Chapter 14
“Ugh… frustrating…”
Reluctantly, he was undeniably handsome, perhaps as much as his face. Even his shining purple eyes were mesmerizing.
“Isabella.”
Jeffrey swept Isabella’s cheek with an affectionate touch.
In that moment, Isabella caught her breath.
Was it the alcohol? Or was it because they were so close?
Her heart was racing excessively.
“Um… there…”
Isabella looked up at Jeffrey with bewitched eyes.
“Shh.”
But Jeffrey’s gaze wasn’t on her.
His eyes glanced past her, piercing through a point inside the banquet hall.
“What on earth is he looking at?”
Curiosity arose as Isabella slowly turned her head towards the direction.
And there, not far from the balcony, she spotted Ariadne engaged in a graceful conversation.
“Oh, that person…”
His fiancée. She could tell instantly.
Ariadne was more beautiful and elegant than any other woman seen in the capital.
The sharp golden hair complemented delicate features. Eyes as clear as a deer’s, set in ivory skin. A long neck that seemed as graceful as a deer’s.
Nothing about her failed to capture the attention of those around her.
Isabella, too, found herself gazing at Ariadne, captivated.
“Oh, not now…”
She snapped out of it just in time.
Isabella redirected her gaze back to the man in front of her.
“Darn it…”
Jeffrey seemed unusually angry, as if consumed by some fire within.
“Why is he so angry?”
Isabella had never seen Jeffrey like this before.
Whenever she was with him, he was always indifferent, as dry as the desert. Sometimes, she even felt like he wasn’t quite human.
Yet, here he was, glaring fiercely at his fiancée. His eyebrows suddenly furrowed menacingly.
“Uh… Douglas Youngsik…?”
Isabella called out to Jeffrey, feeling uneasy. Something about his demeanor was off.
At the same time, Jeffrey’s intense gaze shifted towards Isabella.
He suddenly dropped to one knee and kissed Isabella’s hand.
Touch.
A warm sensation spread over her hand. Isabella’s heart sank.
“W-What…?”
Her mind went blank in an instant. She couldn’t comprehend what was happening.
But unlike the flustered Isabella, Jeffrey casually surveyed the banquet hall.
Right where Ariadne was.
“Oh my, Douglas Youngik is at it again…
“This time it’s Cromwell’s own creation.”
Inside the banquet hall, murmurs could be heard.
Isabella casually turned her head, her gaze meeting Ariadne’s deep emerald eyes.
“Ah…”
Ariadne’s eyes, devoid of any emotion, were a calm shade of green.
Even witnessing her fiancé’s infidelity, Ariadne showed no expression, to the point of being unnerving.
Soon after, she quietly left the place with the man beside her.
Her demeanor was extremely dry and indifferent, as if she had no interest in the commotion.
“…How could this be?”
Isabella was suddenly confused.
Seeing Ariadne engaging with Jeffrey in front of her, she had expected at least a slap or harsh words from her.
But surprisingly, nothing happened.
Truly, nothing…
In that moment, Isabella had a realization.
“Ah… Bella doesn’t have any interest in Douglas.”
But Douglas surely…
Isabella’s eyes shifted to Jeffrey.
As expected, Geoffrey’s gaze was fixed on Ariadne. He stubbornly stared at her retreating figure.
Whoooosh…
Despite it being a hot summer, a chilly wind blew around them.
Suddenly, it felt cold, as if the temperature had dropped. Goosebumps appeared on Isabella’s arms.
It seemed like Geoffrey had used his abilities to lower the temperature. There was no other explanation for this abnormal cold.
“Ariadne.”
Jeffrey, who had been staring at Ariadne for a while, muttered as if chewing on something. His violet eyes gleamed mysteriously.
Isabella, quick to notice, realized that his gaze contained both hatred and affection.
It was natural.
Geoffrey wouldn’t hate someone he didn’t care about. He was originally a man indifferent to the point of being aloof about everything.
“Ah… Douglas does like Bella.”
With that conclusion, everything made sense.
This ridiculous drama was merely Jeffrey’s childish attempt to attract Ariadne’s attention.
“How foolish. Does he really think Bella would like him because of this?”
She grimaced at the thought.
Instead, she might dislike him even more for being so fickle. Isabella suppressed a smirk.
The seemingly oblivious man before her clearly didn’t understand women’s hearts.
Or perhaps he had never experienced true love before.
“Well, whatever. Thanks to him, I can easily earn money and that’s good enough for me.”
However, Isabella was unaware of the truth.
As she had done all along, she would occasionally pretend to be his lover and just take the hefty sum of money. It was an easy task.
If she hadn’t developed feelings for Jeffrey, it would have been even easier.
Why did she end up liking such an immature man?
Isabella couldn’t fathom it herself.
Since the day she confirmed Jeffrey’s sincerity, strange feelings for him had gradually grown within her.
And those feelings continued to grow until, finally, just seeing Jeffrey made her heart flutter.
“No. I shouldn’t. Isabella.”
The more he said that, the more she thoroughly hid her feelings.
There was no point in revealing them; she would only be cut out of Jeffrey’s life as his lover. Already, four other women had been cut out just this month.
“It’s painful… ”
But quietly harboring feelings for a man who didn’t look her way wasn’t easy.
His gaze was always directed towards Ariadne, and every time, Isabella felt like her heart sank.
Even though I’m just a hired fake lover.
She knew that fact well, so why did it hurt so much?
“Maybe I should just confess my feelings honestly and stop this.”
She thought about it several times a day. But she never actually went through with it.
If she were to quit being Jeffrey’s lover, there would be immediate financial problems. And at that point, she didn’t even know if her parents would go as far as to sell her off to some wealthy perverted nobleman.
And… If that happened, she would never see Jeffrey again. That would be too sad.
So she continued to walk the tightrope of her emotions every day.
Finally, the end of this strange relationship arrived.
“So, what do you all think…?”
Five people were seated at the round table. They were all fake lovers of Jeffrey.
And in front of them, each had a similar box placed.
It was the box containing the yellow diamond sent by Ariadne.
“Well, what else is there to think about? It seems like the conclusion has already been reached.”
Bianca, who had her hair neatly tied to one side, said in a calm voice.
She picked up the yellow diamond from the box and rolled it around with her fingers.
“I know because my grandfather used to run a jewelry store. This diamond is a top-quality yellow diamond. Maybe with just this, you could buy a townhouse in the city.”
Some of the fake lovers gasped at her words.
Although they had some idea, hearing it directly was even more astonishing.
Isabella also looked at the small box in her hand with troubled eyes.
This tiny thing was worth as much as a townhouse in the city.
It truly meant an incredibly valuable gem.
“Surely no one would be foolish enough to think of this as a gift from Veloa. This is a clear warning. A warning not to meet Douglas Youngsik anymore.”
Bianca paused for a moment and looked around.
The faces of the fake lovers sitting next to me were turning pale blue. They all seemed to finally be grasping reality.
“Yeah. It’s not a time to rejoice over receiving something expensive.”
Bianca chuckled bitterly. It was a remark that applied to herself as well.
“In short, this is a message to break up. If you defy this warning, you can only imagine how terrible it will be.”
Julieta, who had completely panicked, managed to speak with difficulty.
“I-I honestly feel unfairly… W-We, we were just, just pretending to be lovers for money, right?”
At that, Bianca let out a small sigh.
“That’s true, but… To others, it probably just looked like an ordinary affair.”
“S-So… If we were to… reveal to others that w-we are not having an affair…”
Julieta’s eyes welled up with tears.
She was the youngest among the five fake lovers. Perhaps that’s why she seemed even more unjust. A strong desire not to die like this was evident in her eyes.
The atmosphere in the room instantly grew cold.
“Th-Then, what should we do?”
Isabella could feel the tension in the air.
Everyone was waiting for Bianca’s next words.
