When You Turned Your Back On Me, We Became Strangers [EN]: Chapter 30

“Honey, who is that woman?”

Leilly asked Theo, feigning ignorance. Her eyes were still fixed on Anna as she tugged at Theo’s arm.

“That… well.”

“What is going on here? Why is that woman back here again?”

Anna’s eyes were bloodshot. The moment Leilly saw Anna’s hand on her stomach, she immediately understood.

‘She’s pregnant.’

She chuckled. How ridiculous this situation was. It truly felt like she had returned to the past. She recalled the first time she had seen Anna. The situation had completely reversed, just as Anna had wanted.

Anna as Leilly, Leilly as Anna.

“Don’t tell me you brought in another woman while I was gone?”

“Leilly, please listen without misunderstanding.”

Theo urgently grabbed Leilly’s shoulders, making eye contact. Seeing this, Anna stepped in and separated Leilly and Theo.

Her venomous gaze landed squarely on Theo. Theo subtly avoided her gaze, ignoring Anna.

“…Don’t be ridiculous! We were already married while you were gone. What do you intend to do, coming back now?”

“Is that true?”

“If you don’t believe me, come inside and see. We have the documents!”

“A few things… happened while you were away.”

Leilly stared at Theo as he made excuses, then shook her head. With an expression full of sadness and disappointment, she took Theo’s hand and said,

“Theo, it’s okay. I understand everything.”

“…Leilly?”

“You must have been very lonely while I was gone. You probably thought I was dead, right? You said you kept looking for me.”

Anna let out a dumbfounded laugh. She was furious at Theo, who was just watching them, unsure of what to do.

Anna grabbed Leilly’s hand, placed it on her stomach, and shouted,

“Theo’s child is growing inside me. There’s no place for you here! Get out of my house right now!”

It had been over two months since she disappeared. Although two months had passed, her pregnant belly wasn’t showing much. This meant there were no noticeable changes, even if you touched it.

‘It seemed Theo had been diligently trying to continue the family line in Leilly’s absence.’ Why had he insisted on having a child with me so much?

The thought of Anna carrying his child twisted her insides.

He could have just married Anna and had a child from the start. If I wasn’t there, he would have had Anna produce an heir anyway. Why was he so insistent on me?

She still couldn’t trust her. Leilly had no faith in anything Anna did.

“How can I believe that?”

Anna had already lied once. The fact that she was pregnant might be another lie.

“The doctor already came. If you don’t believe me, we can call the doctor again tomorrow.”

Anna was unwavering. It seemed like there really was a child in her belly.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to confidently say she would call the doctor.

“How do I know you didn’t bribe the doctor?”

Leilly’s eyes sharply scanned Anna’s body. Anna flinched, and at the same time, Theo stepped in front of Leilly.

“Leilly, I was the one who called the doctor. I would appreciate it if you didn’t make such assumptions.”

He hadn’t changed. He was still terribly selfish and consistent.

In the end, this was how it was going to be.

Leilly was filled with rage. The injustice and suppressed anger kept bubbling up, making her want to kill them both right then and there.

But she still didn’t want to end it so easily.

“…Ah, Theo.”

Leilly leaned towards Theo as if collapsing. Surprised, Theo quickly supported Leilly, frowning at Anna as if rebuking her.

“Leilly, stop it now. You’re already not feeling well.”

He subtly tried to stop her from mentioning Anna, speaking in a tone that seemed to worry about her. Anna looked like she couldn’t accept Theo’s affectionate behavior.

With a shocked expression, she shouted at Theo,

“H, how can you do this to me?!”

“Anna, stop it. How can you treat someone who just came home like that?”

Theo frowned at Anna’s desperate voice. He seemed displeased that Anna didn’t understand, even though he was taking her side.

“…I’m okay. She said she’s pregnant, so don’t scold her. Theo, it’s your child, after all.”

Leilly, in Theo’s arms, gently shook her head, stopping Theo. Her expression was calm, unlike her trembling voice.

‘W, what is this woman doing!’

Anna, who was staring at Leilly’s face, felt chills when she met Leilly’s gaze.

With one corner of her mouth raised, she was enjoying this situation. As if showing off to her, she hugged Theo’s waist tighter and smiled, her eyes crinkling.

“Theo, I can’t live with that woman! Aren’t you thinking about the stress my child will receive? What if that woman threatens my child again?!”

At Anna’s words, one corner of Leilly’s mouth twitched. Hearing her talk about worrying about the child, old memories kept resurfacing, tormenting her.

“Anna, I understood you, but you’re trying to push me out. Strictly speaking, I was the original owner of this place, wasn’t I?”

“Wh, what did you say?”

“Anna, don’t worry. I have no intention of kicking you out. Theo must have had his reasons while I was gone.”

“…Ha!”

Leilly wore a benevolent expression and stepped out of Theo’s arms. She gently stroked the back of his hand, giving him a faint smile.

“Theo, I’ll stay in the annex separately.”

“But…”

“I’m fine. So Anna, calm down. It’s not good for the baby, is it?”

Leilly gently patted Anna’s trembling back and whispered in her ear. Passing by the frozen Anna, Leilly slowly moved her feet.

“Leilly, let’s go together. There will be a lot to prepare, so I’ll be by your side…!”

“No, it’s okay. You must be tired today, so go in and rest. It’s better to take care of Anna first. She doesn’t look too good.”

Theo raised his hand, refusing him as he tried to approach.

At Leilly’s firm words, Theo’s feet faltered and froze in place. He sighed as he looked at Anna, who was shedding tears in front of him, her face red.

Leilly, who entered the annex, glanced out the window at the two of them. She went into the bathroom and washed her hands several times, suppressing her anger.

Leilly closed the curtains and locked the door. She leaned back in her chair, and the tension was released.

“Ren.”

As she quietly called Ren’s name, he appeared with a blue aura. Ren handed her the documents and money he was holding.

Leilly was surprised by the slightly, no, very heavy envelope and looked at Ren.

“I sold the store.”

“…So quickly?”

“There was one sucker who would do anything for you.”

Ren chuckled. When Leilly looked at him with a questioning gaze, Ren grinned and held up his fingers.

“Five million gold.”

“…What?”

At the words five million gold, Leilly jumped up from her seat. She couldn’t believe the absurd price and opened the envelope, only to find five million gold inside.

“That idiot just threw it out there, and they really bought it for 500 million.”

“The store is worth less than 100 million at most!”

“Leilly, this is what you call skill.”

“That’s impossible.”

“I’m the one who made the impossible possible.”

Ren proudly shrugged his shoulders and nodded. Leilly was afraid to open the envelope of documents he brought.

“Ah, that’s the one you asked for. It was put on hold.”

“…Why?”

It was a claim for division of property. Along with the divorce, she had applied for a seizure of the Duke’s property under the pretext of receiving alimony [financial support paid to a former spouse after a divorce].

When Leilly left, she secretly bought and sold land in Anna’s name to take her share of the money, but it seemed that it didn’t work out well.

“Looks like the Duke intervened?”

“…So that’s why he was looking for me so desperately?”

That wasn’t the only reason, though.

Theo must have caught wind of it after seeing the Imperial Family move for Leilly. No matter how carefully Caber acted, it would have been difficult to suppress his anger.

“It seems that the trial was held after you left, but it was postponed because you didn’t attend.”

He didn’t want to put Leilly, who hadn’t even sorted out her feelings yet, in court. If she knew that he had hidden the trial schedule, it wouldn’t end with just nagging.

Leilly nodded with a weary expression.

“Thank you for letting me know.”

She wanted to lie down on the bed right away, but she couldn’t. There were too many things to think about.

“Ah, and by the way.”

Ren stared at Leilly and took a breath.

‘Now that it’s come to this, I’ll have to step in myself.’

Until the trial, there was one month left. Ren was going to help Caber ruin the Printz estate so completely that it could not be restored.

“I heard an interesting story.”

“An interesting story?”

Ren approached Leilly and whispered in her ear. Even if you put everything Ren had brought so far, it wouldn’t be as good as this one piece of information.

“Anna, the child in that woman’s belly. It’s not the Duke’s blood.”