The Wicked Wife's Dark History Keeps Coming Back To Haunt Her - Chapter 54
The position of a guardian comes with significant responsibility, but declaring yourself as an adoptive parent requires even more.
Thatâs what it means to be a parent.
You hold the power to influence a personâs precious childhood and, ultimately, their distant future.
âIf youâre going to claim the role of protector, you need to show the child through your actions that they have nothing to worry about. Youâre an adult, and above all, just sitting around doesnât solve anything.â
Nina shrugged as if to say, Isnât that right?
Ash, who had been seriously listening to her words until now, let out a low laugh.
ââŚYou mean like how you showed it through your actions?â
Whatâs this?
Did he just make a joke?
âJust donât overdo itâŚâ
Why does it feel like Iâm hearing the sound of hopeful gears turning in my head?
Wasnât it just the other day she promised herself to take a more conservative stance on things?
At the small but definite change, Nina couldnât help the smile that crept across her lips.
***
Thum.
Ash sat on the edge of the bed, sighing.
At the moment when he had lashed out at his wife, accusing her of showing up deliberately.
The sorrowful flicker in her blue eyes, her resigned voice, and the undeniable sound of her stomach rumbling had made him realize.
He had been overly sensitive due to their small argument earlier in the day.
It was he who had arrived late to the dining room, not her.
ââŚIâm not sure if this was the right thing to do.â
But contrary to his words, there wasnât a hint of regret in his gray eyes.
âI will attend the school festival.â
âYes, I think thatâs a good idea.â
âAnd Iâd like you to come with me on that day.â
At the thought of her wide, disbelieving eyes, as large as a mouseâs, he couldnât help but laugh.
He had asked his wife to come with him.
Why had he done that?
It was a thoughtless remark that had slipped out, purely unintentional.
A thoughtless, unintentional comment.
âŚThis wasnât a good sign.
It meant that her changed demeanor had managed to loosen his tension.
After enduring two years of torment, was he really thinking about trusting her?
The moment he asked himself that question, the smile that had been playing on his lips slowly flattened into a line.
Since the day his wife had abruptly confessed her pain, after all her previous cruelties, an odd sense of unease had settled in his heart, as if he had become the guilty one.
Was that when the first crack appeared in the walls around his heart?
The servantsâ brightened faces, the fact that she had saved both his and his only friendâs lives, and finallyâ
âYou need to show the child through your actions that they have nothing to worry about.â
Her sharp words had exposed his cowardice.
All of these factors had worked together to dull the two years of hatred and anger.
The moment he realized this, he let out a dry laugh.
Despite his constant doubts, his constant surveillance, and his refusal to accept her changes, he had somehow begun to trust her without even realizing it.
It was still small, like a newly sprouted seedling that could easily be crushed at any momentâa desire to believe.
A personâs nature doesnât change easily.
Unless you split open someoneâs heart, you canât be sure what theyâre truly like.
And that woman, of all people, had always possessed a sharp eye for exploiting weaknesses.
Just as his relatives had claimed in court, to outsiders who didnât know the whole story, he appeared to be nothing more than a wretched man desperately coveting his young nephewâs inheritance.
No one had considered that Ian was his greatest weakness, yet Nina had seen right through it.
âŚSo, what if she had noticed a vulnerability in him that even he hadnât been aware of?
He suddenly heard laughter from outside and moved toward the window.
Beneath the bright light of the full moonâŚ
He saw his wife taking an evening stroll with a maid.
ââŚâ
She was laughing so brightly, as if something truly delighted her.
It was a peaceful smile, one she had never shown in front of him.
For a long time, he stared at those lips, which had once spat curses and venom, now forming a serene smile.
Suddenly, the memory of her charging at him fearlessly flashed through his mind.
And then, the image of her collapsed between his legs, crouching in agony and groaning.
ââŚInsane.â
Ash muttered a curse in disbelief as an unexpected thirst overtook him, rubbing his chin with his palm.
His body was reacting.
He must have lost his mind.
