I, Who Was Betrayed By The People I Loved Most - Chapter 8

Camille had only recently started entering and leaving Oswald’s study.

“I’d like to help organize the documents,” she had said, and my husband had quietly nodded in response.

At the time, I hadn’t thought much of it.

But that room—the study—is meant only for the male heir to use.
Even I, his wife, would only enter if absolutely necessary.

So why was she allowed to be there?
Why did she sit there so naturally, as if she belonged?

That question had lingered with me all this time, a quiet thorn I couldn’t quite ignore.

The mansion was quiet that afternoon.
The sun had started to set, casting long shadows across the halls.

I walked toward Oswald’s study, a letter from the steward in hand.

It was the kind of errand I would normally leave to a servant.

But today—just for a moment—I wanted to see his face.

Realizing how pathetic that sounded, I exhaled a small, bitter sigh.

Even now, I still wanted to believe.
In my husband.
In Camille.
In the idea that we were still… a family.

But then, just as I reached the study door, I heard voices from the other side.

Oswald’s voice—low and composed.
And a young girl’s voice in reply.

Camille.
There was no mistaking it.

Then suddenly, her trembling voice reached my ears.

“…I think I might be pregnant.”

In that moment, time froze.

A sharp, needle-like pain pierced through my chest.
I had to brace myself against the wall.
My fingertips trembled.

—Pregnant?

She’s carrying a child…?

How?
She’s, my niece.
And he… is my husband.

No. Please, let this be a mistake.
Let me have misheard something—anything.

But then…

“Don’t be ridiculous… I want to protect the life I have now.”

“Then what do you expect me to do?! I don’t want to be an unwed mother at this age! I can’t possibly handle being a duchess, and if I have a child, I’ll never be able to marry into a noble family again!”

“…You’ll have to get rid of it.”

Each word struck like a blade—cold and merciless—forcing me to face the truth.

Everything I had believed in began to crumble silently around me.

Love.
Trust.
Family.

All that I had built, all that I thought we shared… collapsed within me, piece by piece.

There was no need to hear any more.
I had learned more than enough.

These two…
They were willing to destroy even a new life, just to suit their own convenience.

I quietly turned my back on the door.
As if I had never been there in the first place.

Not a single tear fell.
It felt as though a gaping hole had opened in my chest—and simply staying upright took all my strength.

And in that moment, deep within my heart— I reached a single, unshakable decision.