The Wicked Wife's Dark History Keeps Coming Back To Haunt Her - Chapter 257
Marital duty.
At those words, the watery eyes that had filled with confusion gradually settled.
âMarital dutyâŚâ
Nina murmured in a flat, indifferent voice.
To think that âthose wordsâ would come from the mouth of a husband who once shuddered with contempt at even the slightest physical contact, even at meeting her eyes.
She brushed away the firm fingers slowly rubbing her shoulder and opened her lips.
âShouldnât you at least elicit a reaction in me first if you wish to engage in intimacy?â
She said those words casually, as if it were nothing, with an untroubled expression.
At that, Ashâs gray eyes wavered like ripples on water.
âWife, what I said back then wasââ
âHoney, I still havenât forgotten those words.â
Death, and then reincarnation and regression.
After such a long and grueling process, how could she forget words that had been driven into her mind like nails.
That husband, who had said even that, was now asking for marital duty using Henry as an excuse.
At this point, it seemed inevitable that she would remind him of their past.
âYouâre misunderstanding your own feelings andââ
She stopped herself mid-sentence.
When she had been drugged.
Thinking that he had misunderstood his own feelings after a kiss that was little different from artificial respiration had only been her assumption.
So it would be better to refuse with a clear reason.
ââŚTo put it bluntly, we have no reason to maintain this marriage.â
Right after her regression.
The reason he had refused her request for divorce had been a lack of trust.
Because he feared she might side with Count Azelot and take Ianâs guardianship away.
âYou know well enough by now that I wonât side with Count Azelot.â
ââŚâŚâ
âSo thereâs no need to fulfill any marital duty. And since Iâm not even looking for a man who would only give me a child, thereâs even less reason.â
Ash was postponing the dissolution of the marriage to solidify guardianship through adoption, while she herself was doing so to respond to the crisis facing her familyâs household.
But she still had not abandoned the thought that they would divorce someday.
âThen why did he misunderstand like that?â
The remark about a man who would only give her a child had truly been a meaningless comment that slipped out without thought.
She couldnât believe that a smart man like him wouldnât understand that and yet dwell on it for so long.
ââŚDo you perhaps need someone to relieve your desires?â
Unless one was completely asexual, it was impossible not to have instinctual desires caused by hormones.
If a man who was clearly healthy and vigorous had lived alone without even a single mistress until now, that was reason enough.
So his desires must have piled up, and if the incident at the imperial palace had acted as a stimulus, it wouldnât be strange for him to misunderstand his own feelings.
It was bitter that he might see her as an object of desire, but she had no intention of condemning him.
Because she didnât think he had acted out of malice.
âIf you need an outlet to relieve those desiresâŚâ
At that moment, Ash grabbed her hand and cut her off.
âPlease stop.â
The impatience that had been gripping Ashâs heart so tightly his mouth felt parched fizzled out weakly, like a tiny spark.
âIâm sorry for making you say such things.â
âNo, Iâm not particularly hurtâŚâ
âAfter pretending to be mature all this time, I couldnât even hold back a bit of jealousy and ended up hurting you again.â
âThereâs no need to apologize so grandlyâŚâ
Ash gently wrapped Ninaâs hand, as she kindly lied that she was not hurt, and asked in a low voice.
âI wonât trouble you any further tonight. Instead, may I ask just one thing of you?â
If this too was greed, then it couldnât be helped.
At his earnest gaze, Nina, who had looked troubled, slowly nodded.
âI just want to check the place those men grabbed earlier.â
Ashâs gaze settled on her collarbone.
Was it bruised?
On the part the neckline couldnât fully cover, a faint red handprint remained.
âAh, it just looks bad. It doesnât hurt. My skin is delicate, so marks show easily.â
Ash bit down lightly on his cheek and slowly regulated his breathing.
That someone had dared to leave a mark on the person he himself felt it was sinful to treat carelessly.
That alone was reason enough to deserve a painful death.
At the sight of the faintly visible red handprint, the killing intent he thought he had forced down surged back up.
