CWMBR 166

Chapter 166

***

His jaw jutted out as he clenched his molars tightly.

Ain, who had parted his lips as if he wanted to say something more, bowed his head even lower to hide his expression. Even as he did so, a few more tears fell onto the contract.

Bridget was speechless and stared at him blankly.

After all, the time they’d spent together in this mansion amounted to nothing more than dinner. At the time, they weren’t even lovers; their relationship was too ambiguous to even call them friends. The conversations they’d had over dinner were nothing but trivial small talk.

Their daily life back then wasn’t special—it was just extremely ordinary and unremarkable.

Neither grand nor meaningful……… Just moments when, at some point, they naturally found themselves sharing each other’s evenings.

“Just like that……………….”

Why go out of his way to inflict pain on himself over such an insignificant memory? Stop being so foolish and think rationally. She tried to rebuke him coldly, but her lips felt glued shut, and she couldn’t move a muscle.

Looking at the contract, dotted with circular marks, she couldn’t bring herself to say another word. A memory from the past came to mind—the day Ain had come to her and handed her a long list of the Wise family’s assets. Even though the situation was clearly different now, that moment suddenly flashed before her eyes.

Demanding that she quantify the emotions and memories Ain must be feeling—how was that any different from the treatment of the past she had so loathed?

As that thought crossed her mind, her throat tightened, and she found it difficult to speak.

“I won’t sell a single thing. Not the mansion, nor the baby items left here.”

Ain took a quiet, deep breath to calm his emotions and spoke in a deep, subdued voice.

“That child who grew inside you was my child, too. Just as you built a grave for that child, I’m simply commemorating the child in my own way.”

Ain clasped his hands together tightly.

“You don’t have to worry about this place. Feel free to welcome a new family as you wish and live happily.”

The tears that had been falling in droplets onto the contract had now stopped.

He was trying his best to appear calm. Just looking at the veins bulging on the back of his hand, one could guess how hard he was suppressing his emotions. But he still kept his head bowed, and the end of his tight, strained voice trembled pitifully.

And Bridget felt as lost as a child who had lost her way.

“……I don’t have a new family.”

She couldn’t find a reason to continue this childish, malicious game any longer.

“I never got pregnant in the first place.”

He could have been angry, accusing her of toying with him, but Ain didn’t react that way. The moment she met the man’s bloodshot eyes as he quietly raised his gaze, Bridget realized he had already guessed the truth to some extent.

“Even if it’s not this time, you can be happy with whoever you want, whenever you want.”

She could see his lips, uttering words tinged with resignation, trembling faintly.

“Every time that happens, I’ll feel this way dozens of times over, but I suppose there’s nothing I can do about it.”

Because I still love you.

It was as if she could hear the unspoken words. Bridget, who had been staring blankly at Ain, took a deep breath. It wasn’t that she was lost; it felt more like she had been driven into a corner with nowhere to run. She no longer knew how to treat Ain.

“Are you going to live like this until you die?”

“Probably.”

“And if I fall in love with another man, are you just going to sit there and cry like a pathetic fool while watching?”

He seemed like someone who had never learned how to handle love, struggling with his emotions yet unable to let go.

“To me, you’re someone I’ll never find again in my life.”

Perhaps he simply didn’t want to let go of the feelings he had finally realized he had.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s your life that’s fallen into a pit—why should you be sorry to me?”

Bridget muttered in a half-deflated tone and pulled back the contract she had been holding out.

“………………I understand.”

Bridget roughly crumpled the contract into her handbag and stood up. Just as she turned to leave, she suddenly stopped at the doorway. After a moment’s hesitation, she glanced back over her shoulder.

Ain was still unable to compose himself. His reddened eyes were still wet, and the veins bulging on the back of his hands remained just as they were.

The form of love she had witnessed right before her eyes was pitiful. Bridget’s lips trembled, but she quickly pressed them together.

Ain’s love seemed completely removed from the romance, purity, splendor, or beauty that the world raved about. It was so heartbreaking that she wondered how anyone could call such a feeling love. Yet Bridget couldn’t tear her gaze away for a while. It was truly pitiable.

Because she had no choice but to accept this pity.

***

Just as she began to wonder if the sky was growing dark, a few raindrops began to fall by the time she arrived at the cemetery.

Having arrived at the cemetery earlier than usual, Bridget deliberately left Wayna standing at the entrance and went in alone. Not long after she put on her umbrella and began walking calmly, she spotted a figure standing tall in the distance.

He was clearing away the chrysanthemums that had wilted since yesterday morning and placing fresh, vibrant ones on the grave.

He seemed so absorbed in the task that he hadn’t even noticed someone approaching from behind. Bridget walked toward him without slowing her pace. Ain only noticed Bridget’s presence when he straightened his bent back. Turning around, he looked startled.

Since he wasn’t wearing an umbrella, his face was clearly visible. Judging by his puffy eyes, it seemed he hadn’t slept well the night after Bridget left, or perhaps he had cried all night.

“Mi… Miss Pennington.”

Perhaps because of yesterday’s events, Ain looked somewhat awkward. As he struggled to find the words, Bridget averted her gaze and looked at the chrysanthemums placed on the grave.

“Did you pray?”

“…………I was just about to.”

“Didn’t you usually hold your memorial services at your own mansion?”

“………………But I wanted to leave flowers at the grave.”

He answered in a somewhat uncertain voice and glanced at Bridget. He seemed worried she might tell him to leave. Bridget gave him a sidelong glance.

“Once is enough. Why do you come here every day?”

“Well, that’s……………….”

Ain, who had been hesitating, spoke slowly.

“Since I wasn’t there for the baby in the past, he probably doesn’t know I’m his father. I thought if I came every day to let him know, maybe he’d at least get used to seeing my face.”

He must know that the coffin buried in that grave was empty.

Bridget briefly withdrew her gaze from Ain and resumed her steps. She walked past him with a soft patter of footsteps, then bent down to examine the flower bed. As she brought her face close to the daisies and lavender, arranged harmoniously and modestly, the scent of the flowers wafted up. Mixed with the scent of damp earth rising from below, it soothed her mind and brought a sense of calm. Staring intently at the tiny droplets of water clinging to the purple daisy petals, Bridget parted her lips.

“It’s Sorcha.”

Straightening her back, she tilted the umbrella draped over her shoulder backward and turned to look at Ain.

“The name.”

Ain, who had been looking at Bridget in puzzlement, gradually widened his eyes.

“How can the baby know if you mourn her without even knowing her name?”

Ain, who had been frozen in shock, moved his lips.

“Sorcha.”

“Because if she had been born, she would undoubtedly have shone brightly.”

She had chosen a name, but had never spoken it aloud. She believed that a mother who had failed to protect her child had no right to call her by name. Now that she had finally uttered the name she had chosen and kept repeating only in her heart, she felt as though something inside her had finally been completely tied up. Bridget lowered her gaze.

The sporadic raindrops seemed to increase in frequency, and soon turned into a misty drizzle that blurred the surroundings. The scent rising from the ground grew even stronger.

Noticing the grave site getting increasingly soaked, Bridget tilted the umbrella she was holding slightly toward Ain.

“Share it with me.”

Ain’s eyes widened once more. Standing frozen in place as if doubting his own ears, he watched Bridget. Only when she gestured with her chin did he finally approach, slowly. Lowering his tall frame, he barely managed to fit his head under the umbrella. Unable to bring himself to get any closer, he stood awkwardly and said,

“………………Thank you.”

Seeing the obvious confusion on his face, Bridget turned her gaze away with a calm expression.

“And honestly, I’ve wanted to point this out for a while: that tone of yours really doesn’t suit you. Trying to act like a gentleman just feels forced and gives me the creeps, so just go back to the way you used to be.”

“I understand.”

“It gives me goosebumps.”

“………………ok.”

After that, Ain said nothing more. He simply stood beside her, watching her cautiously. Bridget didn’t bother to acknowledge his gaze, which showed no sign of wavering, and simply stood there for a long time in front of the grave.

Amid the faint sound of rain and the occasional chirping of insects, the surroundings were serene. In that moment, she suddenly thought to herself.

Peace truly comes in the most unexpected ways.