A shiver ran down Jane’s spine. She recalled the time Rachel slapped her in the face. She’d done it even though Theodore had been at the residence that day. Today was different. He was nowhere to be found at the moment.
“Please give Theodore back to me.”
“Ahaha, you’re a funny girl. You’re the one who took Theodore from me, so why are you asking for him back?”
“Because you hid him away.”
“I didn’t hide him. Why would I hide someone like that?”
“You didn’t hide him? Really?”
“Of course not.”
Rachel’s eyes narrowed as she smiled, and goosebumps rose on Jane’s forearms.
“He’s hiding from me as well. I’ve been waiting very patiently for him to come back, I’d like to give him a piece of my mind.”
Jane felt like crying.
Even though she was tactless, she could tell that Rachel was angry. She was smiling, but not because she was happy. She really thought Rachel might confront Theodore if he appeared.
Theodore really wasn’t here. She’d come to the wrong place.
Then, what would happen to Carl? They needed to clear up the misunderstanding that her father had embezzled funds from the Elrosa family!
A shiver ran down her spine.
No way, could Rachel, that witch, have done this?
She wanted to cry and run away from the mansion right away, but for the sake of her lover and her father, she gathered her courage. Love gives everyone strength, after all.
“Countess, Ma’am, was it you who did this to my father?”
“Your father?”
Rachel was calm. She gave Jane a look that made it seem like she had no clue what Jane was talking about. She stared at Jane for a moment, then smirked.
“Oh my god. Now, in addition to your run-away boyfriend, are you also looking for your criminal father here as well?”
Jane burst into tears.
It was bad enough that her father had been taken away unjustly, but to hear her talk like that was hard to bear.
“Ma’am. What are you talking about, that…”
“I don’t know what’s going on, but if that’s what you’re here to talk about, get out. I don’t even want to look at you.”
“You mean to tell me that it wasn’t you, ma’am, who framed my father for stealing money from the Elrosa family?”
“Me? Do you really believe that?”
Jane covered her mouth.
Come to think of it, Theodore had always spoke, as if bragging.
‘That stupid Rachel doesn’t even suspect a thing. She doesn’t give a damn how I spend the family fortune, which is why I’m not worried about giving you gifts, haha.’
Carl had never tried to bring profit to himself by stealing someone else’s property.
Rachel knows nothing.
Theodore gifted the family’s wealth to Jane without his wife’s knowledge.
The only person who could frame Carl was Theodore.
Jane turned away, face pale.
No, Theodore would never do such a thing. They were in love. There’s no way he would’ve done anything to frame the father of someone he loved.
As she covered her mouth, sobbing, she heard Rachel muttering to herself.
“Ha, Theodore. Anyway, he really can’t do anything right. I’ve been living with someone like this for a husband…”
He couldn’t do anything right.
Only then did she really take Theodore off the pedestal shed placed him on and took a real look.
If Jane thought about it, Theodore was exactly that kind of person.
A person who said he loved her, embezzles his own wealth and showed her favor, but said he would never marry her.
He was a coward who said he loved her with all his heart, but hid away somewhere unknown as soon as his affair was discovered.
‘Jane, I had no choice. If I’m charged with insult to the royal family, adultery, and tax evasion, I’ll be in real trouble. Please understand. When some time passes and things settle down, I’ll definitely clear your father’s name.’
It seemed as if Theodore’s excuses could be heard ringing in her ears.
It was plausible. It sounded like something Theodore might do.
Her mind went blank. Jane fell to her knees at Rachel’s feet.
“Ma’am! Please help me!”
She begged, face covered in tears.
“That’s right, I received the money, Theo sent me the money, he bought me a lot of things, a house even!”
“Are you bragging?”
“I’ll give it all back, I’ll give it back, so please help my dad! You can do it, you’re a Countess!”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“That damn Theodore bastard set me and my dad up. I was wrong. If you help me, just this once, I will never see Theo again. So please have mercy!”
She begged so earnestly.
Carl was the only family member Jane had. He was a caring father who always wished for her happiness. She couldn’t let someone like that get framed and rot in prison.
Theodore was a terrible person. He said he loved her!
As Rachel watched Jane cry at her feet, she pulled the hem of her dress up, as if she was uncomfortable.
“Go back. It’s like you have no shame. Are you really asking me to help my husband’s mistress? What’s between you and Theodore has nothing to do with me.”
“Ah, please. Ma’am! Countess, please help me!”
However, Rachel turned around and left without a trace of regret.
Jane cried in the hall for a long time before being led out of the mansion by the employees.
* * *
Leaving Jane behind, Rachel entered her room and began to pack her belongings.
She grabbed a few essentials and the letter from Theodore she’d found in the study. It was a love letter to Jane. She was tempted to burn it, but decided against it, figuring it might come in handy someday.
As intended, she’d succeeded in misleading Jane about Theodore’s actions. It was just like Carl and Rachel had planned.
In truth, Rachel hadn’t intended for Carl to take all the blame.
She’d originally planned to create a rift between Jane and Theodore and then shift the blame onto Theodore.
But surprisingly, Carl voluntarily walked into the tax office.
‘I’ll voluntarily take the fall, so please have mercy on Jane.’
‘Do you think that’s a good offer for me?’
‘Yes. If I turn myself in, the Countess won’t have to dirty your hands to fight with me.’
‘…’
He wasn’t wrong.
Carl was a cautious and smart man, it would definitely be annoying to have to deal with him.
For someone like him to offer to disappear quietly in exchange for mercy on Jane was an offer she welcomed.
Rachel accepted Carl’s offer.
And what happens now? First of all, as soon as Jane meets Theodore, she will give him a slap on the cheek.
Will Theodore get angry as well, not asking why she was treating him that way? Or would they try to resolve the misunderstandings through the ‘power of love’?
If possible, she hoped they’d be furious and end up ruining each other. Only then will her happy ending be complete.
Anyway, as Cian advised, she prepared all the documents needed to apply for an annulment of marriage, and now all that was left was to inform Theodore of the end of their marriage. After that, all she had to do was pack everything up and leave the mansion.
She closed the bag with only necessary things inside and sighed.
“Ha. I feel so relieved.”
If she’d known that she’d be so relieved, she wouldn’t have left without taking the revenge further. She’d probably feel even more relaxed once she’d finished everything.
Rachel placed her chin on the bag and lifted her left hand. The wedding ring she shared with Theodore was still sparkling on the ring finger of her left hand. She’d been fooling Theodore all this time.
“I can throw this ring away soon.”
She mumbled to herself, smiling slightly.
“But… Where should we go?”
Rachel had no relatives or friends. She had no place to go after leaving the Elrosa family. In the original novel, Rachel’s excessive clinginess to Theodore was largely to blame.
She’d searched through Rachel’s letters and diary to see if there was anyone she could turn to. The information she got from it all was depressing and lonely.
‘A woman who was the daughter of a Count but lost her family in an unexpected accident.’
Originally, Rachel’s family was so virtuous and wealthy that the strict Berengella singled them out for an arranged marriage.
Her father, Count Fram, was wise, and her mother, Countess Fram, was kind and caring.
Rachel, the only child of the family, was showered with love. She was so doted on that she was unaware what the rest of the world was like, and when her parents died in a carriage accident, she was left distraught, not knowing what to do.
It was a year after she got married.
‘Rachel, don’t be so sad. I’m here with you.’
Rachel was foolish enough to believe Theodore’s reassurances. She left her husband in charge of her parents’ funerals, the Fram estate, the manor, and the family’s affairs.
Theodore sold the Fram family’s assets and gifted everything to Jane. He erased the name of Count Fram from the list of nobles.
“The more I think about it, the more of a bastard he is. He’s abolished the title. There’s no way to inherit it as things stood. Even after all that, how could he still extort his father-in-law’s property and give it to his girlfriend? What a terrible guy.”
While preparing the documents to apply for the annulment, she organized all these details together.
If the marriage is annulled, all the money she’d brought as a dowry, the Fram family property, and even the title might be reinstated.
‘I’ll hand it all down to Graham later. It might be helpful when he’s dating Dolorosa.’
Rachel, lying down on the bed, thought about what kind of life she would lead with Graham in the future and fell asleep.
* * *
Rachel had a dream.
In her dream, she wasn’t Rachel. She was an ordinary twenty-year-old college student living in South Korea.
“Mom, mom. Wake up!”
“Ha. Ha. Ugh.”
After a long fight between her parents, her father slapped her mother and ran away when she collapsed.
She’d called 911 and cried for an ambulance, then screamed at her mom.
“Why didn’t you just get divorced? If you get divorced, you can live without seeing him! Why are being beaten like this and acting like a fool?”
“You need a father…”
“Shut up! Why are you using me as an excuse? Did you think I would be grateful for this? Don’t be ridiculous!”
She had no idea her mom would die like that.
Rachel woke up, opened her eyes and took a deep breath. She glared at the divorce papers and the annulment papers on her bedside table.
“…Alright. We should get a divorce as soon as possible. I’ve already been through this once.”
The divorce couldn’t happen soon enough.
As she pursed her lips and closed her eyes again, she suddenly heard Cian’s voice.
‘You must be happy.’
Yes, she should do that.
Divorce was just the beginning, not the end.
She had to be happy. To get revenge on Theodore more fully, and also for her and Graham’s sake.
