To Those Who Regretted After I Died - Chapter 30
[★Warning! Contains violence and abusive language]
“E-Engaged…?”
Alec was stunned when his father told him that Emily already had a fiancé.
“Did you not know? Didn’t you hear it from Emily?”
“E-Emily…”
“……”
Still being held by his collar by his father, Alec turned his gaze towards Emily, who was with his mother.
“It should have been written in the letter to Sophia as well… Did you not hear it from her either?”
“”
Alec recalled what Sophia had told him… ‘From now on, I believe there will be many days of discussions with Emily… but the final decision is up to you, dear…’
(…Was this what my wife was referring to?)
“Were you and Sophia so estranged that you couldn’t even talk to each other?”
“Ugh…”
Alec was struggling to breathe as his father tightened his grip on his collar.
“Father! Alec is going to die!!”
Emily separated herself from Alec’s mother and tried to stop her father.
Thud!
“Gah…!!”
His father, who was clutching Alec’s collar, drove his knee into Alec’s stomach! Alec fell to the ground, clutching his stomach and trembling.
“A-Alec!?”
Smack!
“Ah!”
“F-Father!?”
Their father slapped Emily, who was standing nearby, across the face.
“How dare you… try to seduce your sister’s husband while having a fiancé of your own…”
Their father clenched his fists tightly, looking at Emily with a pained expression as she lowered her head.
“Ugh… hic…”
“You knew, didn’t you… that the wedding is scheduled for next month!”
“Ra…gh…”
Alec listened to his father’s words and bit his lip as he realized Emily would be marrying her fiancé next month.
(…Was she lying when she said she was happy to be marrying me!? When she said she loved me… when she said the child was ours… and when she pushed for a quick divorce…? Did she think that even if her fiancé found out about us, it would be too late for us to get divorced…? All the while, I was oblivious to my estrangement from my wife and brushed her off… I was thrilled when Emily said she loved me… I accepted her advances, hiding it from my wife, and spent time with her… I even divorced my wife to focus on having a child with Emily… What a horrible man I am… Even earlier, I justified it as being ‘for the child’s sake’… From the beginning, I shouldn’t have married my wife… I’m the worst man and husband… I had to lose my wife to finally realize the truth about Emily…)
Tears streamed down Alec’s face as he continued apologizing to Sophia.
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Clatter, clatter… Hearing the sound of things being knocked over in the room, the head maid stood in the hallway with the other maids, unsure whether they should enter.
“We’ve been hearing noises and angry voices from inside for a while now…”
“Did something happen, head maid?”
“Yes, it seems like it…”
(This voice… It’s not the doctor or Mr. Richard… Could it be… Madam’s father’s voice!? …What could be happening in there…?)
The head maid was perplexed.
Inside the room, Alec was repeatedly being struck and knocked down by his father-in-law. The doctor and the butler were helpless, left with no choice but to wait for the father-in-law to calm down.
“Madam… I know it’s painful, but… this is your father’s way of delivering retribution on behalf of Madam, for how Master Alec has refused to confront her all this time…”
“”
The butler addressed Sophia while watching her father and Alec’s confrontation.
“Ugh… ahh…”
Alec’s face was covered in bruises, bl00d trickling from his mouth, and his once-handsome features were now barely recognizable due to the damage.
“Does it hurt?… My daughter’s pain is far beyond this! Despite knowing the betrayal of her husband, whom she vowed to spend her life with, and the betrayal of her once beloved sister… do you know how Sophia must have felt watching the two of you all this time…? I… Ugh…”
Covering his mouth, her father burst into tears.
Emily, also in tears, leaned on her mother for support and raised her voice at her father.
“T-That’s horrible… doing this to my husband…”
“Your husband?”
Her father’s fierce expression shifted toward Emily as he stepped forward and grabbed her arm, pulling her up.
“Kyah! Ouch!! Father, stop it, the baby—!”
“Father!”
“Stop—”
At her mother’s shout, the father released his grip, and Emily broke down, crying loudly.
“Wahhh—! I hate you, Father! I haven’t done anything wrong… I was only carrying the baby in place of my sister… That’s right, it’s my sister’s fault for being so cowardly and dying just because Alec wouldn’t look at her!”
“You—!”
Her father, outraged by Emily’s lack of remorse, raised his hand to strike her—
“Please stop!”
The doctor’s voice halted the entire family. He let out a small sigh.
“Lady Sophia is resting… If you wish to discuss family matters, please do so in another room…”
Hearing the doctor’s words, the father’s expression shifted from anger to sorrow as he staggered over to his daughter’s side…
“Sophia… Sophia… I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…”
He touched his cold daughter’s cheek and apologized over and over again.
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“A-Alec!”
Emily left her mother’s side and rushed over to where Alec was lying on the floor, tears welling up as she worried about him.
“Alec… I’m so sorry… Father did such horrible things to you…”
“……”
Without looking at Emily, Alec stayed where he had fallen, his gaze fixed on the bed.
Leaving Emily behind, his mother walked over to where his father stood by the bed. She froze as she took in the sight of her transformed daughter.
“Sophia!?…”
His mother extended her hand to touch Sophia’s hands, which were clasped together, but stopped herself.
“Ah…”
Sophia’s left wrist was wrapped in a bandage, and red bl00d had seeped through, staining it.
“So… Sophia… It must have hurt so much… Why didn’t you tell us?… If you had just spoken to us… instead of suffering and struggling alone…”
Tears fell from her eyes as she gently stroked Sophia’s hands, mourning her daughter’s death.
“Alec… You were… the first man Sophia ever fell in love with…”
“!!”
(What!?)
Alec, unable to speak, looked up in shock.
“She made me promise not to tell you… She was always awkward with men… When she was leaving the house for the wedding, she said to me… ‘Lord Alec is the first man I’ve ever loved, but what should I do if he finds out that I’m inexperienced?’… I told her, ‘It’s fine, just be sure to let me know when you have children’… And that ended up being… the last conversation I ever had with my daughter…”
Finishing her story, Sophia’s mother shed tears beside her daughter.
(…So, my wife… her first… was me…?)
Tears streamed down Alec’s face as he was overwhelmed with regret… From the depths of his soul, he regretted never turning his gaze towards his wife, Sophia…
(…I… I… was only looking at Emily’s surface… It took being beaten by her father to finally wake up… I lost everything before I realized it…)
Alec’s tears continued to flow as he mourned his own pathetic state…
“Alec, are you crying? Does it hurt?”
Emily reached out to touch Alec’s wounded face.
“Don’t… touch me!”
“Eh… I-I’m sorry…”
“Get… the doctor…”
“O-Okay.”
Speaking was painful, but Alec told Emily to call for the doctor.
“Lord Alec…”
The doctor was startled when he saw Alec’s condition, which was far worse than he’d imagined.
“Anyway… Let’s get you onto the sofa… Can you stand?”
“Ugh… Y-Yeah…”
With the doctor’s support, Alec managed to stand, although each step brought new waves of pain. Somehow, he made it to the sofa and sat down, leaning against the backrest. Emily sat beside him.
“Are you okay, Alec…?”
Seeing Emily’s tear-filled eyes and concerned expression brought Alec more anguish.
(…Is she really worried? Knowing the truth, everything she says sounds like a lie… For the past six months, she hid her engagement from me, deceiving me and manipulating me… Because of her, I couldn’t even spend time with my wife…)
Alec trembled with resentment as he recalled everything that had happened since Emily had come to the estate.
“You’re in the way… Leave me alone…”
“Huh?”
Alec spoke curtly to Emily and then said nothing more, not even glancing in her direction.