Chapter 181
“It’s not just that it was a forced marriage for political reasons between the central and northern regions… From the start, we had fundamental issues between us.”
Sebelia fixed her steady gaze on Dehart. He, looking pale and stiff, couldn’t even shed a drop of cold sweat while staring down at his teacup.
A long silence followed. The sound of a dry twig snapping in the cold echoed in the room, as if the very air had grown brittle.
“You had no problems at all.”
Dehart, who had raised his head, now met Sebelia’s gaze with burning eyes.
“There was nothing wrong with you.”
“Dehart, you know now. Wheddon lied saying I was the beloved youngest daughter. So…”
“That was never a problem!”
Dehart shouted, his expression contorting as if he was about to choke to death. He grabbed Sebelia’s hand with a deathly pale face. It was an unconscious action.
“Why is it your fault that the Wheddon family abused you while pretending to shower you with affection and fooling people? You were a child, powerless. You were a victim, trapped, and you saw marriage to me as an escape…!”
“……”
“Why? Why are you still saying there’s something wrong with you, even after everything that’s happened?”
Dehart tightened his grip on her hand, speaking in a desperate voice.
“When you said we should settle our bad history, I thought it would be a time for me to reflect on my mistakes. That my foolish, ignorant thoughts and decisions turned what could have been a fairy-tale ending for us into a sad fate. I thought I would hear your scolding.”
Sebelia could only move her lips in silence. Looking at her, Dehart felt his heart crumble.
“Ha…!”
A bitter laugh escaped Dehart. She wasn’t kind, nor was she considerate enough to wait until someone like him admitted his guilt.
She was simply someone who thought that she, too, was responsible for this mess! She had abandoned her life, her name, even her past, and ran away alone with a terminally ill body. She suffered so much, never having once experienced the love she deserved, yet still couldn’t bring herself to think of herself as a complete victim!
Dehart felt like he was going insane. It felt as though someone shoved gunpowder down his throat and set it on fire. He just wanted everything to explode. He wanted to run to Hillend Hall and tear apart Silas’s limbs right now.
“Whew…”
Dehart clenched his eyes shut, trying to suppress the boiling rage within him. Sebelia watched him with a confused look. He barely opened his eyes to meet her gaze.
“But, Dehart. I’m responsible too. Back then, I should’ve told you that I wasn’t important in the Wheddon family. If I had said that, the misunderstanding about me being a spy would have been cleared…”
“If, if I had listened!”
“….”
“At that time, I would’ve dismissed even your confession as an excuse. No matter what evidence you showed me, I would’ve turned away, thinking it was all lies. So please, please stop.”
He spoke through clenched teeth, swallowing the rage and despair that had welled up inside him as he tried to convince Sebelia.
“This isn’t right, Bella. Not like this. You are not responsible for our ‘bad history.’ If it continues like this… I can’t agree to end our bad relationship.”
He swallowed a hot breath and spoke with burning eyes.
“Instead, take revenge on me.”
“Dehart!”
Sebelia shouted with a sharp voice. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
“Do you even realize what you’re saying?”
She tried to pull her hand away from Dehard’s grasp, her face hardening with fear, but it was useless. Dehart held her hand tighter and stood up. His shadow fell over her, casting a dark presence.
Her blue eyes shook as she looked up at him with intensity.
“I’ll help you. No, I’m not enough. Let’s take revenge on everyone who made you suffer. Even if you don’t want it, I will. I’ll expose the true nature of those bastards right in front of your kind, innocent eyes.”
His low voice settled heavily on the cold teacup. The fierce eyes captured Sebelia’s trembling blue gaze.
“The people who made you like this. The ones who pushed you to the edge and took even the smallest hope from you, making you think you were responsible too. After I drag them into the mud and hear their disgusting words….”
With a blank stare, Sebelia looked up at Dehart. His golden eyes gleamed eerily in the backlight.
“You won’t think it’s your fault anymore for having to endure the hell they forced you into.”
The sound of crackling flames echoed behind Dehart. It was a sign of his rage.
“Ah.”
His golden eyes had turned pure white. At that moment, Sebelia realized that Dehart was still mad.
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