Please, Divorce Me

“You… You…!”

“Please, I’m begging you.” I bowed with all due respect for all those years. Then, I grasped the feelings of the past with my hands. “Please, Father.”

I just wanted him to think about the affection he once had for me and leave me be. I felt a stinging look in the back of my head, and suddenly I heard a bang and a heavy door closing.

I slowly lifted my head and looked around the living room. Then, for the last time, I watched my father leave.

Please don’t let my greed hurt him.

“The ceremony will begin soon.”

I was blankly staring outside the window at the wedding aisle[1], when someone approached and bowed. It was Laura who would be my exclusive servant in the future.

It seemed wedding preparations were over. If the ceremony ended without any problems, Kyle and I would finally become an official couple.

“Excuse me.”

As I stood by the entrance, the maids approached me and fussed over me. They straightened the hem of my dress and combed my hair neatly.

I tried to calm my beating heart and raised my gaze.

Laura was impeccably dressed, her hair tied in a ponytail, not a single hair out of place. The wrinkles on her face felt like the rings of a tree. She came from an aristocratic family in the province and became the nanny of Kyle Harace.

She married a baron and started a family, but soon divorced, and the Duchess, who felt sorry for her, took her to their house. Kyle said he brought her back from her hometown after the Duke and the Duchess died.

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Laura was civil with me, but I knew. She’s not happy about this wedding.

It was probably hard for her to acknowledge me, who was unqualified to be the Duchess, as a member of the family. Swallowing a bitter smile, I stared at Laura.

“Laura.”

Laura stood up at the call. Her eyes that met mine were engraved with years of observing and seeing through people.

“Laura, everyone looked at me and said something like this.”

“…”

“The clothes don’t suit the subject[2].”

“…”

“I will try to be recognized by everyone as the Duchess in the future.” I smiled sweetly at Laura. I wanted to get along with her. “With Laura’s help, I’ll be sure to be acknowledged in the future.”

At that moment, Laura’s face looked startled. But it wasn’t long before her expression hardened, and she bowed. “If you’d allow me, may I offer some advice?”

“Of course. Tell me, Laura.”

“Who do you mean when you walked about being recognized?”

I was taken aback by the unexpected question but quickly answered, “Of course, I’m looking for everyone’s recognition, including Laura.”

“The Duchess is not one to seek recognition. On the contrary, a person in such a position merits it. Please don’t lower yourself anymore.”

I blinked in surprise at Laura’s sincere advice. She was a person who expressed her opinions without hesitation rather than someone who only said flattering things.

I was fortunate. If I had a person like this by my side, if and when I make a mistake, she would quickly call me out on it to fix it.

“Thank you, Laura.”

When I thanked her with a smile, she gave me a bewildered look and told me to be less transparent with my feelings and that I shouldn’t thank her often.

“But I’m grateful…”

I couldn’t help but pout, and Laura sighed in resignation. “Then, I’ll hear it this time.”

“Thank you.”

After a while, Laura handed the attendant a small jewelry box. When the servant opened the jewelry box, there was a diamond necklace that was so dazzlingly gorgeous.

It was the first time I had seen such a gorgeously crafted ornament, and after staring at it in wonder, I let them put it on my neck.

I felt the heavy weight for the first time in my life, so I thought I should be careful when breathing. At that moment, Laura and the attendant bowed to me.

“Then, I’ll go.”

I stared at a man standing in the middle of the hallway in the distance. Kyle, he was waiting for me to enter the ceremony hall.

For a moment, the situation and Kyle’s feelings disappeared from my mind, and I wanted to laugh.

He was waiting for me. That alone didn’t make me regret proposing a contract marriage to him.

I followed Laura to Kyle. The sound of heels was as distinct as the sound of raindrops falling on the window.

“Your Excellence.”

Kyle’s gaze landed on me. “You.”

At that moment, he had a rare look of surprise that forced me to stop in my tracks.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, looking over my body to see what made him react the way he did.

After a moment, he turned away, not answering.

I straightened my dress. There didn’t seem to be anything wrong with it.

“Then, I’ll excuse myself.”

As the entrance time drew near, Laura withdrew. Soon, the first notes of the wedding march started, and we went into position.

I glanced at Kyle’s strong arm, then slowly raised my hand to hold his sleeve. I couldn’t dare link arms with him. Nevertheless, the anger in his face caused my heart to ache.

“That necklace,” Kyle suddenly spoke.

Necklace? Before he started walking, he gritted, “It looks good on you.”

There was a slight anger in Kyle’s calm voice. His cold eyes lingered on my neck. No, to be exact, on the diamond necklace around my neck.

After a moment, his eyes turned away.

Ah, I understood. I smiled bitterly and touched the necklace.

This was a token of love that he couldn’t give to the woman he loved. And he only found out just before the wedding.

He was angry because someone wore the jewelry without his knowledge, and that someone was me. I found Laura in the crowd behind me.

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Did she make me wear this necklace even though she knew this? Doubts rose in my mind for a moment, but I shook my head. There was no malice in Laura’s eyes.

I was wearing something that wasn’t mine, and I was holding the arm of someone who wasn’t mine either.

Yes, I knew that from the beginning. But simply knowing that fact and seeing it firsthand was quite different.

Like a petulant child, my steps grew heavier, and my grips on his arms grew even tighter.

Knock knock–

Someone knocked on the tightly closed office door.

“Come in.”

The door opened, and Laura approached Kyle with her no-nonsense attitude.

“Your Excellency, the Duchess will arrive at the mansion soon,” Laura said, but Kyle fixed his gaze on the papers without any response.

He spoke indifferently, “You’ve done something useless.”

Laura immediately knew Kyle was talking about Duchess’s necklace, which Aelle wore at the wedding.

Bowing her head deeply, Laura said, “She is the one who will hold the center of the family.”

There was a slight tremor at the end of her voice.

“There is no reason to touch Mother’s belongings without my permission.”

“It was a token left to me by the former Duchess. She left a will to pass it on to your new family.”

Kyle’s nib fell off the paper. He raised his gaze with boredom and looked at Laura.

“I guess she liked it.”

Laura neither affirmed nor denied his question, but it was more apparent than any answer could give. His gray eyes darkened. 

“Laura, what do you think I called you for?”

“Please enlighten me, Your Excellency.”

Kyle huffed and tilted his head. There was no way she didn’t know. Laura has been watching over him since he was young, would have known who owned his heart. She would know that today’s marriage and the woman staying in the mansion were nothing but pretenses.

“You’re very loyal to Mother. You’ve kept her memento safe and have returned it. So, the only person I can entrust this task is you.”

“…”

“Aelle. Keep an eye on her and report it to me to make sure she doesn’t spread any rumors.”

How could Laura dare spy on the Duchess? However, since it was Kyle’s order, Laura had no choice but to follow.

‘If you’re going to be so careful, why would you marry her and keep her around?’

Laura had a question she didn’t dare to ask. Aelle Carena. She was very different from other noblewomen. She was always wary of others and perceptive of people’s feelings.

Laura could not forget her bright brown eyes. She seemed well aware of her position, so she wasn’t the kind of person to gossip.

After thinking deeply, Laura looked up.