I Became the Mother-in-law of the Regretful Female Lead

“What? You’re already here?”

Lilliana approached Jeremion with a bright smile, arriving at their meeting spot 30 minutes earlier than planned.

“Why are you here so early? I know your time is precious… Oh.”

As she greeted him warmly, Lilliana paused as soon as she stood in front of him.

Jeremyon looked noticeably different from usual.

“Is something going on today? You look… different.”

Lilliana scanned him from head to toe once more.

Nothing was the same.

His silvery hair, which usually fell naturally over his forehead, was neatly styled today. His well-defined forehead was exposed, emphasizing his masculine charm.

On top of that, the sleek navy outerwear he was wearing suited him so well that Lilliana couldn’t take her eyes off him.

‘What’s going on? He’s all dressed up like this?’

His appearance had changed so dramatically that it felt like he had undergone a transformation.

She was still admiring him when, all of a sudden, Jeremyon, who seemed tense, muttered briefly.

“As expected… It’s awkward, isn’t it?”

“No! No, not at all! Well, maybe for a moment, I did feel like you were someone else, but… You look amazing, Jeremyon.”

“…”

“Really! It suits you so well. Honestly, I’m worried the ladies of the capital might turn the whole place upside down when they see you.”

As she sincerely complimented him, she noticed the corners of Jeremyon’s stiff lips lift slightly.

“…Really. That’s how I look to you?”

“Yes! Absolutely!”

When she nodded firmly, Jeremyon mumbled something so softly she could barely hear it.

‘I should thank my mother.’

Though she didn’t catch his exact words, Lilliana froze. There was something unusual in the atmosphere around Jeremyon.

‘What is this? Why is he looking at me like that…?’

If it wasn’t just her imagination, his gaze was incredibly sweet. If it were anyone else, they might have mistakenly thought he had feelings for her.

‘But that’s impossible. Jeremyon liking me? I’m really imagining ridiculous things…’

As she tapped her cheeks to snap herself out of it, a sudden suspicion crossed her mind.

‘Come to think of it, what’s gotten into him today that made him dress up like this? It’s almost like he wants to impress me…’

All of a sudden, past events flashed through her mind.

Jeremyon had been acting out of character for a while now. Helping her for no reason, listening attentively to her stories.

And recently, they had even started going on what felt like real dates, regularly spending time together, even when no one was watching.

At first, when they had entered into a contract relationship, he only spared an hour or two for show, claiming he was too busy!

Though Lilliana had no real experience with romantic relationships, she knew enough to recognize these as signals in a typical relationship between a man and a woman.

‘No way… Does Jeremyon really like me? No, that’s absurd. But when I look at the situation now… Argh!’

Her face flushed slightly at the embarrassing thought.

Jeremyon didn’t miss the subtle change.

“Lilliana, your face is red. Are you feeling unwell?”

“No, no, not at all.”

Her voice nearly cracked. She had never been this flustered before.

‘Don’t be silly. It’s just my assumption that Jeremyon likes me, right? I haven’t confirmed anything yet.’

Her thoughts took a sharp turn.

‘Yeah, instead of dwelling on this, I should just confirm it. It would be strange to keep this to myself if it’s just a misunderstanding.’

She bit her lip, then, gathering courage, she reached out to grab Jeremyon’s hand as they walked side by side.

During the early days of their contract relationship, she had often held his hand. It made it easier to show off their “relationship” as a couple.

Back then, holding his hand hadn’t made her feel anything… but now, for some reason, her heart fluttered.

As she wrapped her hand around his large, warm one, she nervously glanced at Jeremyon’s face. If he really did like her, he wouldn’t push her away, right?

But—

“There’s no need for this, Lilliana.”

With a cold remark, he pulled his hand away.

“Oh.”

A foolish sound escaped her lips. Lilliana’s face turned beet red from embarrassment.

“I-it’s not that, I thought there was something on my hand.”

“Really?”

When he took out a handkerchief to clean his hand, Lilliana hurriedly stopped him.

“N-no, it’s clean now! You don’t need to do that, haha!”

Her awkward laughter spilled out.

As she hurriedly walked ahead, she pressed her hands to her burning cheeks.

‘I must be losing my mind! What a ridiculous misunderstanding I made all by myself.’

The cold reaction to her holding his hand was mortifying. Lilliana was dying of embarrassment at the thought that, even for a brief moment, she had mistaken Jeremion’s feelings for affection.

‘Thank goodness I realized it wasn’t true right away. Now I can finally tell him what I’ve been meaning to say.’

Lilliana had been the one to suggest today’s meeting. There was something important she needed to tell him.

‘If Jeremyon had liked me… I was going to hold off on saying anything today. But it looks like that was just a silly thought.’

After all, he didn’t have feelings for her.

In that case, this was the right thing to do for him.

As she mentally organized her thoughts once more, Lilliana stepped into the coffee house alongside Jeremyon.

“Here is your coffee.”

The server placed their drinks in front of them and stepped aside.

Now, they were alone in the private space.

Jeremyon tried to look at Lilliana sitting across from him but quickly lowered his head, staring at his coffee cup instead.

He just couldn’t bear to look at her face.

‘Ah… I’m losing my mind. Why am I like this?’

His heart had been pounding uncontrollably since earlier.

Could it be the coffee?

He tried to blame it on the drink, but he knew that wasn’t the case. After all, he hadn’t even taken a sip yet—he had only smelled the aroma.

He was in denial, but the reason was clear.

His heart had started racing the moment Lilliana suddenly grabbed his hand earlier.

‘Am I really this shaken up just because she held my hand? But…’

It wasn’t the first time they had held hands. They had done it countless times before. So why was he suddenly feeling so nervous now?

From the moment her hand touched his, it felt as though his brain had shut down. Though he didn’t show it, Jeremyon had been so startled that he couldn’t help but pull his hand away.

Lilliana probably hadn’t thought anything of it, yet here he was, acting suspiciously as though he was overly conscious of her, and he didn’t understand why.

‘It’s almost like… I’ve fallen in love or something…’

At that thought, Jeremyon shook his head.

‘No, no. That’s impossible. Me, in love? Ha. That’s ridiculous.’

Now that he thought about it, Vanessa had said something similar before—that it seemed like he had feelings for Lilliana.

He didn’t know why it came across that way, but it was absolutely not true.

Why wasn’t it true? Just because it wasn’t. He didn’t need a reason. It simply wasn’t true. It was an impossible idea!

As Jeremyon strongly denied his feelings in his mind, Lilliana took a sip of her coffee and spoke, her voice more serious than he had ever heard it before.

“Jeremyon.”

“Yes.”

“The truth is, I called you here today because there’s something I want to talk to you about.”

Jeremyon, trying to calm his pounding heart, nodded, signaling her to continue.

“I’m really grateful for your help. Thanks to you, I was able to make amends with my mother. If it weren’t for you, it would have been difficult.”

I see. I’ve been of help to her. Hearing her kind words made Jeremyon smile without realizing it.

“That’s why I wanted to tell you this as soon as possible. I know you’ve been through a lot because of me.”

“Yes, Lilliana.”

What is she going to say? For some reason, Jeremyon felt a surge of anticipation. His hands, hidden under the table, fidgeted restlessly on their own.

“It must have been tough acting as my contract lover again, right? You don’t have to go through that because of me anymore.”

…?

His anxious hands, which had been restless the entire time, froze. A tense look filled Jeremyon’s dark eyes.

Unaware of his inner turmoil, Lilliana smiled a bright, sunny smile, like a warm spring day.

And then, she softly spoke.

“Let’s end this. Let’s break up.”

Thud. Jeremyon felt as though the ground beneath him had collapsed.