The Full Story of an Incomplete Divorce - Chapter 42

Lucius, lost in thought for a moment, asked.
“How did Charlotte look?”
The knight, gauging his master’s expression, reported truthfully.
“She seemed to be in shock.”
“Where did she go after leaving that place? Did she depart for the estate immediately?”

“I saw her get into the carriage, but I did not confirm beyond that. My apologies. Shall I check immediately?”

His icy blue eyes flickered for a moment before settling.
“…No, that won’t be necessary.”

Charlotte would return. There was no reason for her not to. Even if it was an incomplete truth, she had now confirmed the reality she had so desperately wanted to know, so the suspicions she held towards him must have been resolved. Nothing remained that could shake her now.

Yet, as if to contradict that thought, anxiety immediately reared its head. There were only a few days left until the end of the divorce contemplation period. What if Charlotte’s feelings hadn’t changed from when she declared the divorce?

What was the possibility that Sonia had told Charlotte everything? So, if Charlotte had learned all about his ugly true nature? If she had discovered the truth that he was not a pitiable younger brother who lost his older brother, but a terrible murderer who killed his brother. If, in the end, she intended to abandon him and leave……

The anxiety, once ignited, did not easily subside and quickly swelled to an enormous size, swallowing Lucius whole. The composure he had barely maintained lost its balance and came crashing down. His face contorted under the grip of a terrifying fear that tightened around his throat like a noose. The knight was taken aback by this unprecedented sight of his master.

“Your Grace?”

Leaving the calling knight behind, Lucius bolted from his seat.

***

Upon returning to the estate, Charlotte headed for the annex. She didn’t know why, but a strong impulse told her she had to go there. And it was only after she entered Lucius’s room on the second floor of the annex that she realized the reason she had come.

She wanted to confirm Lucius from her memories, the ‘us’ from that most pure and verdant time. Because this place was now the only one that held those memories intact.

In his childhood, Lucius had spent almost all his daily time here in the annex, not the main residence. But for some reason, after becoming the Duke, he had completely stopped coming, and this was her first time setting foot here in a year as well.

Charlotte lit a candelabra and slowly looked around the room. The window seat sofa where they used to sit together and look at the scenery outside, the books on the shelf she had to tiptoe to reach—everything remained in its place as if time had stopped.

‘I even hid under the bed once to surprise Lucius.’

A chuckle escaped her as the memories came flooding back vividly. Absent-mindedly bending down, Charlotte spotted a large box tucked deep under the bed and reached for it. It was something she had never seen before, even though she had often visited here to see Lucius.

The box was tied securely with thick cord, knotted multiple times so it couldn’t be undone. Charlotte used the flame from the candle to singe and loosen the cord. After brushing off the layer of pale dust on the surface with her hand, she opened it, and her eyes widened.

The box was filled with dozens, no, hundreds of letters. With trembling hands, Charlotte checked the back of an envelope and let out a small gasp. They were all written by Lucius to her.

As if proving Lucius’s near-obsessive compulsive nature, the letters were neatly organized by date. Unable to even move the box, Charlotte sank to the floor right there and, as if enchanted, began to open and read the letters one by one.