“Wait….”
Before I could say anything in response, he once again pressed his lips firmly against the palm of my hand, as if leaving a stamp.
The sensation of his lips on the delicate skin made shivers run up from my toes. Even as my hand trembled in surprise, Ian’s gaze was so deep and persistent that it bordered on obsessive.
‘This… this atmosphere is a bit….’
Dangerous, isn’t it?
Instinctively, I tried twisting my hand to pull it away, but Ian had no intention of letting go. Instead, he tightened his grip.
I needed to explain that this situation wasn’t intentional—that I had my reasons. But my heart was racing so wildly that I couldn’t gather my thoughts. The precarious atmosphere, as if something could happen at any moment, left my mouth dry and parched.
“Eloise.”
“…….”
“You’re not going to answer?”
Hearing Ian call my name again, I realized I’d been holding my breath all this time and finally exhaled deeply.
I wanted nothing more than to run away from this situation. Instead, I shut my eyes tightly, as if blocking my vision would help.
“…Alright. I understand, but… could you please let go of my hand?”
The occasional brush of his lips against my palm was driving me to distraction.
I was suffocating, really.
Was he trying to kill me or what?
“…I’ll explain everything, okay?”
My voice grew smaller and smaller.
Even with my eyes closed, I could vividly feel Ian’s intense gaze boring into me.
After a moment of silently staring at me, he finally released the hand he had been holding close to his lips. Yet, even as he let go, he still held on just tightly enough to ensure I couldn’t slip away.
‘…Hah.’
The heart that had been pounding wildly in my chest seemed to calm down ever so slightly.
I cautiously opened my eyes.
But I didn’t have the courage to meet his glistening, piercing gaze directly, so I shifted my eyes to the side.
“Well, you see….”
“Yes?”
“It’s… kind of like… insurance.”
“Insurance?”
Repeating my words, his voice was both vague and languid.
Even without making eye contact, I could feel his gaze crawling over me, as if licking every inch of me.
My lips grew dry again.
“Insurance… You mean the kind you’ll use when you decide to leave me, right?”
He hit the mark.
I inhaled sharply without realizing it, biting down hard on my lip.
“Well, that’s…”
“Yes?”
“…I was just feeling insecure.”
Trailing off, I lowered my head.
Honestly, this wasn’t something that could simply be explained as “feeling insecure.”
And yet, I had no better way to express it.
I felt his grip on my hand tighten ever so slightly.
“Insecure, you say.”
His tone was slightly different from the way he’d been repeating my words earlier.
It was as if he was shaken.
‘Forget it, I don’t care anymore.’
Dodging the issue and making vague excuses had reached its limit.
If this went on, I’d end up stuck with Ian all day, which I was certain wouldn’t be good for my mental health in any way.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
“Yes, insecure. I don’t know how long this relationship will last.”
“What do you mean?”
“If you think about it, it makes sense. Right now, you say you love me, but just a few months ago, we were far from an ordinary couple. You didn’t like me, and to be honest, I didn’t like you either. We only got this close because of a contract built on the premise of divorce….”
And now, Diana has returned.
To make matters worse, I have no idea when or how I might end up leaving this place.
I spat out my words like a machine gun, then opened my eyes and looked at Ian.
“Do you think I really wanted a divorce? Who in the world confesses to someone they intend to divorce? That’s ridiculous!”
I’d started this rant to escape the situation, but my breathing grew heavier as I went on.
The edges of my vision blurred as heat rose to my eyes. For a moment, Ian’s face seemed to waver before me.
“…Eloise?”
Ian’s flustered voice reached my ears.
A moment later, I realized that my eyes were brimming with tears.
‘Good grief, am I crying right now? What am I, a tragic heroine?’
I couldn’t believe myself, but physical reactions aren’t something you can control with willpower.
If they were, I wouldn’t have spent so much time pulling my hair out trying to control the fluttering feelings I had for Ian in the first place.
‘This is just ridiculous.’
Eventually, I sniffled loudly and made an embarrassing sound.
“You, Ian…”
Using the hand he hadn’t grabbed, I rubbed at my eyes furiously.
It seemed that all the frustration I’d bottled up while desperately trying to find a way out of this inexplicable situation was catching up to me.
In hindsight, it made sense.
Was it my fault my body was swapped? Was it my fault I ended up liking Ian?
‘If only Eloise hadn’t cast that spell, and this man hadn’t seduced me with his stupidly handsome face!’
The thought made my throat tighten, and tears started welling up uncontrollably.
“No matter how much I tried to find a solution, I couldn’t. I felt so helpless. And you don’t even know….”
Of course, he didn’t know!
But that didn’t make it any less upsetting.
Once I started crying, everything I’d been suppressing came pouring out all at once.
I ended up sniffling and rambling, knowing full well that Ian wouldn’t understand a word I was saying.
“I was so anxious I thought I’d lose my mind! I can’t figure out how you feel, and I can’t feel reassured, and there are a million things stressing me out… Honestly, even if I’m going through all this trouble, once Diana is back, then… hic.”
I abruptly shut my mouth mid-sentence, realizing I’d said too much.
‘Why did I bring that up?’
But there was no taking it back now. I was so startled that my tears dried up on the spot.
I stiffened awkwardly and slowly lifted my eyes to look at Ian.
Unfortunately, my vision was still blurry with tears, so I couldn’t make out his expression clearly.
“Um, Ian, about what I just said….”
Before I could even attempt to fix my slip of the tongue, Ian reached out with his free hand and gently wiped the tears from my eyes and cheeks with his thumb.
As the teardrops clinging to my lashes were brushed away, his face came into clear view.
Ian didn’t look shocked, angry, or fed up.
If anything…
“If I’ve made you feel anxious in any way, that’s my mistake. I’m sorry.”
His tone was calm, completely different from before.
“No, but that’s not something you need to apologize for….”
I trailed off, unsure of myself.
After all, I was the one who had read the original story and carried all this insecurity regardless of Ian’s behavior.
Hadn’t he told me repeatedly that he had no feelings for Diana anymore?
Yet here he was, not only refraining from being annoyed but even apologizing. It was almost absurd.
Despite my flustered state, Ian didn’t show any sign of reproach.
After wiping the tears from my other cheek, he fell silent for a moment as if in thought, then spoke in a composed voice.
“Someone once told me that whenever you cry, it’s always my fault, no matter the reason.”
“…It’s Ian’s fault?”
“Yes. At the time, I thought it was nonsense, but now I think they were right.”
Ian nodded serenely.
“…….”
Whoever said such a bold and insightful thing must’ve been Kyle. Who else could it be?
“…Sniff.”
Caught off guard by his apology, I sniffled awkwardly, trying to hide my embarrassment.
I must look pretty awful right now.
But Ian didn’t seem to care at all. With gentle fingers, he tucked the stray strands of hair sticking to my tear-streaked cheeks behind my ears.
“You’re right, Eloise. We spent so much time as anything but a normal couple, so it’s not strange that you felt uncertain. That’s my failing.”
Never in my life did I think I’d hear Ian apologize to me twice—especially not after he caught me with divorce papers.
‘I thought this would spiral into disaster.’
Life really does have its surprises.
Ian, who had been gazing at me intently, pressed a soft kiss to my eyelids.
Then, in a tender voice dripping with warmth, he said,
“I’ll make sure you never feel that way again.”
It sounded like both a promise and a resolution.
❖ ❖ ❖
And I understood the meaning of those words less than a day later, the next morning.
“So, Vivi….”
I looked blankly at Vivi, as though I’d just been handed a bomb.
“You’re saying the duke and I… are merging rooms?”
“Yes, madam! So please let me know what you need, and I’ll have it moved right away.”
“Cough!”
“Oh my goodness, madam, are you alright?”
“No….”
How did things end up like this all of a sudden?
• • •
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