My New Love That Isn’t Fated - Episode 22

“Don’t go home tonight,” Louise had said.

Her soft plea had been sweet and endearing—but at the same time, Elad found himself irritated by the image of Lilia’s sorrowful smile that kept flashing through his mind. Even after Louise had fallen asleep in his arms, he kept drinking heavily until morning.

He knew he’d been drinking more than usual lately, though he wasn’t entirely sure why.

Louise was by his side—beautiful, affectionate, devoted. He should’ve felt fulfilled. His friends envied him for having someone like her. Unlike Lilia, Louise never embarrassed him in public.

She was a celebrated songstress, known for her beauty and charm. Lilia, in contrast, was plain, burdened with scandal, and lacked femininity.

Even so, Elad couldn’t afford to lose her. Louise was a commoner—no education, no money. But Lilia was the daughter of a Earl. Educated, capable, able to manage a household, and well-versed in etiquette.

Maybe that’s what irritated him—that he needed Lilia, even while loving Louise.

To Elad, a legal wife was just a tool. His father had thought the same. The man had played around with countless young women, yet his mother never said a word. Supporting the household in silence—that was the duty of a noble wife.

And yet Lilia had left the house without telling him. He’d seen her walking with some strange man.

He kept drinking until dawn, brooding over who that man could be. By the time he finished the bottle of whiskey, he’d passed out without realizing it.

When he woke up, it was already night. Morning and afternoon had come and gone.

For a moment, he didn’t even know what day or time it was.

To clear his heavy head, he took a bath. Wrapping a robe over his wet body and sipping water, he looked up to find Louise had returned to the room.

“Elad!”

Her eyes were brimming with tears.
He suddenly remembered she had work today. It was Sunday—a busy night at the theater.

She must’ve just come back from the stage. Her makeup and hair were flawless as always, glowing under the dim lights.

The theater closed around ten. So it was that late already, Elad thought, feeling strangely detached. The alcohol was still in his system, making everything feel fuzzy, unreal.

Even Louise’s tears seemed like something out of a performance.

“I’m sorry I left you alone, Elad. I couldn’t miss work…”

“It’s fine. I should be the one apologizing. I drank too much… just woke up, actually.”

“I’m glad. I was so worried you’d be angry and leave…”

“I wouldn’t get angry at you.”

Her gentle words touched him. She always said what she felt.

Lilia never said things like that.

She never scolded him for coming home late, never asked where he’d been.

She never said she was lonely. But maybe she said those things to that strange man. Maybe she used that sweet voice to say she’d missed him.

“Elad, I have something to tell you. I went to see Lilia today.”

“You went to see Lilia…? Why would you do that?”

“To ask her to let you go. She’s in the way, isn’t she? Stopping you from marrying me…”

“Yes, that’s true. But I told you I would take care of it. You didn’t need to go see her.”

For the first time, Elad felt irritated with Louise.

To buy her freedom, he needed to pay off her 20 million Fabrice debt—plus an additional 5 million Fabrice for her release from the theater. The Griez family didn’t have that kind of money.

He planned to gather it somehow—but he didn’t want Lilia to know.

“Elad, Lilia’s telling everyone—His Majesty the King, even the princess—that she’s some kind of victim. If she would just give up on you, that would be the end of it. But she’s making me out to be the villain…”

“Wait a moment.”

“She humiliated me. She looked down on me like I was just some orphan!”

“Louise, tell me what happened.”

Tears streamed down her cheeks as she explained.

She had found out that Lilia was selling goods at the open-air market—homemade jam, baked sweets, embroidered handkerchiefs, accessories, flower wreaths, and potpourri. All of it had become popular among the actresses at the theater.

As soon as Louise heard the name “Lilia Griez,” she realized who it was. She couldn’t sit still—she had to go see her.

Elad hadn’t known. He didn’t know Lilia was selling things at the market. He didn’t know she’d somehow gotten close to the king.

The man who had defended Lilia had long black hair and golden eyes. According to Louise, he was incredibly handsome.

It had to be the same man Elad had seen in the rain.

“She called him Lord Owen. They’re definitely close. Lilia’s cheating on you. She’s awful. And yet she paints me as the bad guy!”

“Owen… Owen? Could it be that Owen?”

The seventh prince—the eccentric one who never appeared in society. Unmarried, working at the Royal Research Institute.

Elad had never thought much of him, but Owen didn’t have a bad reputation. Harvey had once said Owen was the most brilliant of all the siblings.

He was handsome, too—plenty of noblewomen dreamed of marrying him.

“Elad, please divorce Lilia soon. You’ll marry me, right? I… I’m pregnant. It’s your baby.”

“…I see.”

But Elad didn’t feel happy at all.

More than the news that Louise was carrying his child, what mattered to him was that Lilia had gotten close to Owen.

That, more than anything, was what gnawed at him.