“Y-yeah.”
Aaron looked flustered. It seemed he had expected her to press him further. He probably had prepared counterarguments for himself.
It was unfortunate that his efforts were in vain, but this was as far as she could go.
She had resolved to act wisely. Yet, perhaps she wasn’t quite ready, as she felt too nauseous to endure. It had barely been a week since that day, so perhaps it was only natural.
If she pushed herself in her current state, she might end up lashing out in anger, so she decided to postpone probing him a little longer. Ariella maintained her silence all the way to Count Lambert’s residence. Aaron seemed to have more to say, but she continued to feign ignorance, staring out the window.
The same was true after they arrived at the party venue.
Ariella smiled elegantly as if nothing was wrong, conversing with other nobles while subtly drawing a line with Aaron. She responded with short answers only when necessary and didn’t initiate conversation or even glance at him.
As a result, it seemed Aaron’s complexion grew darker, but that was of no concern to her.
As time passed, the atmosphere of the party became more lively.
The nobles, intoxicated with wine and jokes, raised their voices, and the sound of the orchestra gradually grew louder.
‘It’s suffocating.’
It was quite a large party, and the spacious hall was packed with guests and servants. For Ariella, who didn’t enjoy crowded places, she wanted to leave this stifling gathering as soon as possible.
‘I’ve said all I needed to say, so maybe I should take a break.’
She had roughly finished greeting the important nobles and had subtly mentioned the wine business to Count Lambert.
In her heart, she wanted to go home right away, but leaving this early would draw unnecessary attention, so it seemed better to find a place to rest.
Unfortunately, the balcony was already full. Going to the powder room would mean encountering her friends, which wasn’t a welcome meeting in the current situation.
After a moment of contemplation, Ariella headed to the garden. It seemed that not many people had ventured outside yet due to the chilly weather, so the garden appeared to be the most suitable place for a brief moment of solitude.
As she stepped outside, the cool spring breeze tickled her nose. Thanks to the thick shawl she wore, it wasn’t too cold.
Ariella walked slowly, taking in the beauty of the garden.
The early-blooming spring flowers swayed in the wind, releasing a subtle floral fragrance.
The blue flowers, resembling wisteria turned upside down, were lupines, the symbol of the Lambert family.
As she walked along the dancing flowers, the pressure that had been tightening her chest began to ease a little.
However, her brief moment of freedom ended in just a few minutes.
An unwelcome guest had appeared.
“Eli.”
Aaron approached her with angry strides, having followed her here without her noticing, and roughly grabbed her wrist.
“Are you going to keep acting childish like this?”
Ariella instinctively looked around. Fortunately, it seemed there was no one nearby.
“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
“Are you trying to play dumb? You’ve been silent like a clam since the carriage ride, not even making eye contact with me! What do you think the count and countess will think of me?”
“They probably won’t think much of it. I’m usually not very talkative.”
“Damn it, that’s not what I meant!”
Ariella bit her lip.
Then what was he trying to say?
She couldn’t understand at all why he was cursing in front of her.
“What do you want me to do, Aaron? What exactly do you want to hear from me?”
“Anything but that damn silence. You must have something you want to ask me too, right?”
“No, I don’t—”
“Eight years, I’ve been your fiancé for eight years. Do you think I don’t know what you’re thinking? It’s obvious you’re jealous! Stop pretending and just say it. Spit out what’s in your head!”
Jealousy, jealousy.
‘How could you expect me to be jealous?’
It was so absurd that it made her blood boil.
Losing someone as pathetic as you is not something to be jealous about; it’s something to be grateful for. Thank you for ruining another woman’s life instead of mine. She wanted to convey her true feelings, but Ariella barely held back.
Aaron was a man with a strong possessiveness over what he considered his. If she revealed her true feelings, who knew how he might react? So she decided to postpone that and, for now, pretend to be jealous to extract information.
“Fine, then. If that’s what you want, I’ll show you an appropriate reaction. When did you start seeing my maid behind my back?”
