Chapter 01
The first ball I attended was dazzling—and terrifying. There were too many people, and they all looked so mature.
To make things worse, my dress was too tight, making it hard to breathe, and the wine I drank to calm my nerves only made me feel worse.
‘I feel dizzy.’
When I swayed, unable to stand properly, someone reached out, held my hand, and helped me.
“You almost fell. Your cheeks are red. Are you here with someone?”
He asked my name kindly, found me a seat to rest, and even called a chaperone for me.
That brief moment of kindness made my heart race.
Because of that short kindness, I decided I wanted to marry him.
And my father granted my wish.
“I will make it happen,” my father said.
For a moment, I was filled with joy.
But when we met again, my dream shattered. His eyes were so cold that my heart felt frozen.
“I heard you wanted this marriage. Let me be honest—I don’t. I have no intention of loving you.”
Should I have stepped back then?
I was young, naïve, and unable to give up on love.
People said he had a lover from a lower class, but both our parents told me not to worry. They said it was just youthful foolishness.
I thought my worries were just nerves. I believed that if I endured, he would eventually love me.
But now I know.
I was wrong.
Now, when it’s too late, I finally understand. Some lessons come at too high a price.
No matter how much I tried to protect my marriage by driving her away, I only ended up being the villain.
If she had wanted money, I could have forced her to leave. I would have sacrificed anything to save my marriage.
But she didn’t want money. She only wanted love. And the more ruthless I became, the further my husband’s heart drifted away.
I was the only one who turned into a villain.
Now, I hate my past self.
The foolish girl who gave away her heart for a single moment of kindness, only to end up in an endless hell.
I thought she was the obstacle to my love. But in reality, I was the obstacle to theirs.
I thought I was the main character of my story.
But in the end, I was just the villain in someone else’s love story.
“Congratulations, madam. You’re pregnant.”
Hearing those words, I felt a foolish sense of hope.
Maybe I could finally have the normal family I had always dreamed of.
He was a kind man, after all. Even if he didn’t love me, maybe he would love our child.
“If we have a child… maybe he’ll cherish our family.”
Since I was young, I have wanted a warm and loving home.
Perhaps that’s why I fell in love with my husband’s brief kindness. He seemed like a mature, ideal husband and father.
I grew up in a cold and strict household, and I didn’t want my child to be lonely like I was.
So I gathered my courage.
“Bern, can we talk?”
I told my husband the news.
“I’m pregnant.”
His expression remained cold. His eyes never softened.
But I had to endure—for my child.
If I humbled myself and begged, maybe we could still be a family.
“I know you don’t love me. But even if you can’t be a good husband, can’t you at least be a good father? That’s all I ask.”
I wanted to say, “Maybe we can still become a real couple.”
But I couldn’t.
The gap between us was too deep. He would only mock me if I said it out loud.
Was it my pride that held me back?
Then, one day, I collapsed from severe pain.
At the same time, news arrived—his lover had also collapsed.
Without hesitation, my husband ran to her.
I tried to follow him, but the pain in my belly was unbearable.
And then—
I lost my child.
I was filled with hatred.
If it weren’t for her…!
I rushed to the small villa where she lived, the house my husband had given her.
At first, I didn’t want to meet her face-to-face. I didn’t want to stoop so low.
But now, my husband, my child, my pride—I had lost everything.
There was nothing left to hold me back.
I arrived at the small, beautiful house. The white swing in the garden, the roses along the fence—it was a house that suited her perfectly.
She opened the door.
I lost control.
“Because of you, my baby died! Because of you, my marriage is ruined! Because of you!”
SLAP!
I struck her face. She froze, covering her cheek with trembling fingers.
Her wide eyes filled with tears.
I didn’t care.
“My child is dead, so why are you still alive?”
I raised my hand again, but before I could hit her—
PAIN.
A sharp sting on my cheek. I tumbled down the steps.
The coachman ran toward me, shocked.
She ran, too, her lips trembling.
“Are you okay?”
Then, she turned and screamed.
“Bernd! How could you?! You hit your wife so hard she fell down the stairs!”
Lies.
Fake tears.
I laughed bitterly.
I refused to cry in front of them.
Instead, I glared and spat out my words.
“Don’t pretend to care. You ruined my life the most. Did it feel good? Acting like his lover, stealing my husband? Were you happy when you took him away the night I lost my child?”
She flinched, her eyes shaking.
But instead of anger, she looked… shocked.
She stepped back, her eyes filled with tears.
Then, she whispered, her voice shaking.
“I… I didn’t know. I didn’t know you lost your baby….”
I froze.
“You didn’t know?”
My rage flared.
She stammered again.
“I’m sorry… I didn’t think it would go this far….”
I was speechless.
Tears spilled down her face.
She covered her face with her hands.
“I just… I just loved Bern… I just wanted to be with him….”
Then, she grabbed my husband’s sleeve and sobbed.
He held her gently.
“It’s okay. Don’t cry.”
“I thought it would be okay if I just stayed with him for a little while….”
Her golden eyes were filled with sorrow as if she were the victim.
“I didn’t mean to hurt you. I’m sorry. I’ll leave now. I’ll go away, so please don’t hate me.”
She turned away as if she would disappear forever.
My husband’s face twisted in pain.
He grabbed her shoulders desperately.
“No, you’re not the wrong one. I am. You don’t have to leave. You have no reason to suffer. Stay with me, please.”
Then, he turned to me.
His cold blue eyes pierced me like a blade.
I shivered.
Tears should have come, but they didn’t.
I was beyond broken.
“Our child is dead. Yours and mine. How can you look at me like that…?”
He looked away.
His gaze landed on her.
The moment his eyes met hers, they softened.
Like lifeless stone turning into a living, breathing thing.
“It’s not your fault, Raina. Don’t listen to her. You don’t have to leave. Please, look at me.”
He was my child’s father.
But he only had eyes for her.
“Ah… Ahh….”
A ringing filled my ears.
My body felt weak.
I had denied it for so long.
I believed that if she disappeared, everything would go back to normal.
Because in every story, justice wins.
I was the wife.
She was the mistress.
So everything would return to its rightful place.
But I was wrong.
They were the main characters.
And I… was just the villain.
