Chapter 1

It all began about two weeks ago—when Carlisle started acting strangely.

Three years had passed since Aileen began dating the man she had secretly loved since their days at the academy. Two years since they got engaged. Altogether, they had been together for five years.

For all that time, he had remained the same—steadfast and unchanging. Yet, about a month before the wedding, he began to change little by little.

“Aileen, I’ll be staying at the estate again today.”

The calm voice came out of nowhere, halting Sera just as she was preparing the bathwater.

When their eyes met, Aileen waved a piece of paper with a flutter and gave her a cheerful smile, as if she’d been waiting for this moment.

“He canceled today’s appointment too.”

“…The Count must be very busy these days.”

“Right? The wedding is only two weeks away. Don’t you think it’s odd?”

Though Aileen smiled breezily, Sera knew all too well how deeply worried she was inside.

Swallowing the urge to curse the Count out loud, Sera slowly muttered the usual formal excuses.

“He must be overwhelmed trying to wrap everything up before the wedding. Especially if he’s planning to take an extended leave afterward…”

“Maybe that’s it.”

“Of course that’s it. Do you think the Count is someone who would act carelessly?”

Sera responded firmly, tossing bright red rose petals into the tub instead of the lavender ones she had originally intended.

To be perfectly honest, Sera had sensed the shift as well. After all, she had served Aileen closely and witnessed her romance unfold over the past five years.

This was the first time the Count had ever canceled a promise with her in such a manner. No wonder her lady was confused—who wouldn’t be?

Trying to shake off the ominous thoughts, Sera recalled the upcoming sparring match between Aileen and the Count.

“The two of you have your regular sparring session soon. Let’s wait and see, my lady.”

Surely, he wouldn’t cancel that too. Or so she thought.

The very next day, Carlisle’s aide personally visited the estate to deliver a message: the sparring match scheduled for the day after tomorrow was cancelled.

Apparently, the Count had suddenly become very busy and was often away from the estate. The aide assured them that if they waited, he would come to see Aileen soon.

“What on earth is going on with Count Avergue lately?”

Sera, unable to hold back any longer, gripped her skirts tightly in both hands and vented her anger.

She had held it in long enough. All this time, she’d reined in her temper for Aileen’s sake.

“Is it because the wedding is so close that he’s getting complacent? I really thought the Count was different!”

“There’s no man in this world you can truly trust,” she muttered bitterly.

Aileen offered a faint, deflated smile and tried to comfort Sera. She didn’t even have the strength to joke about it anymore.

“Maybe something’s happened. Or… they say people sometimes get depressed before marriage. Could that be it with Carlisle?”

“The Count? I don’t think so.”

Sera responded with visible distaste. Aileen gave a bitter smile and rose from her chair.

“I should visit him soon. I need to hear it directly from him—what’s really going on.”

“That’s a great idea. Be sure to give him a piece of your mind!”

“I will.”

But that day never came. Rather, there was no need for it to come.

Before Aileen had the chance to go to him—Carlisle came to her first. And he didn’t come alone.

He brought with him a woman whom Aileen knew all too well.

True to his word that he’d visit soon, Carlisle sent someone ahead to notify them of his arrival.

It had been so long since his last visit. Filled with both anticipation and unease, Aileen tried to calm her racing heart as she prepared to greet him.

The waiting felt both excruciatingly slow and fleeting. As she paced around the drawing room, the trembling voice of the butler announced his arrival.

“Count Avergue has arrived.”

At that moment—

“…This can’t be…”

Aileen couldn’t stop the words of shock from slipping out, almost like a sigh.

Judith.

She mouthed the name without thinking.

How could she possibly forget? Those boldly shining crimson eyes.

The woman who had always sparkled at Carlisle’s side, while Aileen nursed her lonely one-sided love.

Her cat-like upturned eyes remained as striking as ever. Her once-round face had slimmed down, and there wasn’t the slightest shadow on her complexion. The beauty mark beneath her right eye only added to her allure.

With delicate shoulders and a pronounced collarbone, her figure had matured, but her eyes still gleamed with that same brilliance—even after all these years.

Aileen blinked slowly, then repeated the name once more in her mind.

Judith.
It was a name she had never once forgotten—not since the day she first fell in love with Carlisle.

His first love.
The woman who, from time to time, would invade Aileen’s thoughts uninvited.

But why was she here, in her home, and with Carlisle, of all people?

It felt like a chunk of metal had slammed into her skull. Her thoughts froze. The lips that once spoke so freely in front of him were now stiff and frozen, like they’d turned to ice.

She couldn’t tell if what she was seeing was real.

Had she drunk too much of that strong whiskey last night and forgotten? Or… had Carlisle been the one drinking?

Otherwise—how could he possibly bring his ex-lover to stand before his fiancée?

His one and only first love, no less.

“…Ah.”

Just moments ago, she had been happily getting dressed, giddy with excitement.

Now, she felt humiliated.

The moment she saw that solid arm wrapped around Judith’s shoulders…
The moment she saw his large hand gently holding her forearm, as if she were something delicate that might break…

As Aileen kept staring at where their skin touched, unable to speak, it was Carlisle—waiting for her to say something—who finally broke the silence.

“I’ll get straight to the point.”

Those were the words he spoke while standing next to another woman. The words he spoke to the fiancée he was supposed to marry in just a few weeks. And the tone was one she had never heard before—dry, unfamiliar.

“She’s pregnant. I want to cancel the wedding and break off our engagement.”

It was his voice—clear and unmistakable. But it all felt so distant, so unreal.

Cancel the wedding? End the engagement? Pregnant?
That woman? With whose child?

A flood of questions rose and vanished in a heartbeat.
Aileen blinked slowly, almost as if she were checking whether this was all some illusion.

But nothing had changed. The two people in front of her were still standing close together, with barely a sliver of space between them.
And the arm that had once held her was now wrapped around someone else.

“I’ll send the official annulment papers once I return to my estate.”

The deep blue eyes that had once looked at her so warmly were now cold—like a harsh winter wind.

“So, all you have to do is sign, Aileen.”

There was nothing behind his voice. No guilt. No hesitation. No emotion at all.

Aileen stared at his face in a daze.

Three years.
That’s how long she’d quietly loved him. How long she’d fought to win his heart.

And only after those three long years did, she finally succeed—spending another five by his side.

And now, that carefully built eight-year history was crumbling like a sandcastle.

Even as her face turned pale, Carlisle showed no sign of remorse.
In fact, his next words were even more heartless.

“We need to take care of the annulment before her belly starts to show.”

“You really don’t need to go through a formal ceremony,” Judith added softly, speaking before Aileen could even react.

Judith, who had been silently nodding along the entire time, now offered a shy smile—speaking gently to the man who had, until just now, been Aileen’s fiancé.

No. Could he be hers now?

Aileen blinked slowly, trying to make sense of the situation.

His eyes—so empty when looking at her—lit up when they turned to Judith.
Just like they used to, when he looked at Aileen.

“Judy, are you okay? You’ve been standing too long.”

“I’m fine. Thanks to you, Carlisle.”

Because you’re holding me.

Judith smiled sweetly and tilted her head toward the arm draped over her shoulder.
It was as if Aileen didn’t even exist to them.

Judy. Judy.
When did they get close enough to call each other by nicknames again?
They broke up seven years ago. It had ended.

Aileen’s mind, frozen in shock, finally began to function again—but she didn’t even have the chance to think it through.

Because Carlisle cut her off before she could gather her thoughts.

“I came to tell you this in person. I wanted to say it sooner, but things got delayed.”

“…What?”

“As soon as the engagement is annulled, I’ll begin preparations to marry Judith.”

“…You’re throwing too much at me all at once—”

“I’m breaking off our engagement. I’m marrying Judith.”

He cut her off without hesitation.
That sharpness, that decisiveness—so unfamiliar—made Aileen instinctively lower her gaze.

Judith stood beside him; her lips curved in a gentle smile. She looked ever so slightly apologetic, her brows tilted faintly with practiced sympathy.

Aileen let out a short, breathless laugh, laced with disbelief.

How could he stand in front of her and say all this like it was nothing?

He hadn’t left a single opening for hope. Not a single word to soften the blow.

Her lips moved, but she couldn’t even tell what she was saying anymore.

“…So, let me get this straight. You’re telling me your ex-girlfriend is pregnant with your child, and that you’re breaking off our engagement to be with her and raise it together?”

Carlisle didn’t reply. But his silence was answer enough.

Aileen steadied her trembling voice and forced out another question.

“So, all this time… all the delays, all those moments you seemed distracted—it was because of this?”

“…Yes.”

Her vision blurred. Her knees nearly gave out, but she somehow managed to stay upright.

She wouldn’t let herself fall. Not here.

But the fury boiling inside her had nothing to do with pride. It rose like lava, bursting past her lips—angry, raw, unstoppable.

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner? Why did you lie to me? I came looking for you! Why didn’t you tell me then?!”

“….”

“How… how could you do this? Of all people—you…”

“….”

“And with her?!”

Judith.
She had never imagined she’d cross paths with that woman again. And never like this.

Aileen looked up, her eyes fixed on Carlisle, who stared at her in silence.

She felt like she had sunk into a swamp, her body shrinking smaller and smaller, until it might disappear altogether.

But this wasn’t the end.

The real agony had yet to come.

“…That necklace…”