When My Contract with the Misanthropic Duke Ended, I Filed For Divorce, But My Husband's Obsession and Doting Became Unbearable - Chapter 23
…Anyway, putting aside the battle between those two, I really wanted to know why things had ended up like this.
Even if they came here just to tell me that the divorce was finalized and that I’d be living in the royal castle, there was no need for these four to come together. And if this was supposed to be a formal greeting, I should have been the one to visit them, not the other way around. As for the Duke… I truly had no idea why he was here.
Was he really planning to come see me every single day?
“Anyway, talking like this will just tire Sharon out. Actually, I was supposed to come alone, but my brother and father said they had some free time and wanted to talk to Sharon since it was a good chance, so they tagged along. And the Duke… followed us on his own.”
“I—I see… Thank you very much for going out of your way to visit me.”
“You don’t have to be so formal. I’ve always wanted to meet Reed’s best friend.
Back during school, I thought meeting you then might make things awkward for you and affect your studies, so I stayed away.”
“Ah, th-thank you for your consideration…”
“But maybe, if we’d met earlier, I could have spared you from so much pain?”
“Eh? Wh-what?”
“Your Highness the Crown Prince!”
The Crown Prince smiled sweetly as he leaned in close to my face. I was startled—but then his face and body were suddenly pulled backward. The reason was simple: the Duke had grabbed him by the shoulder and yanked him away.
“My, how rough of you.”
“Even if you are the Crown Prince, if you lay a hand on Sharon…”
“She’s divorced now, so I don’t see the problem.”
“She’ll be remarried soon!”
“That sounds more like your wish.”
Now it was the Crown Prince versus the Duke… What even was this fight supposed to be about?
And Reed—he was clearly enjoying this. I saw that smirk, Reed. Don’t think I didn’t notice.
I appreciated the Duke’s strong wish to remarry me, really, but… The Crown Prince was most likely just teasing him. He always had that same calm smile—even back during the audience at the castle—so it was hard to tell what he was really thinking.
Still, I was sure he was only joking. After all, Reed looked entertained, and there was no way the Crown Prince would seriously flirt with someone like me, whom he’d only just met. I knew my plain looks weren’t the type to inspire love at first sight—especially not from another man.
Honestly, the fact that the Duke liked me this much was already a miracle. That’s why, sometimes, I couldn’t help but wonder—maybe he just thought he was in love, mistaking the rarity of my plainness for something special.
The Duke tended to avoid people, so maybe even he didn’t truly understand his own preferences.
Perhaps it was just chance that I happened to be there to express feelings for him—and to him, that novelty might have stood out.
In other words, if it had been someone else in my place, maybe things would’ve turned out the same.
Sometimes, I feared that one day he might come to his senses and go back to the cold man he’d been right after our wedding.
Even now, watching the Duke so openly wish for our remarriage, I couldn’t find it in myself to be confident. I knew that my fear of believing—and then being hurt again—was what held me back. That same fear had made me lash out at him before.
And yet… maybe because of that very fear, when I saw how he continued to care for me despite all the anger I’d thrown at him, part of me couldn’t help but want to believe in his feelings after all.