Chapter 359
‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.
Fortunately, there was no sign of anyone tailing us. But it was entirely possible they had anticipated that I would eventually come to see Killian and planted watchers at the prison.
‘One of the military police working there could be one of the Marquis’s lackeys…’
They wouldn’t recognize my face, but there was no benefit in leaving an impression either. Leaving my real name in the visitor log would be even worse, so I had borrowed an ID from one of Kathleen’s maids.
I opened my handbag to make sure the borrowed identification was still there. As I was about to close it, I took out a mirror instead. While adjusting the strands of hair escaping from beneath my hat and checking whether my makeup looked unnatural, I felt a sharp gaze on me.
When I glanced to the side, Kathleen was staring at me with clear displeasure.
“Why… are you looking at me like that?”
She shook her head as if nothing were wrong and turned her gaze back to the car window, veiled with lace curtains. But the dissatisfaction in her eyes hadn’t faded.
“Are you feeling unwell?”
She shook her head again, then shot me another sideways glance as I kept looking into the mirror. At last, as if she could no longer endure it, she squeezed her eyes shut and spoke.
“Dana, I’m truly sorry, but I still don’t like you. You should know that.”
…Why say that now?
I blinked a few times, then answered,
“You don’t need to be sorry. I don’t like you either.”
Kathleen stared at me, mouth slightly open, as if she couldn’t believe what she’d just heard. Come to think of it, there was something I, too, had been waiting for the right moment to say.
I folded the mirror and put it back into my handbag before continuing.
“I’m worried you’ll interfere with our child someday.”
Deep lines formed between Kathleen’s brows. Her shocked gaze seemed to demand how I dared say such a thing.
“I’m not making things up.”
“That’s hardly a polite thing to say—no, fine. I suppose I was impolite first.”
She took a deep breath, as if forcing her anger down, then lifted her chin and said,
“Don’t worry about that. I’ve learned something from all this. Some things will happen no matter what. No matter how hard I try, there are things I simply can’t prevent. And the more you meddle in such things, the worse they turn out.”
It seemed she’d done a great deal of thinking.
“I admit that I failed as a mother. I used to wonder how both my sons could turn out so peculiar. But when I think about it, Ted and Killian were completely different children. And yet, seeing them both driven to the brink over the same kind of issue… I suppose the problem was me.”
I knew Killian, but not his older brother. Unsure how to respond, I simply listened. Kathleen stared at me for a long moment with that same dissatisfied look, then let out a heavy sigh and turned her head sharply toward the window.
“In any case, don’t worry that I’ll meddle again. Once Killian is out, I intend to step away from family affairs altogether and wander wherever the road takes me.”
“I’m not asking you to leave. Just not to interfere excessively.”
“Oh? Then you do need a grandmother to remember your child’s birthdays and Christmas?”
Kathleen’s half-lidded eyes bore into my face, then slowly drifted downward. Lowering her voice, she looked at my abdomen hidden beneath my dress and asked,
“Any news yet?”
I shook my head gloomily. I’d wanted to bear Killian’s child, then wished I wouldn’t, then changed my mind again. Perhaps God found my fickleness distasteful. In any case, no child had come.
“That’s unfortunate… but also fortunate.”
Her words didn’t offend me. Unfortunate, but fortunate—she wasn’t wrong. As long as I was still legally the Marquis’s wife, any child I bore Killian would be nothing more than an illegitimate child.
“Before that, what will you do about Rupert?”
“I’ll have to settle it.”
“How? Divorce is difficult even when both spouses agree. And that man—out of sheer pride alone—will never agree to divorce you.”
“Then…”
I turned to face Kathleen fully. Killian’s mother came from a family of jurists and seemed well-versed in the law. Perhaps she could judge whether my plan had any real chance.
“What about filing for annulment?”
“Annulment?”
Kathleen repeated the word, eyebrows drawn together. Was it such a ridiculous idea?
“If it was a fraudulent marriage, and the marital obligations were never fulfilled…”
As I muttered and thought it through, I noticed Kathleen’s expression gradually brightening. That gave me hope, it wasn’t entirely impossible.
“Do you think it could work?”
Discussion
0 CommentsNo comments yet.