Chapter 8 [Part 1]
Winter did not reply. He just kept his mouth shut and stared at her.
Winter, who has been pondering for a long time, opened his mouth.
“If you want a divorce, I’ll do it anytime.”
“Really?”
“But, of course, you’ll have to return the money I paid for this marriage.”
Winter spoke with a calm face. At his words, Violet hesitated.
“I promise you that I’ll pay within three years with interest. I’ll give you a total of 27 million Laknes little by little.”
“………”
“Oh, to be able to pay me back with 24 million Laknes, you need to work for three years which doesn’t include the interest. For the interest….Would you like to pay for it with your body?”
“Oh, since you’ve been my wife for three years, I’ll have to take your interest out. What else should I include…..Your body. How much would that be?”
As Winter approached, Violet gradually retreated. Just before her body came in contact with the wall, Winter placed his hand between the back of Violet’s head and the wall.
Thanks to that, they got close enough to the point that their bodies touched each other.
Winter asked in a voice of anger and resentment,
“Let’s divorce? How could you say that to me?”
He spat out in an abusive language to somehow change her mind.
Violet knew that he’d bring up money once she talked about getting a divorce. That’s why she’s been holding back for three years. However, she did not expect him to be this angry about it.
Violet managed to take a deep breath, lowered her eyes, and remained calm.
“I know you’ve lost a lot of money by marrying me. But isn’t continuing a marriage that you dislike just make it even worse than it already is?”
“Who’d want it in the first place…..”
“As long as we get divorced, I’m fine with being in debt. I know I don’t have the ability to pay you back on my own. I have no issue with working until I die to pay it all back. So, what I’m saying is you have nothing to lose.”
“You’re going to divorce me just like that? Why? What the hell is the reason?
Unknowingly, Violet faintly smiled.
“That is the reason. Why can’t you still understand? Why on earth….do you hate me so much?”
“…..What?”
Winter couldn’t understand why she was saying this.
My wife is asking me why I hate her so much.
Winter’s hands trembled. It seemed like a storm was about to take place inside of him. His whole body was filled with anger and frustration. He was out of his mind, and so was his body.
I wanted to hold her. I thought, ‘If I don’t hold her tightly right now, she’d disappear.’
All I could do, however, was give her an answer.
“I don’t hate you. I’m against the idea of getting a divorce. Even if I wanted one, no one will help you. You should at least know that.”
“……I know.”
“Then don’t bring that up again.”
Winter backed away from her. Then, he took a deep breath and stared at her for a while before turning around to leave the room. At the sound of the door closing, Violet flinched, which made her shut her eyes tightly. After a while, she opened them again.
“I don’t hate you.”
“Lies.”
Violet spoke to herself in a sad tone and left the room.
***
The recent conversation she had with Winter made her certain of something.
With money involved, she will never be able to get a divorce. I hated Ash, but I needed his help. The reason for that is simply because it was Ash who didn’t keep his promise upon receiving her husband’s money. Now that he has fully paid off our debts and begun to gain public support, Ash was the only person with enough power to help her.
Violet thought of asking Winter to find a way to confer the title to someone else. She thought that it would not be impossible for him to find someone if he looked carefully because there were many ladies who wanted to marry him. If getting a divorce didn’t involve money, there was no reason for her to talk to Ash, let alone ask him to do her a favor.
A few days later, Violet got on a train headed out of the capital. Winter sat across from her. He seemed determined to act as if he hadn’t heard of the divorce.
He drank a glass of beer even before the train started moving. Along the way, he drank for seven hours constantly.
Violet opened her mouth.
“You’re drinking too much, aren’t you?”
“Not at all.”
Winter said in a sarcastic tone.
“Why? Is it because in the eyes of a princess, you can’t stand the vulgarity of drinking, can you?”
“My father drank a lot, too. I’m just worried. I’m afraid it might affect your health. And….”
“And what?”
“I’m not saying this because it’s vulgar in my eyes.”
Violet said in a firm tone before shutting her mouth. It looked as if Winter would at least get sick of her responses, but when he turned his head from the window and looked at Violet with a slightly dazed face, he touched her chin and said,
“…….Alright, I believe you.”
At Winter’s words, Violet couldn’t help but feel unsteady. As she was looking at Winter, the strong wind coming through the open window repeatedly made his dark hair cling to his glossy face. I know I made up my mind, yet when I looked at him like this, I strangely kept missing him at the thought of divorcing him.
As they came closer to their house, Violet felt her breathing become unsteady.
Even if so, Violet definitely cheered up because of their short vacation at the capital and as well as the medicine prescribed by Winter’s doctor. As soon as the medicine was changed, the pain she felt from the headaches was reduced to less than a half; it made Violet feel like she could easily fly away.
Arriving at the station seven hours later, Winter, who got off first, asked Violet, who followed.
“You’re good. How were you able to arrive here whilst sitting in the same position the whole time?”
At his question, which was asked in a sarcastic tone, Violet didn’t reply and remained silent for a long time.
“How were you able to change your posture so many times? It was as if you were coming with a child.”
“What else could I have done when the chair was so uncomfortable?”
Winter grumbled sarcastically, as if nothing had happened.
He then placed his hands in his pockets and headed to the place where the carriage was waiting, but soon stopped and looked back because there was no sign of Violet walking behind him. Then, he saw Violet looking at a boy holding flower baskets.
Violet slowly turned her head towards Winter and opened her mouth.
“Can you buy me some flowers? Think of it as payment for the contract.”
Upon hearing her request, Winter frowned and answered back.
“Don’t complain later about not asking the right thing.”
“I like flowers.”
“If that’s the case, wait until later. The flowers at home are better than that.”
“Thinking about it, I prefer to be given flowers that were meant to be given to me in the first place. The flowers at home are not meant to be given as gifts. I’d like to get flowers as a gift, so buy me some flowers.”
Winter had no idea what the difference was between the two, but he walked to the boy without refusing any further. He looked at the baskets the boy was holding and bought the basket which contained flowers that had yet to bloom. He then returned to where Violet was and gave the basket of flowers to her.
“Here.”
“Thank you.”
Violet got one of the flowers in the basket he had bluntly handed over with his hands. She, who felt bittersweet at the way he gave her the flowers, looked at Winter in the eyes and smiled.
“It’s pretty.”
“I can’t believe you’re laughing after telling me to divorce you three days ago.”
“I know.”
Violet carefully protected the flowers with her hands until they reached the house.
Back in Violet’s bedroom, she brought a vase that had been left in the warehouse and filled it with the flowers Winter gave her.
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