The Wicked Wife's Dark History Keeps Coming Back To Haunt Her - Chapter 228
* * *
The engagement party for the Beverley Viscount’s son came to an end in a confused and unsettled atmosphere.
The Viscount’s son, who had been stuttering and behaving erratically all evening, suddenly left the banquet hall.
The daughter of Count Bernard returned with her appearance disheveled and her eyes swollen red.
And the Count and Countess Bernard, who had been smiling broadly throughout the event, departed with expressions twisted in unspeakable fury.
What sealed the chaos was Viscount Beverley and his wife announcing that, due to their son’s severe health issues, the engagement would be dissolved.
When the engagement party turned into a breakup party, the guests were startled, but most of them, aside from a few, probably expected it.
‘If someone didn’t see this coming, they were truly oblivious.’
George’s condition had been so severe that nearly everyone present found it alarming.
“Haa, I’m exhausted…”
Thump.
Nina flopped onto the bed and blinked slowly.
She needed to take off her hair ornaments, remove her makeup, and change her clothes, but she didn’t want to move a single finger.
Traveling by carriage over a long distance, gathering information, smashing a wretched man’s skull, then getting her own hair grabbed in return.
It was no wonder she was utterly drained.
‘…Still, it was a good day.’
She had dredged up embarrassing dark history and lost a few strands of hair, but she had gained the information she wanted, and she had been able to ask forgiveness for her wrongdoing.
‘If I hadn’t attended the party today, I would have never known that I was Sophia’s perpetrator.’
Sophia, who had been nearly ostracized from high society because of Nina’s misunderstanding, and who nearly married a piece of trash as a result.
The annulment might have happened even without Nina’s presence, but Sophia’s circumstances wouldn’t have changed much afterward.
Even if House Beverley was at fault, the stain left by the ruined reputation left by Nina would have been a debuff, making the annulment look like a flaw on Sophia.
“I truly am sorry for what I did to you back then. No words can undo the pain you must have suffered, but I’ll take responsibility and set things right.”
Before they parted ways, Nina had apologized with a heavy heart.
Just hours before, she had thought that apologizing would only serve her own self-satisfaction.
But she realized that acknowledging her wrongdoing had to begin with sincerity.
“When you saved me earlier, I had already forgiven you. I was so scared, and you held me so warmly. Thank you.”
The kindhearted Sophia forgave her far too easily.
Nina didn’t know how she could forgive so readily when her misfortune had been caused by Nina in the first place.
Determined to restore Sophia’s reputation no matter what it took, Nina’s eyes drifted shut.
Or they would have, had the side of the bed not dipped with a creak. She opened her eyes.
A man was holding a glass filled with amber liquid.
In the dim room, the only light came from the small flame of the oil lamp on the nightstand.
She could barely make out his face, but she could tell one thing clearly.
He wasn’t pleased.
His tightly pressed lips didn’t show even the faintest smile.
“…Are you angry?”
When Nina asked in a drowsy voice, Ash replied.
“To be honest, yes. I am.”
…Ordinarily, when attending a party that included a banquet, one stayed overnight before departing.
This was the finest hotel in the entire Beverley domain.
‘No wonder he barely spoke at all in the carriage…’
Nina blinked her sleepy eyes and spoke slowly.
“I didn’t mean to make you angry. I really had no idea something like that would happen.”
She had thought it might become dangerous, but if she admitted that outright, this man would explode.
After what he’d done to George, she knew better than to provoke him any further.
She already knew he could be ruthless to those he considered enemies, but to destroy someone’s hand like that…
Earlier she had been too shaken to think deeply, but remembering it now made her shiver, her shoulders trembling.
“Please be careful. If even one fingertip of yours gets hurt, I can’t promise what I’ll do.”
He had kept his warning all too literally.
She was just thinking that she would need to be extremely careful from now on, when a warm hand slowly began stroking her cheek.
