Chapter 80
Beatrice laughed through her tears at her husband’s long-overdue confession. It felt as if all the tension drained from her body.
“You’ve given me such immense happiness… but looking back, I realize I have given you nothing. Only now can I finally say ‘I love you’…”
But her relief was short-lived. Seeing her husband still frozen in that rigid posture, staring only at her, Beatrice abandoned her urge to embrace him and straightened her back. It seemed Caesar’s confession was not yet finished.
“So please, give me a chance to repay even a fraction of that love. You are my only happiness. If I can no longer see you… if I can’t even touch you or call you my wife… life would mean nothing to me. Beatrice, please…”
The word ‘divorce’ still echoed in Caesar’s mind. Just imagining it was horrifying—‘a heart rent asunder’ was too mild a phrase. Even if someone sliced his heart thin and salted it, it could not compare to the agony of losing his wife.
Even now, with Beatrice standing before him, he missed her. He longed for her touch, for every scrap of love she had ever given him. If marriage could not bind her to his side, what could he do? He felt he had no choice but to cling to her feet.
“I don’t want to burden you. But… divorce… I don’t think I could bear it. I won’t ask you to love me as before. I’d be content just to see your face, to share a home again… even if only in name. If you truly are unhappy, even if you take a lover… I will endure it somehow, so please…”
Only then did Beatrice realize that Caesar still could not let go of the notion of divorce. He must have heard her mention it at the end of her conversation with Freya.
“Caesar, calm down. When I told Freya I would divorce if necessary, that was only if you wanted it too.”
Caesar replied, almost indignantly,
“I never, NEVER wanted that! Didn’t I swear at the temple? Until death parts us—or even death itself won’t change my heart. I cannot be apart from you, Beatrice.”
The man who had stubbornly kept silent until now was suddenly speaking passionately. His fervor made Beatrice smile a little, though memories of her heartache surfaced.
“How could I have known your feelings when you hid them so tightly?”
“Then… it’s all my fault. From now on, I will never hide anything.”
“I didn’t mean to blame you…”
Beatrice quickly withdrew the reproach before it fully formed. To conclude their conversation, she placed her free hand over Caesar’s still-clasped hand.
“Caesar, I’ve told you from the start. I love you. Now and always, my heart will be yours. It wasn’t my choice—I fell for you the moment I saw you. Even if, over time, you grow tired of my love, there’s nothing I can do. I love you that much.”
At Beatrice’s unwavering declaration, Caesar’s eyes finally glistened with relief and turned red.
“Every time you tell me you love me… you have no idea what a blessing that is. Even if you grow tired of me, I love you too much to ever give up.”
Had he finally relaxed, or decided she would never leave him? His more forthright declaration of love made Beatrice’s cheeks flush.
Ah. Only now did everything feel as though it had fallen into place.
“But aside from loving each other, I think we still know too little about one another. So let’s spend more time learning about each other from now on. To do that, we must be honest above all. I will no longer hide my feelings or jump to conclusions about you on my own. And I want you to promise you won’t hide your true feelings any longer, either.”
“I will.”
“Let me be clear, I’m not saying I’ll ignore your wishes and do everything my way. As you said, marriage doesn’t grant either of us the right to control the other’s actions. But when two people love each other, you can at least show consideration, right? You refrain from doing what your beloved dislikes, and you willingly try what you know will make them happy.”
“You’re absolutely right. And I will gladly follow your guidance.”
Hm. Caesar still seemed to need practice, but Beatrice was satisfied with this resolution.
“One last thing. Today is the last time I’ll ever say ‘you’re absolutely right’. From now on, if something isn’t ‘yes’, say ‘no.’ If you dislike something, say so. Promise me you will.”
When Caesar gave his affirmative answer, Beatrice threw her arms around him. She welcomed his large, yielding form, squeezing him gratefully around the neck.
Their first marital quarrel happily ended in reconciliation. In truth, it seemed foolish to have nursed a misunderstanding for an entire month that a single conversation had melted away. Of course, the journey had yielded its own insights…
As Freya had said, Beatrice’s heart already knew the answer.
The swiftest, most certain way to confirm a husband’s feelings is through an open, honest conversation.
And so the newlywed couple’s foolish little drama drew to a close.
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