When My Contract with the Misanthropic Duke Ended, I Filed For Divorce, But My Husband's Obsession and Doting Became Unbearable - Chapter 35

…Still, I couldn’t just sit and do nothing. I was too worried, so I decided to at least peek into the room and check on him.

The place had changed—it was now the infirmary where the Duke had been carried.

“What dark circles…”

The Duke was still asleep when I entered. As I stepped closer, I noticed the deep shadows under his eyes. I’d never seen anything like that on him before, not even once during all the days he came to see me.

“When we wiped the bl00d from his face, it seems we also wiped off the makeup that had been hiding those circles,” the doctor explained softly. “He’s suffering from anemia due to excessive nosebleeding, but the main cause of his collapse was sleep deprivation and overwork.”

“So that’s why he was finishing work so fast… he must’ve been skipping sleep completely,” Reed muttered. “And then I went and gave him the final push that made him collapse…”

Hearing the doctor’s explanation, I couldn’t even think about how to face him anymore. My chest ached with worry. I hadn’t realized just how much he’d been pushing himself.

“Did you really want to go on a date with me so badly… that you couldn’t even sleep?” I whispered.

Of course, there was no answer. The Duke was still sound asleep. It wasn’t like his work was something that absolutely couldn’t wait, so the only reason he would rush through everything to the point of exhaustion… must have been the date with me.

“Sharon,” Reed said, scratching his cheek. “I’m not trying to defend him, but… I don’t think he realized he was overdoing it. He was just too excited, too driven—and didn’t know when to stop. Even from my perspective, he didn’t look tired at all.”

“It’s not even the kind of reward worth getting that worked up over…”

“Maybe not to you,” Reed said with a faint smile. “But I think it just means he loves you that much.”

Because he loves me… he pushed himself past his limit for the sake of our date? Ah, geez… that’s not like him at all. The Duke never acts based on emotion. And yet I’m the one who made him do that.
How could I not feel happy hearing that?

“If that’s really true… then I’m glad. But still, I don’t want him to make me worry like this again.”

“Yeah… that’s fair. It’s partly my fault too, so I’m really sorry,” Reed said.

“But maybe it’s good that he finally has a reason to rest,” I said, looking down at the sleeping Duke. “If he doesn’t take it easy, all that work will just pile up again. You need to wake up soon, my lord, or we won’t get to go on our date.”

“…Are you even trying to make him rest, Sharon?” Reed asked, half-exasperated.

“I don’t know,” I admitted with a small smile. “But… if we can’t go on the date, I’ll just think of another reward instead. For now, I just want him to rest.”

“Another reward?”

“That’s a secret,” I said, blushing a little.

Now that I think about it, there was another promise we made besides the date. So maybe… his reward for all that hard work could be not just the vacation—but that promise too.

It’ll take courage, but… if it’ll truly make the Duke happy, then I want to do something to repay him for everything he’s done.