To Those Who Regretted After I Died - Chapter 21

Sophia raised her voice at Alec and Emily, who were quarreling in front of her.

“Please stop fighting in front of me.”

“S-sorry…”

“I’m sorry…”

“And Emily, please don’t talk about the time you two spent together in front of me…”

“I’m sorry…”

“I’m so sorry!!”

Suddenly, Alec lowered his head and apologized to Sophia.

“I was wrong… I really was… I tried to apologize to you so many times… but we kept missing each other…”

“It’s fine… It’s over between us… I won’t show myself before you two ever again…”

“…”What!?”…”

Alec and Emily both cried out in surprise.

“There’s nothing surprising about it. I’m just leaving after the divorce.”

Alec was stunned… unable to do anything but stare in disbelief at Sophia as she looked straight at him.

“Y-you won’t leave right away, will you? Sister…”

“I plan to leave by today.”

“Huh? Today!? W-why so soon…”

“Yes, if you’re not here, I’ll be in trouble! If you return to the family home, Father will find out that I’m pregnant…”

“Hah… There’s no use in panicking over something that will be revealed eventually… You two should decide what you’ll do from now on.”

“That can’t be…”

“You’re lucky… You always had someone by your side… even when I wished for that…”

As Sophia’s tears fell silently, Alec saw it and his heart wavered.

Wiping her tears away, Sophia let out a sigh.

“I haven’t forgiven you two… But I’ll be happy if you regret losing me…”

“”

“Sister…”

Sophia smiled at Alec and Emily before leaving the guest room.

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Sophia stood in front of the door, closing her eyes as she bid farewell to the person she once was as Alec’s wife.

“It’s over… I wonder if I managed to say even a little of what I wanted to… I was envious, seeing them sit together, teasing each other, and even fighting… even though it was a scene I had seen countless times before…”

She stepped away from the door and walked down the hallway.

“Wa… wait!”

Alec came running down the hallway, quickly catching up to her.

“!? H-husband? Alec-sama?”

“When it’s just the two of us, I want you to call me by the name you always used.”

“Then, husband…”

“!”

Hearing her call him “husband,” Alec smiled in relief.

“Emily is waiting for you in the room.”

“Yeah, but I thought it might be better for her to be alone for a bit, so I stepped out.”

“I see… What is it you need from me?”

“Ah… I wanted to ask you to wait before leaving the mansion…”

“Why? Won’t my presence here make things uncomfortable?”

“No… it’s also about work… If you’re okay with it, I was thinking we could work together again…”

“‘It’s suffocating working with you,’ ‘Can’t you smile like Emily does?’—those are the words you always said to me when we worked together, husband.”

“!!… I-I didn’t mean it like that…”

“Don’t you dislike me, husband?”

“!”

“So you wouldn’t have been bothered, even if I was watching, right?”

“I-I’m sorry… It’s not that I dislike you… I just… I didn’t know how to face you as a husband… I was confused. But now, without you…”

“Did you discuss the work situation with Emily?”

“A-ah… I did, but she said she couldn’t handle the work. She used her pregnancy as the reason and told me to hire someone else in her place…”

“So, now you’re asking me… You really are cruel to the end, aren’t you, husband?”

“Huh!?”

“You want me to suffer again, don’t you? Are you going to make me watch as you, Emily, and your child live happily together?”

“No, that’s not…”

“What do you mean it’s not? You want me to stay here even after the divorce, don’t you? You want me to work in Emily’s place, right? Isn’t that it? You always indulge Emily… always trying to keep her happy… That’s what I disliked about you, husband.”

“!…”

“Before, even when you were busy with work, I saw how you cared for the mansion and the staff. Even though we didn’t talk much, I loved the way you worked alongside me…”

“…”

Sophia regretted her weakness, wishing she had spoken up sooner to Alec about what she truly felt.

“Husband, I heard from the gardener that you’re building a greenhouse for Emily!?”

“A greenhouse? No, I haven’t asked the gardener for that… The greenhouse idea was already scrapped… Why are you bringing it up?”

“It seems Emily spoke to the gardener, requesting the greenhouse for the child…”

“What!? Emily did that!?”

Alec showed a troubled, anxious expression, bothered by Emily making such decisions without consulting him again.

“It seems you didn’t know.”

“Ugh… I can’t believe she’s bringing this up again…”

“You have to be firm with her. If you want to protect the Parlis family moving forward…”

“Emily now uses the child as an excuse whenever there’s an issue… When she does that, I can’t bring myself to say anything.”

“When that happens, please talk to my father about Emily.”

“Your father!? But…”

“Soon enough, Father will find out that we’re divorced, and he’ll come to the mansion. You should rely on him.”

After finishing her words, Sophia smiled at Alec.

“I’ve always relied on you until the very end… Seeing your smile just now reminded me of how I used to wait for your return…”

“Huh…”

“Right after we married, I was busy taking over from my father, and every day was hectic… When I returned home to see you smiling to welcome me, I grew jealous. ‘Why are you smiling at me when I’m so exhausted?’—that’s what I thought… It was terrible of me, but that’s how I started to distance myself from you… I’m sorry… I hurt you, acting selfishly and assuming the worst…”

“Is that why you went to Emily?”

“A…”

“You really are a cruel husband… Did you think I spent my days idly in the mansion, doing nothing? I worked alongside you, helping manage foreign guests, and I struggled countless times trying to communicate with them in languages I didn’t know. That’s why I started studying… to be more useful to you…”

“I-I’m sorry… I didn’t realize how much you were thinking about me… Now I know… I can’t manage without you…”

“If you’re going to take Emily as your wife, then you should talk with her about learning the work. I don’t think the Parlis family can afford to hire more staff at this point. And… there’s no need to plant my flowers in the mansion.”

“Huh, flowers!? I asked the gardener about planting them today… Why don’t you want them?”

“There’s no point in planting my flowers when I’m no longer here… Emily will just find them a nuisance. Please give the flowers to my parents when they come.”

“B-but… I wanted to plant them for you…”

“As my final request as your wife… please take care of the staff. Don’t fire them every time something happens… They are essential to the Parlis family.”

“I-I understand…”

“I’m glad… I think marrying into your family was a good decision… The Parlis household staff are all wonderful people, and I had fun. When you were away, we would bake pies together… even though you didn’t like them…”

“A-about that…”

Alec regretted rejecting the pies, even though he had enjoyed them, as he had tried to align with Emily’s tastes, unintentionally hurting Sophia.

“The happiest time for me was working alongside you… But I can’t respond to your wish for me to stay… Please don’t make me suffer any more… if you care about me even a little…”

“…”

“I will go far away… Even though I won’t be able to see what becomes of you two, I’m sure you’ll have many discussions moving forward. It will be difficult, but the decisions will be yours, husband.”

“Huh? I don’t understand… What decisions?”

“I can’t say any more than that… This has been a long conversation… I think this is the longest we’ve ever talked…”

“If only we had talked like this sooner… ah…!!”

Sophia bowed her head as tears streamed down her face.

“Goodbye, husband… I’ve always waited… for you to turn and look my way…”

“Ah… So…”

Sophia ran down the hallway, leaving Alec standing there, only able to watch her retreating figure.