To Those Who Regretted After I Died - Chapter 36

Alec and Emily, having stepped away from Sophia’s coffin, were heading toward the room where the relatives were waiting.

Emily linked her arm with Alec’s from behind as he walked ahead, startling him enough to shake her hand off.

“…What are you doing…?”

Emily was surprised by Alec’s rejection of her hand, but she let out a small laugh.

“I’m sorry. You know it’s just a habit, right? We always linked arms when we were together… It reminds me of the time before, when my sister was around, and you pushed my hand away.”

“…What are you talking about?”

“Don’t you remember? We were taking a break from work, staring out the window, talking about going for walks with our future child. When my sister came into the room, you were so startled that you shook off the hand I’d linked with yours. My sister looked surprised, but she just put some documents on the desk and left without saying anything, and we laughed awkwardly…”

“Stop it!”

“Huh?!”

Emily was taken aback by Alec’s sudden outburst.

“…Don’t talk about things my wife saw.”

“…You don’t need to get so angry, do you? Besides…how much longer are you going to keep calling her your wife? You divorced my sister.”

“…Until the funeral is over, my wife is still Sophia.”

Emily felt frustrated that Alec wouldn’t call her his wife.

“…Don’t tell me you’ve suddenly started missing my sister, after ignoring her all this time…”

“……”

“You told me you loved me, but now you’re being cruel…”

Emily looked up at Alec with teary eyes, and he gave her a piercing glare.

“…Do you even love me?”

“What…?”

“You were engaged, yet you pushed for me to divorce my wife… I’ve even started to doubt whether the child you’re carrying is really mine.”

Emily was flustered by Alec’s cold expression.

“…It was hard for me to watch you with my sister, even though we were married. You said you loved me… So, I wanted to free my sister from the marriage…”

“Free?”

“Wouldn’t you want to be happy with someone you love, rather than living with someone you don’t care about? That’s why I thought it would be better for her to divorce you and find someone she could really love the next time she remarried… But now, my sister is…”

Seeing Emily mourning her sister, Alec couldn’t say anything.

“…Sniff… I don’t want to fight with you, Alec. I know I’ve done wrong… I’m sorry for hiding my engagement from you… I didn’t want to lose you because I love you…”

Emily placed her hand on her belly and smiled at Alec.

“This baby is really yours… Do you remember when I told you you were my first, the first night we spent together?

I want to live with you and this child, the three of us together.”

“……”

Seeing Alec’s expression, Emily leaned into his chest, burying her face.

“What do you two think you’re doing!?”

“F-Father!”

“I came to get you when you didn’t come to greet the relatives.”

“Please, don’t be angry.”

Emily’s father grabbed her arm and started walking, but he turned to face Alec.

“I’ve already told the relatives about your affair.”

“!”

“Huh…?! Why would you…? Now everyone will look at us with contempt.”

“…Better for the family to know first than for others to hear about it later… before rumors start spreading…”

“No, I don’t want people calling it an affair… Alec is divorced, so we aren’t having an affair.”

“You’re still saying that?!”

“Please don’t be angry! The baby might get startled and die.”

“You…”

Watching Emily argue with her father, Alec kept repeating to himself that no matter how much he regretted it, Sophia was never coming back…

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In the room where the relatives had gathered, Sophia’s father spoke about Alec and Emily’s relationship, causing a commotion with everyone talking about the situation.

“…How could this happen…? For her to make a move on her sister’s husband…”

Sophia’s uncle, unable to believe it, slumped his shoulders and shook his head in disbelief.

“Is it true, sister? The story about Emily being pregnant with Alec, Sophia’s husband…?”

“…Y-Yes…”

Sophia’s mother, surrounded by relatives, was enduring the suspicious looks aimed at her alone.

“I thought something was off. I often saw Emily and Alec together at the wedding reception… I even spoke to Emily once, but she told me that Sophia wasn’t feeling well and that she was standing in for her, so I didn’t think to doubt her… To think that she was pregnant… And that the father is Sophia’s husband… Maybe… Maybe Sophia knew about them, and that’s why… It’s so tragic for Sophia…”

Sophia’s aunt began to cry, mourning her death.

“Emily has always wanted what belonged to her sister… but to think she would even steal her sister’s husband… If word gets out that the daughter of the main branch of the Lemoir family is pregnant with her sister’s husband’s child, won’t it be your brother who is most troubled?”

“…Ah…”

Sophia’s mother was visibly shaken at the suggestion that the rumor of Emily and Alec’s affair could affect her husband’s work.

“Hey… Isn’t Emily’s wedding next month? What’s going to happen to it?”

The gathered relatives began to stir as they realized the wedding was planned for next month.

“…Sophia just passed away. They can’t hold the wedding, can they? Speaking of which… Colbert’s fiancé wasn’t at the funeral, was he?”

“…We haven’t told their family yet…”

“You haven’t told them? Once Emily marries into the family, they’ll be related to us. Sophia is Emily’s sister; they’re going to wonder why they weren’t informed.”

“…I know… But I haven’t told her fiancé, Paul, about Emily yet…”

“Isn’t it strange that the marquess would get involved with his wife’s sister? Has Emily forgotten that she’s a noble, too?”

“This group does love to gossip… I’m worried about what they’ll say about us…”

“Oh no! That would be terrible. I’ve been invited to a tea party… If they bring up Emily…”

“…This won’t affect our work, will it…?”

“This is what happens when you spoil Emily, sister!”

“I-I’m sorry… We still can’t believe it either… that she would go after her sister’s husband…”

Her mother apologized to the gathered relatives with tears in her eyes. A woman beside her gently rubbed her back to comfort her.

“But we can’t be sure the child is Alec’s, right? Emily was engaged, so it could be her fiancé’s child, couldn’t it?”

“…Well… yes, but…”

“What if Emily loved only her fiancé!?”

“…But it’s Emily we’re talking about. She was probably involved with the marquess, too…”

The relatives of the Lemoir family started whispering and arguing, speculating about whose child Emily was carrying.