To Those Who Regretted After I Died - Chapter 72
Emily sat alone on the bench, weeping. Hearing footsteps approaching, she assumed Paul had returned and looked up, a smile forming on her face as she called out his name.
“Paul! You came…”
“He’s not coming back.”
“Why… are you here…?”
Standing before Emily was Paul’s fiancée.
“I came to thank you.”
“Thank me?”
“For breaking up with Paul.”
“B-but I never said I was breaking up with him…”
“You were involved with your sister’s husband while you were still engaged to Paul. He was deeply hurt and couldn’t even eat.”
“…”
“Why are you clinging to Paul when you’re supposed to be marrying your sister’s husband?”
“I… I can’t marry Alec… He’s with someone else…”
“Oh… I’m sorry. I didn’t know…”
Emily trembled, remembering how she had been unable to see Alec and how he had married someone else without her knowledge.
“Even if he’s married to someone else, I don’t want you anywhere near my fiancé.”
“B-but Paul and I loved each other… We even have a…”
“Paul and I love each other too. I’m carrying his child.”
“!!”
Emily stared at Paul’s smiling fiancée, tears welling up in her eyes.
“N-no… That’s a lie…”
“It’s not a lie. My parents-in-law are overjoyed, and Paul cried tears of joy for me and our child. After the wedding, we’ll be living in a villa.”
“A v…”
Emily remembered Paul telling her about the villa his mother had prepared for them. The villa that was supposed to be theirs was now hers.
“And please refrain from hugging Paul from behind. It’s alright if it’s a child, but it’s rather disconcerting when a grown woman does that.”
“W…”
“You and Paul are no longer together. It’s bothersome if you keep lingering around him. I’m asking you to please stay away from us, from our family, from now on. That’s all I wanted to say.”
Paul’s fiancée finished speaking to Emily and walked back to Paul.
“H-Hiks…”
Emily wept, watching both Alec and Paul slip away from her. She continued crying until the driver found her.
“I apologize for the wait.”
“Were you able to speak with her?”
“Yes. I told her to stay away from our family.”
“I’m sorry I put you in that position…”
Paul apologized and took his fiancée’s hand.
“I thought she should know how much you suffered… You won’t have to suffer because of her anymore.”
“Thank you…”
Paul kissed his fiancée and buried his memories of Emily deep within his heart.
━━━━━━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━━━━━━
The driver took the weeping Emily back to the Lemoir estate.
“Emily?! What’s wrong?”
Her mother was startled to see Emily in tears.
“Paul… Paul… said he doesn’t want to see me anymore… He’s getting married tomorrow… Hiks…”
“Paul is?!”
Emily’s mother hadn’t received an invitation to the wedding. Due to the rumors surrounding Emily, they had lost contact with other noble families.
“What happened?”
Her father returned and saw Emily crying. He sighed, sensing something was wrong.
“Dear, Paul is getting married tomorrow… Emily found out and…”
“Did you go to the Colbert estate?”
“I saw Paul walking down the street on my way into town… I spoke to him, and he told me he’s getting married tomorrow… He was with his fiancée… and he said he doesn’t want to see me anymore… hiks…”
“…”
“And Alec… is married too…”
“The marquis is?!… Emily, did you go to the Parlis estate?”
Her father glared at Emily. Her mother looked bewildered.
“Emily… You promised you wouldn’t go to Alec’s estate. I only allowed you to go out because you promised.”
“I never said I was breaking up with Alec… That’s why I went to see him…”
“Sigh…”
Her father shook his head and sighed.
“Emily… There’s a marriage proposal for you…”
“Father.”
“W-what…? A marriage proposal…?”
“He’s a merchant from a neighboring country… He saw you at a banquet and proposed.”
“At a banquet…? What’s he like?”
“He’s in his forties, with a wife and children… and five other concubines… He wants you to be his sixth.”
Emily cried out in surprise.
“No! I refuse! I’m not marrying some old man with a wife and children and five other concubines! I refuse to go to some faraway country!”
Emily refused the proposal.
“I see… I’ll tell them you’re not interested… We’re selling this estate in a few days.”
“Father?!”
“Why are we selling the estate?”
Both Emily and her mother were shocked.
“I can’t find work… We can no longer afford this lifestyle.”
“Can’t find work? But Father, you’re a teacher at the academy!”
“I was dismissed…”
“Why…?”
“Because of the rumors about you and the marquis…”
Her father hadn’t told Emily about the rumors and their financial difficulties.
“That’s… So the reduction in staff… and the change in our meals… were because…”
“Not just that. We have to cover all the wedding expenses for the Colbert family…”
“!”
“And the Parlis family as well… We have to pay for everything you asked the marquis to buy for you…”
“B-but those were gifts… Alec bought them for me… I shouldn’t have to pay…”
“Emily!!”
Emily flinched, turning pale at her father’s outburst.
“If you hadn’t pursued the marquis, you could have married Paul… and lived a happy life… But you threw it all away…”
“F-father…”
Her father trembled, his hands clenched into fists.
“Crying and regretting won’t change the past… We’ll have to give up this estate… We’ll lose our title… We’ll become commoners and have to find work. Both you and your mother will have to work.”
“Work?! I can’t work!”
“Your selfish behavior ends today! You’ll either work as a commoner and marry a commoner, or you’ll accept the merchant’s proposal. The choice is yours.”
“F-father… Mother, say something… What should I do…?”
“Your life is your own… I don’t mind becoming a commoner… I’ll endure any hardship… as long as I’m with your father…”
“Mother…”
Emily continued to weep. She wished her sister, Sophia, were there… Regret and guilt washed over her as she realized how her selfishness had driven Sophia to her death… Sophia’s death had drastically changed Emily’s life.
Emily decided to accept the merchant’s proposal and went with her father to visit Adelaide, Alec’s aunt, at the Parlis estate.