My Husband Caught Me Having an Affair - Chapter 59

Ethan grabbed the reins of Camille’s horse and caught her as she began to fall.

“Ugh…!”

Thanks to his firm footing on the ground, Ethan managed to keep his balance. He pulled Camille tightly into his arms and adjusted his grip on the reins.

“Whoa, easy there,” he whispered, calming the horse, which was snorting and pawing at the ground.

“Camille! Are you alright? Camille!”

There was still no response from Camille. She clung to Ethan’s neck, trembling uncontrollably.

‘…What on earth is going on?’

Ethan had never seen Camille like this before.

‘Was she always afraid of thunder? Or does she have some kind of illness?’

He couldn’t recall anything. No matter how much he tried, nothing came to mind, leaving him increasingly bewildered.

Suddenly, Camille’s words from a few days ago resurfaced in his mind: ‘I don’t know why you suddenly care now. You never bothered when I cried before.’

Ethan’s face contorted in frustration.

‘Damn it, why is that coming to mind now?’

Regardless, he needed to get Camille to safety and have her examined by a doctor as soon as possible.

Ethan looked around, still holding Camille in his arms.

Surely someone else must have heard her scream, but strangely, there was no one in sight—not her personal maid or even the stable staff.

Letting go of the reins, Ethan lifted Camille into his arms. She clung even tighter to his neck, her entire body trembling. He could feel a faint warmth and dampness on his shoulder where her face was buried.

Is she crying?

Ethan’s mouth twisted into a grimace.

This feeling—he had felt it once before. It was the same emotion he had experienced months ago, at a banquet they had attended together.

“As I mentioned, it’s a precious and special dress, so I thought I should only wear it on important occasions.”

“And today is such an occasion?”

“Well, yes. It’s the first time in a while that we’re going out together.”

And it wasn’t just that. He had felt the same way when Victor told him that Camille had suddenly burst into tears.

When they first married, Ethan had thought she was just a spoiled, childish girl.

But at some point, Camille had changed. She had become shockingly sharp, infuriatingly eloquent, and annoyingly composed.

Just now, she had pushed his buttons like no one else could. He had been seething with anger.

Yet, here she was again, showing a vulnerability that made her seem like a completely different person.

He couldn’t make sense of it. Which version of her was the real Camille? And what exactly was this strange feeling gnawing at him now?

‘No… maybe it’s me. Maybe I’m the one who made her like this.’

To be honest, it had never crossed Ethan’s mind that he might be at fault.

He had never tried to understand Camille or make an effort to mend their relationship.

But perhaps he should have.

Ever since losing his parents, he had devoted himself entirely to protecting the House of Dumont.

Maybe he should have paid more attention to his wife, enough to know what she feared or whether she had any illnesses.

With his face hardened, Ethan quickened his pace.

***

When I opened my eyes, I was lying in bed. It was my familiar bedroom.

“You’re awake?”

Blinking in a daze, I turned toward the voice, startled.

“…Ethan? Why are you here?”

Reflexively, I pulled the blanket up to my chest. I was wearing a thin nightgown, and for a moment, I couldn’t make sense of why I was in this situation or why Ethan was in my room.

“Don’t you remember?”

“Remember? What do you mean…?”

“The stables. There was a sudden storm with thunder, and you weren’t doing well…”

At his words, the memory came rushing back, and I began trembling uncontrollably, feeling nauseous.

Ethan’s expression grew serious. “Camille.”

I lowered my head and squeezed my eyes shut.

‘…It’s fine. I’m fine. It’s all in the past. The rain has already stopped, and there’s no more thunder. It’s fine.’

I kept repeating those words to myself, trying to calm down.

Ethan placed a hand on my shoulder. “Camille. Are you alright?”

I raised my head to look at him. “Yes. I’m fine.”

I tried to smile, but I wasn’t sure if it came out as intended.

“…What happened? Are you sick?”

“It’s nothing. I was just a little startled by the thunder.”

“A little? You couldn’t even remember what happened earlier, so how is that just a little?”

“That’s not true. I remember everything now.”

“You remember how you got back here?”

“……”

When I hesitated, Ethan’s brow furrowed deeply. “Tell me the truth. Why did that happen? Are you afraid of thunder?”

I suddenly felt a lump in my throat and swallowed hard.

“…It’s just… I’ve never been outside during a thunderstorm before. It always happened when I was indoors… Honestly, the sound was louder than I expected, and that’s all,” I mumbled, staring at the floor. I could hear my voice growing weaker.

“The thunder stopped a long time ago, but just talking about it has you shaken up again. You’re still pale.”

“……”

“Camille.”

Ethan’s voice was soft as he called my name.

“Camille, look at me.”

“……”

Even though he asked, I couldn’t lift my head. I realized that my back was drenched in a cold sweat.

The memory was from when I was nine years old in my past life.

As far as I remember, both my parents had always been busy with work. When I wasn’t at school or attending lessons, I was always alone.

That day, I had fallen asleep while reading in bed, only to be woken up by a thunderous crash that seemed to shake the whole house.

Suddenly, the entire house was dark. Terrified, I ran to the living room.

For some reason, the living room window was wide open, and rain was pouring in. And then, I saw a stranger emerging from my parents’ bedroom.

Even now, I can still vividly recall that moment. It’s something I’ll never be able to forget.

The man had a massive build, his face shadowed in the darkness. His eyes, cold and menacing, looked down at me indifferently.

As soon as our eyes met, lightning flashed outside, followed by an ear-splitting boom.

I collapsed to the floor, screaming as loudly as I could, and eventually blacked out.

When I woke up, I was in the hospital.

Later, I learned that it had been a break-in. The burglar had thought no one was home because I had been sleeping in the back room. My neighbor, hearing my screams, had called the police.

Since then, I had developed a fear of thunderstorms.

Though the symptoms had gradually lessened as I got older, they had never completely gone away.

What I told Ethan wasn’t entirely a lie. This was the first time I had been caught in a thunderstorm outdoors with nowhere to hide.

In my past life, I had always lived in the city, so it never happened. Whenever a storm hit, I would lock myself in the bathroom, plug in my earphones, and turn the music up as loud as possible to drown out the noise.

I had been unlucky this time. If I had been in the mansion, I probably wouldn’t have been as frightened.

After taking a few deep breaths, I finally felt a bit better.

“I’m sorry you had to see that. It’s silly, isn’t it? At my age, being scared of thunder.”

Ethan grabbed my hand. Not gently—he gripped it tightly, almost painfully. I looked up at him in surprise.

“Why is that something to be ashamed of? Everyone has weaknesses. It’s completely normal.”

Ethan’s eyes locked with mine as he spoke, his expression dead serious.

Honestly, I was surprised. I had expected him to mock me or call me foolish.

At the very least, I never imagined he would be so concerned, staying by my side until I woke up. Did I really seem that unwell?

His silver eyes seemed to glow more intensely than usual, as if they were filled with an entire galaxy.

Suddenly, I was reminded of the time we had locked eyes at the knights’ barracks. The memory made my cheeks flush with heat.

I quickly averted my gaze, looking down to avoid his eyes.

“Anyway, I’m fine now. I didn’t mean to keep you busy. You should go.”

I tried to pull my hand away, but Ethan held on tightly.

“You’re still trembling. What part of that is ‘fine’?”

“No, really. I’m completely fine now.”

I wasn’t lying. The storm had passed, and the thunder was no longer on my mind. What was making me uneasy now… was Ethan.

“Camille.”

“I mean it. Please, let go of my hand.”

“Do you really think I don’t care about you?”

I couldn’t help but look back at him after hearing those words.