sweated heavily, he had stayed at the training ground, swinging his sword for another half hour. Even after returning, he couldn’t get the incident out of his mind.

It had been years since he had shared a bed or even kissed his wife. It had been so long since he looked at Camille in that way that he was startled by his body’s reaction.

Of course, there was no real reason why it shouldn’t be so. Ethan and Camille were married. Having such feelings for his wife was perfectly natural. Victor would undoubtedly be overjoyed to hear about it.

‘But…’

For the past few months, Camille had been openly distancing herself from Ethan in that regard. She had never before so blatantly pushed him away.

So her recent words had been even more surprising.

Honestly, he still wasn’t sure. His suspicions about Camille weren’t entirely gone, and there could be some ulterior motive behind her actions today.

‘Whatever it is, I’ll find out in thirty minutes.’

Despite the food in front of him, he had no appetite. After repeatedly drinking water, Ethan finally stood up.

‘…I should have said ten minutes instead.’ He clicked his tongue in frustration, feeling nervous.

***

“It’s me. I’m coming in.”

Entering the room, I saw Ethan sitting at his desk. To my surprise, there was a bottle of wine and a glass in front of him. According to the original story, Ethan wasn’t particularly fond of drinking. It wasn’t that he couldn’t handle alcohol; he just didn’t see the point in doing something that clouded his mind.

“What’s this? Drinking wine, and in the morning, no less?”

Ethan stood up without a word and walked towards me. One step, two steps, until he was right in front of me. Instinctively, I took a step back.

Ethan raised an eyebrow slightly but didn’t stop. He continued walking forward, causing me to back away until I was pressed against the wall.

“…What are you doing?”

“You said we should continue where we left off.”

“What? What are you talking about…?”

Ethan leaned closer. I tried to slip to the side, but his arms blocked my escape route on either side.

“E-Ethan? What is this—”

Ethan placed a finger on my lips to silence me. “Be quiet. I’m checking something right now.”

‘Checking what?!’ I protested silently with wide eyes, but Ethan ignored me. When I twisted my body, he moved his knee between my legs, preventing me from moving away. Although he wasn’t touching me, the proximity made my head spin.

‘Oh my God!’

I pushed against his chest with all my strength, but to my shock, he didn’t budge.

“…What are you doing?”

“That’s what I should be asking you! We were supposed to talk, and now you’re doing this?”

“Talk? I thought you wanted to continue what we started yesterday.”

“What? What are you talking about?”

“What?”

We stared at each other, both frowning.

“Did you misunderstand what I said earlier?”

“You said we needed to finish what we started because it got interrupted yesterday. Isn’t that what you meant?”

I felt my face heat up. “Heavens, no!”

I pushed him again, and this time he stepped back.

“Ridiculous. How could you misinterpret it like that? We were talking about our divorce! I meant we should finish that conversation!”

Ethan stared at me, his mouth twisting in disbelief. “Ridiculous? You’re the one who said something misleading!”

“What? I clearly said we needed to talk from the beginning!”

“Then you should have explicitly said it was about the divorce! Using vague words like ‘finish what we started’ and ‘interrupted’ naturally leads to misunderstandings!”

“I never imagined you’d misunderstand it that way! Seriously, how embarrassing!”

“……”

Ethan’s expression remained stern, and he stayed silent for a long moment before finally speaking. “So, you’re saying you had no such thoughts at all?”

“…What?”

“Yesterday. Why didn’t we finish our conversation then? Why did you suddenly clam up when you had been talking nonstop? Why did you look at me with those eyes?”

“What do you mean, my eyes?”

Ethan stepped closer and grabbed my wrist. My heart sank.

“Look me in the eye and tell me. Did you really have no thoughts at that moment? If the knight hadn’t come in, would you have pushed me away like you just did?”

“……”

It was the same as before. I couldn’t tear my gaze away from Ethan’s eyes. I swallowed hard.

Saying I had no thoughts would be a lie. But if you asked me exactly what those feelings were, I couldn’t say for sure myself.

‘…It was just a momentary lapse. Ethan and I are both healthy adults, and it’s a fact that we’re both quite attractive.’

Yes. That was the reality, and it’s likely that’s what Ethan was implying by asking me.

‘He has a strong sense of pride, and admitting that I wasn’t affected in that situation must be hard for him. I understand.’

So assigning any deeper meaning to it would be absurd.

“Fine, I’ll admit it. You’re right. I did have some feelings at that moment. I had just watched you spar, and I had helped wipe your body,” I said, shrugging.

I continued, “You felt the same, didn’t you? It had been a long time since we had any physical contact, and it was just the two of us. It was a momentary impulse, right?”

Ethan’s expression turned strange. “No, I…”

“Even if it’s an estranged wife you haven’t looked at for years, it’s natural to find her attractive for a moment. Don’t worry, I understand. I’m not foolish enough to assign any unwarranted significance to a brief whim.”

“……”

Ethan’s brow furrowed deeply at my words.