The Wicked Wife's Dark History Keeps Coming Back To Haunt Her - Chapter 73
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The season lay somewhere between summer and fall, but the mountain, shrouded in darkness, was as cold and dreary as early winter.
Crackle, crackle, crackleâŚ
Inside the tent, a small campfire crackles and burns gently.
ââŚIt seems His Grace is already asleep. You should rest soon as well, Madam, if youâre to leave early tomorrow.â
âYes, I suppose. You should get to bed early too. Here, take this with you since itâs cold.â
After her bath, Nina, now dressed in a nightgown, personally draped a blanket over Marshaâs shoulders.
Taking care of those around her in the cold had long been a habit of hers.
âHa, I must be out of my mindâŚâ
Thinking back on her recent blunder, she wished she could find a hole to hide in.
âŚSleep together, she had said.
She buried her face in her hands and let out a small groan.
The words sheâd planned in her head were definitely different, but what came out was horribly mistaken.
She genuinely wanted to disappear.
It was all because sheâd been worried he might misunderstand and think sheâd made a move to sleep together with him.
âItâs so coldâŚâ
After Marsha left, Nina sat by the warm fire, trying to thaw her frozen body.
Having just bathed, the chill of the world felt sharper than ever.
âI should have just gone to sleep without a bath since Iâll need to wash again in the morning anywayâŚâ
Nina disliked the cold.
She also hated winter.
The season when she had lost Marsha and closed her eyes in despair always brought an emptiness that couldnât be filled.
And the chilly mountain air kept bringing back memories she most wanted to forget.
âI⌠Iâll just sleep a littleâŚâ
A bloodless, pale face, lips turned blue, skin icy like frost, Marshaâs body stiffening like a wooden log.
With a hardened expression, shoulders hunched, she shook her head.
This time, it wouldnât happen.
âI can change the future.â
Dinner, help, companionship, sleeping arrangements.
She had experienced a chain of things that wouldnât have happened in her past life.
This proved that, if she put her mind to it, she could change the outcome.
âJust go to sleep now.â
Negative memories had a way of snowballing.
At times like these, the best remedy was simply to get some sleep.
She lay down, wrapping herself tightly in blankets, but unintentionally glanced over at her husbandâs profile, illuminated by the reddish glow of the fire.
He was asleep on a cot, with nothing but a thin blanket covering him.
Perhaps because of the memories that had just resurfaced, Marshaâs face momentarily overlapped with his motionless, doll-like face.
ââŚâŚâ
Was it because sheâd experienced freezing to death?
Her fingertips twitched, feeling as though she should offer him an extra blanket.
She knew nothing serious would happen in this kind of cold, but habits rooted in âtraumaâ were beyond reason.
âCovering him with a blanket shouldnât be a problemâŚright?â
He might get annoyed and call it meddling, but honestly, the blanket he had was thin enough to make anyone shiver just looking at it.
âIf he complains, Iâll just tell him he looked coldâŚâ
It would be troublesome if he caught a cold, after all.
With that thought, she hugged a soft wool blanket to her chest and approached the bed.
She intended to quietly drape it over him and return to her place.
Thatâs what she intendedâŚ
âAhâŚ!â
As she moved, her foot slipped on the edge of the blanket that had fallen down to her feet, and her body pitched forward.
Thudâ
The thought, âThis is a disaster,â flashed through her mind as a sharp pain spread across her face.
âUghâŚ!â
She held her face in her hands and let out a pained groan.
It was so painful that she couldnât open her eyesâshe must have hit the bed frame.
ââŚWhat are you doing.â
Disaster.
âDoes he think I was trying to⌠pounce on him?â
Hearing her husbandâs bewildered voice, Nina hurriedly held out the blanket as if to prove her innocence.
âI⌠I was trying to cover you with a blanket!â
Here! The blanket is right here!
But she hadnât accounted for one thingâher knee was pressing down on the blanket.
ââŚâŚ!â
Realizing this too late, she lost her balance again, falling towards the bed.
Instinctively, she squeezed her eyes shut.
Thump.
A firm, warm hand caught her face just before she hit the bed.
ââŚâŚâ
With her face in his palm, Nina trembled all over.
âŚShe should have checked her footing from the start.
