# 43
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"What are you doing? Why did you lift my skirt without thinking?"
“Why didn't you tell me?”
Eric's voice trembled. He took a deep breath and looked at her. Not only did she feel extremely ashamed of everything being exposed, but the way her husband found out was unfair as well.
Chloe lowered her eyes before opening her lips.
“…Because it’s my weakness.”
“Your weak point?”
He gritted his teeth when he heard her words.
...weakness, weakness. What's good about that!
You should have told me!
He raised his voice.
“I was so kind to the Duchess all the time. I never thought she would hit you like that! If I had known, I would have fired her right away! How dare she, how dare she lay her hand on my wife, I... I was so kind to her! How much of a fool she would make me...!”
“But you wouldn't have believed it anyway!”
Chloe's scream filled the room.
Then Eric's eyes widened because she had never screamed at him like that before. Only at that moment did he notice that she was extremely angry.
“So far, you heard it from Andrea, right? And yet, you lifted my skirt thinking that you should check my wound yourf because you suspected me of being a liar!”
He couldn't even refute it one bit, because everything she said was true. He shuddered in shame, and let out a deep sigh as he wiped his withered face with his hand.
“…I know. I know you don’t have a family, which is why you try to be nicer to my mother. In that regard, it seemed like I didn’t get along with my mother in your eyes, and you knew everything.”
Chloe tried to hold back her tears and spoke forcefully, one word after another.
“However, my dear… there is certainly a lot you don’t know about me.”
He felt completely powerless to notice her. As he tilted his head back with his eyes tightly closed, blood rushed to his head and his thoughts raced. Eric lowered his head again and exhaled shudderingly.
“Have you always…”
Chloe asked.
“...Did you always get hit like this?”
She didn't answer.
But he knew that her silence meant agreement. Eric clenched his fist tightly.
“Why… didn’t you tell me?”
Although he wanted to say something else, he gave up.
He was right…like Chloe said, he wouldn't have believed her even if she told him the truth. God, how could he be so naive? He did not trust his wife. He only believed what her malicious mother said, and his wife was suffering like this!
Even an apology was not enough. However, it seems that he did not even think about apologizing.
"renal".
Eric grabbed her bruised hand.
“Please, tell me if something like this happens next time. I will believe anything you say.”
Although it seems ridiculous now, he had to say it. This way, he will have a chance to make amends, and thus will feel less guilty.
Chloe stared at Eric blankly.
Because of the fever, she was unable to think clearly. On top of that, everything seemed unreal – the fact that he had lifted her skirt to check her wounds and gotten so angry about it while all her secrets were out in the open.
So, she brought up what she really wanted to say to him.
“It hurts.”
However, she wasn't even looking at him. Chloe said as she stared at something behind him, something he didn't know.
"It was very painful... It was very painful, but no one noticed. I always had to endure it, and the result of patience was always pain. I thought someone would know even though no one noticed... That's right, just like you are now."
She turned her gaze to Eric. Although tears gathered in her eyes, they remained cold as they stared at Eric.
“I thought you would be on my side.”
"renal".
“I thought you would understand and not doubt me... I thought you would accept me... You would have noticed my change if you cared a little about me.”
"I'm sorry about that. I wasn't able to think consciously. I just…"
“Eric.”
Eric felt his heart contract in an instant when she called him.
No, don't...
Please, don't say more.
"please."
Although he wanted to deny it, Eric couldn't stop Chloe.
“…Please, divorce me.”
Tears streamed down her cheeks.
“I don't want to live like this anymore...”
He couldn't provide any answer.
There was nothing he could do… he couldn't even wipe away her tears.
Chloe hasn't spoken since. Additionally, she banned Eric from her room and almost refused Andrea to take care of her. The only person who could enter was the doctor, but even the doctor did not tell him about her condition.
Eric kept walking around, worried all the time.
He thought about something, and while most of it was about cursing his arrogant biases, it was as if he was possessed by something… Was he possessed by the Duchess? Otherwise he wouldn't have suspected Chloe like that!
No, that was not the case.
It was all his fault. The Duchess's words only exacerbated the mistrust of Chloe that was so ingrained in him. He was wrong for not trusting her from the beginning.
Why didn't he trust her?
It was only now, after spending his time in repentance and contemplation, that he was convinced of the sincerity of her feelings. He admitted to himf that he was secretly hoping Chloe's f-confidence would collapse and she would obey him.
...It was true. He had a desire to eliminate her.
He regretted his words that hurt her, all to satisfy his desire for appreciation and relieve his feeling of inferiority in front of her incomparable nobility. That must be why he pushed her without realizing it. What a terrible thing!
Although he was thinking to himf now, it was too late. He hurt Chloe so badly that it can't be fixed.
But that didn't mean he would let her go. He wanted to change her heart.
Of course, this feeling was nothing compared to the true love she was talking about. Because of his greed, Eric could not lose what he had, and he was unable to accept failure.
He'd said this before, but he didn't know love. He didn't want to know him, and thought he would never know him. Whatever it was, he wanted to overwhelm Chloe's resolve. He wanted her to reverse her decision to divorce, and he kept her by his side that way.
So, he knocked on her door again.
"renal".
Eric said as he grabbed the door handle.
“Please, open the door. I have something to say.”
There was no response, and the situation continued like this for several days. He sighed deeply and placed his forehead against the door.
“I…”
The words came out of his mouth slowly.
“…He wanted to be a good husband.”
He was serious in what he said. He tried to improve his relationship with Chloe in his own way.
"So, I wanted to resolve the relationship between the mother and daughter who were not getting along. I thought you would be happy if I did that. It was because I didn't know how much pain you felt. It was because of my ego. So, Chloe…"
He grabbed the door handle again.
“Please, open the door. I want to talk to you.”
After a while, the door handle broke. Finally, Chloe opened the door!
Eric smiled widely when the door opened, and he was about to see her. But the smile quickly disappeared from his face. The reason is that Chloe's skin was not feeling well. Her lips were pale and blotchy. In addition, her eyes were sunken, and her face seemed lifeless.
It was as if a dead body was standing in front of him.
His eyes widened in confusion, and he grabbed Chloe's shoulder.
“Let's go back to bed first.”
He hugged Chloe, then quickly approached her bed with her in his arms, and carefully placed her on it.
Meanwhile, although she was surprised by his embrace, she was too weak to show it. Chloe grabbed the blanket Eric pulled out. I felt thirsty, so I looked for a cup of water, took a sip, and then looked at him.
“What…you want to talk? I thought we said everything already.”
As she spoke in a very cold tone, Eric was startled because this was a side she had never shown to him before.
He was the one who let her down. Therefore, he thought he had to please her first.
“I'm not done yet. There are many things I want to apologize to you for.”
“I will not accept that.”
"renal".
"When I talk to you...I feel so tired. I don't want to care about anything right now. The doctor also told me that I should rest."
Eric was silent.
He felt a bitter taste stuck in his throat, and he felt thirsty.