Chapter 125
“Did you really have to go that far?”
That line, full of wounded pride and false morality, wasn’t mine. It was Enoch’s.
Isn’t that like, the number one most cliché line guys say when they get caught cheating and still try to take their girl’s side?
It’s not even surprising anymore.
“Yeah.”
I didn’t know exactly what he was referring to, but since I was planning to do worse anyway, I answered bluntly and tried to walk past him.
The goal was to push his buttons enough to make him want to strangle me, but right now, food was more important.
But he grabbed my arm and started questioning me.
“You really had to brand Viviana as an adulteress, a con artist, and a murderer? I mean, no matter how badly things ended between you two, that’s such a vulgar lie. She’s gentle, and fragile…”
“Eh? Viviana’s gentle and fragile? Now that’s apocalyptic.”
Maybe even he didn’t believe what he was saying, because Enoch shut his mouth mid-sentence.
He probably realized even the villain edit couldn’t sell me as the bully in this one.
I brushed off his hand and smiled sweetly.
“Then go ahead and keep being besties with her in here.”
Because you’re both going to become prison’s favorite little power couple. The Homewrecker and con artist who just wanted to get access to rich women.
My voice was ice beneath the sugar, and Enoch’s face twisted in irritation.
“See, this is why I can’t help but compare you two. You didn’t try to save my dignity, and be agreeable like Viviana. You treated the Duke of Mare’s heir like he was beneath a Marquess’s branch family.”
Guess I won’t be getting lunch anytime soon.
I sighed and wished Johann or Enrique would sneak me some potatoes.
Still, I calmly retorted.
“So, you mean to tell me that I should’ve flattered your ego, simpered a little, all while helping your struggling family?”
“No man would love someone with a cold gaze like yours, who speaks down to people and acts like a damn rock. Now you’re just lashing out out of jealousy. It’s laughable.”
Trying to salvage that pride even now, huh?
He was desperately trying to explain why I should feel hurt, but my expression remained unimpressed.
You think you can win the emotional high ground in this? Dream on.
I stared directly at the number stitched on Enoch’s prison uniform.
“Shouldn’t the person who spends more money be the one getting treated better? Do you know how much money I spent on our engagement?”
Enoch’s brow twitched. He looked annoyed.
“You were the one who was trying to buy your status of a duchess through our marriage. Do you think a few coins gives you the right to lord it over me like I’m your pet?”
So now he really thinks he’s above me.
Since he clearly missed the point, I decided to spell it out point by point.
“Sure, to me it was just a few coins. But to your family? Those ‘few coins’ were enough to make the Duke of Mare a subordinate to a marquess. You feeling slighted over my attitude? That just proves we were never equals. This wasn’t a marriage. It was a transaction. Your crumbling house put you up as collateral.”
The more venom I poured, the paler Enoch’s face became.
The House of Mare had been rotting under the weight of its Former Duke’s debts, too greedy of a family, and too deep in denial to rein in their spending or pride.
“You think paying made you my superior? You really believe this?”
He looked at me in disbelief, as if he hadn’t known, when he absolutely had. He just didn’t want to admit it.
I looked him dead in the eye.
“3.8 billion lib. That’s what my uncle and I lent your family, the emergency bailout money to keep the House of Mare from the verge of bankruptcy.”
I made sure to enunciate every syllable, like carving the truth directly into his brain.
I lifted a hand and started folding down my fingers one by one.
“The cobalt mine. The tenant farming lease revenue. After marriage, your mother would have received monthly interest from the remaining balance after repaying the 3.8 billion in equal installments.”
We made it a debt relationship on purpose, to make the power dynamic crystal clear.
“The wedding mansion. Ceremony costs. Dresses. Everything I would’ve paid for out of pocket, post-marriage.”
With each finger folded, Enoch’s scowl deepened.
“That’s why you didn’t marry Viviana. She couldn’t offer you material gain or social climbing. So you had your emotional affair on the side while using me for everything else.”
His jaw clenched. He was clearly out of words.
I waited, then pressed further.
“You thought you could get all that just for having the title of a Duke? You’ve really overestimated your value. Or maybe you just have no shame.”
“Then why did you pay all that money?”
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