To Those Who Regretted After I Died - Chapter 42
Relatives hurled cold looks and harsh words at Alec, and with the loss of their trust, Alec’s heart was shattered.
“…Why… did it come to this…”
He had inherited the title of marquess from his father and took pride in the position his father had left him, never letting it go to his head.
Alec had married Sophia, but not knowing each other well, things had gone awry from their wedding night. Sophia always waited for him, even when he returned late to the estate. She would greet him every day without fail.
One day, after a troublesome incident with a client, Alec came home exhausted, and Sophia, as usual, was there to greet him. However, Alec, fed up, snapped at her.
“You think it’s a good thing to smile and greet your husband when he’s worn out from work?!”
He yelled at Sophia, telling her he didn’t need her to greet him anymore, and began distancing himself from her.
Sophia, who had started working on Alec’s business right after their marriage, was doing her duties from the estate. But to Alec at the time, it seemed like she had it easy working from home.
It was then that Emily, Sophia’s younger sister, came to visit her.
Seeing Emily, with her bright and cheerful personality, Alec began to compare her to his wife, Sophia.
Emily, showing affectionate gestures toward Alec, began to attract his attention, and Alec’s heart gradually shifted toward her.
“I love you, Alec.”
Hearing Emily’s confession, Alec was delighted.
He gave Emily everything she wanted, and as he saw her joy and the way she would lean on him, he grew fond of her. Eventually, at Emily’s invitation, they began a relationship.
By the time Alec realized there was no turning back, he could no longer bring himself to talk to Sophia about Emily. At this point, Sophia had become someone he could entrust work to.
Not wanting Sophia to find out about his affair with Emily, Alec started making excuses… Emily’s demands increased—she fired any servants she didn’t like, bought whatever she wanted, and even interrupted Alec’s work. Eventually, she even asked Alec to divorce her sister.
“I’m pregnant. You’re going to ask her for a divorce, right?!”
Alec and Emily had already planned for him to divorce Sophia. Deep down, Alec hesitated, but he felt there was no turning back. He told Sophia about the divorce, and their time together ended without any reconciliation.
“Alec, are you okay?”
“……”
“Your aunt scolded me… She asked why I got involved with you, but I didn’t say anything. I didn’t want to see you get in trouble.”
“……”
Alec clenched his fists and spoke to Emily.
“… Leave me.”
“Huh?”
“I want to be alone… Leave me.”
“Why? I’m staying with you.”
“Didn’t you hear me? I want to be alone!”
Alec raised his voice and looked at Emily with a stern expression.
“That’s cruel… You don’t have to be so angry.”
“…”
Alec, still sitting on the floor, staggered to his feet and walked away from Emily.
“What’s going on?”
Sophia’s father, hearing the commotion, hurried over to Alec, who bowed his head.
“… I’m sorry… I’m going outside…”
“Oh… okay…”
Without turning back, Alec left the room after speaking to his father.
“… Ugh… ah…”
Alec walked unsteadily until the sound of church bells made him stop.
At the chapel, Alec saw a bride, groom, and the people gathered to celebrate. He stared at them and whispered.
“…Sophia…”
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Alec’s aunt sat down next to Sophia’s coffin, where the doctor was also present, mourning her farewell.
“…Sophia… I’m sorry… Even though Alec refused, I should have come to the estate…”
Aunt placed her hand on Sophia’s clasped hands, her eyes filling with tears as she apologized for what her nephew had done.
“!? … Huh…”
When she touched Sophia’s hands, she felt something was off. Hidden beneath her white dress, she noticed a small scar on Sophia’s left wrist.
The doctor, seeing the aunt touch Sophia’s wrist, closed his eyes.
“…Alan, did Sophia hurt her hand?”
“……”
The doctor wrapped the bandages on Sophia’s wrist.
He had removed the bandages earlier to avoid questions from the mourners.
“Lady Adelaide, what I’m about to tell you must not be shared with anyone…”
“What do you mean?”
The doctor looked at Sophia lying in the coffin and confessed to the aunt.
“…Lady Sophia did not pass away due to an illness…”
“She didn’t die of illness?”
“…Lady Sophia… took her own life…”
“What!?”
The aunt was stunned by the doctor’s words that Sophia had ended her life by her own hand.
“…Alan? What are you saying… Sophia didn’t die of an illness…?”
“……”
The aunt looked at the doctor’s nodding face in shock, trembling.
“…Ah… ah… why…”
Tears flowed from the aunt’s eyes as she touched Sophia’s clasped hands with her trembling ones.
“I… couldn’t save her in the end… By the time I arrived at the room, the bleeding was too severe… I couldn’t save her…”
The doctor clenched his fists, tears falling as he recalled Sophia’s final smile.
“…Why… Why, Sophia… Why did you have to…”
The aunt wept as she asked Sophia, continuing to speak to her, wondering why she chose death, when there could have been someone to cherish her, even after parting with Alec.
“…Lady Sophia… loved Lord Alec until the very end…”
“!!”
“It seems Lady Sophia had known about Lord Alec and Lady Emily for some time… However, she couldn’t consult anyone, and suffered alone, her health declining day by day… She couldn’t even tell me, her doctor… I’ve regretted it so many times, thinking if only I had noticed… I saw her hesitate when she tried to speak during her appointments, but I… I couldn’t save her… I couldn’t save the woman I loved, not as a doctor, but as someone who cared for her…”
The doctor, touching Sophia’s cold cheek, shed tears in his regret.
“…Alan… You… cared for Sophia…”
“I loved her… ever since I became her physician… But I’m a doctor… Her heart belonged to Lord Alec… If she was happy, that was enough for me. I never confessed my feelings to her… But now, I wish I had spoken up when I started doubting Lord Alec and Lady Emily…”
The doctor’s body trembled as he cried, and the aunt moved closer, hugging him.
“…Thank you… for loving Sophia… You must have suffered, too… If only we had realized Alec’s actions sooner… I’m so sorry…”
The aunt held the doctor close, shedding tears for both Sophia and the doctor, who had silently loved her.