The Full Story of an Incomplete Divorce - Chapter 21

Every time, she vowed it shouldn’t happen again, but whenever she came to her senses, she found herself impaled on Lucius’s c**k, crying out in pleasure. She had no idea physical pleasure could be this overwhelming. Their lovemaking shook the very foundations of her firm resolution to divorce.
But no matter how satisfying the physical relationship was, it didn’t resolve her doubts. If he could change so suddenly, why had Lucius been avoiding her all this time? Whenever she tried to initiate a conversation to learn the reason, Lucius would strip off her clothes, burrow inside her, and blatantly evade an answer.
It was the dawn of the next day that she finally got a lead on the growing pile of questions.

***

Waking from sleep, Charlotte groped the space beside her with her hand.
‘Not here again today.’
Judging by how cold the sheets were, it seemed Lucius had woken up quite some time ago. The dim dawn light filtering through the curtains illuminated the empty space beside her.
Since her relationship with Lucius changed, it had naturally become common for her to share a bed with him. The strange thing was that no matter when she woke up, she was always alone. By now, she was starting to wonder if Lucius ever actually slept properly.

The day before yesterday, Charlotte was startled awake by a sudden moan and was utterly shocked to find Lucius lying beside her. It was because Lucius’s body was stiff, as if pinned by a sleep paralysis demon, and his face was drenched in cold sweat. In a frantic hurry, she shook Lucius awake.
“Lucius, are you alright?”
“…Charlotte.”
“Did you have a nightmare? Are you hurt somewhere?”
When she tried to feel his forehead to check for a fever, Lucius flinched and avoided her hand. His blue eyes trembled finely, like someone caught red-handed, and even his complexion had turned pale.
“I’m fine. It’s nothing.”
It was clear to anyone that he was not fine, but as it was the first time Lucius had shown such extreme agitation, she couldn’t bring herself to ask further.
Tick-tock.
Looking at the clock, she saw it was just past 3 a.m.
Worried, Charlotte roughly threw a shawl over her nightgown and stepped out of the bedroom. The hallway was submerged in a dark silence. As she moved, lighting the corridor with the candlestick in her hand, she heard a faint voice from somewhere. It was coming from the study.
‘At this hour, a guest…?’
Just then, the door opened slightly, and a conversation leaked out.
“For now, it would be best to increase the sleeping medication by one pill and monitor the progress. Please remember, it must be taken right before bedtime. Well then, I shall visit again in a fortnight.”
Soon, a familiar face emerged from the now fully open study door. It was Hesson, who had long served as the Valentin family’s physician.
“My Lady?”
Over the flustered physician’s shoulder, she saw Lucius. Charlotte turned her gaze back to the physician and asked with a stern expression.
“Hesson. Can you explain the reason for your visit at this hour?”
“Well, that…”
The physician looked awkwardly towards Lucius, checking his reaction.
“Enough. You may leave. I will hear the answer from my husband.”
The physician hurriedly left. The air around them grew heavy, like lead. The moment she saw the small, white medicine bottle that looked like sleeping pills on the desk, Charlotte felt the blood in her entire body run cold.
Although Lucius belatedly put the sleeping pills into the desk drawer, that didn’t erase what had happened.
“You have insomnia, and you hid it from me? Why?”
“…I wasn’t trying to hide it.”
At this unconvincing excuse, Charlotte retorted in a sharp tone.
“You deliberately called the physician while I was asleep, and now you’re asking me to believe you weren’t trying to hide it?”
“Charlotte.”
“There wasn’t a single servant in the hallway at this hour, even with a visitor. This must mean today isn’t the first time. Since when?”
“…”
Lucius looked down with an unreadable expression. Seeing the shadows under his eyes from lack of proper sleep, Charlotte bit the soft flesh inside her mouth to suppress her surging emotions.