# 5
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Chloe's eyes teared up. She had been able to bear the shock of her impending death, but here, she could only cling to her gloves.
“Go up to the drawing room. I will follow you there.”
Eric handed her the old shawl that was on his shoulders and then left.
She stared at the sagging shawl for a moment before turning back to where she had come from.
The sound of their footsteps was deafening.
* * *
“Since the lady is here, His Excellency will be arriving soon. Oh, would you like some tea to warm you up?”
With a smile on his face, Daniel continued to treat Chloe the same way, as if he had never seen Eric simply ignore her like that.
It was on her mind. It would have been easier for her if he had ignored her as the other Northerners did, and she would not have had to think how to respond to this unexpected kindness.
"my lady?"
Chloe shook her head several times.
“I'm fine. I would even like you to raise the temperature.”
“I understand. If you need anything else, please feel free to contact me.”
"Thank you."
David bowed and left the room.
As soon as Chloe heard the door close, she collapsed on the couch. She buried her face in her hands and breathed hard. Then she consciously put a handkerchief to her lips. She immediately felt a sharp pain in her chest.
cough!
Cough, cough, cough! Several more coughs followed, leaving blood on the tissue. Chloe curled in on herf, clutching her chest as the pain radiated. Her thin shoulders trembled pitifully.
“Haha…”
She covered her eyes with her palm as she leaned back to lie on the couch. Her body collapsed like a severely wet cotton ball.
It was painful.
It really was.
She couldn't hold herf together because it was so painful.
But she couldn't let anyone know she was that sick.
She didn't tell anyone in the first place.
Suddenly, a memory from her younger days came to her mind.
After she caught a severe cold, she looked for her mother, but her mother ignored her. Instead, her mother went to her older brother's horse riding class to accompany him.
Another case occurred.
Chloe suffered a serious head injury after falling down the stairs after her older brother played a silly prank on her.
She cried and went to her parents. But instead of scolding her brother, they scolded Chloe harshly.
It was only more painful as she spoke.
Her complaining about her pain only led to people laughing at her.
It was unfortunate that she revealed her sadness.
Her anxiety was her own. Her pain was her own. She wasn't supposed to share her thoughts with others.
Chloe learned all this a long time ago.
That's why she always made sure to keep her mouth shut.
Even when she heard the truth about her limited time in this world.
“Hoo…”
Chloe groaned one last time, pressing harder around her eyes with the back of her hand.
Thinking about it, she spent every day of her life as if she would live forever.
She believed that her husband would love her one day.
But now, she only has two years left.
She lived as his wife for five years without feeling any love at all.
After two years or however long it took… it was clear that Eric wasn't going to change.
Instead of dying in misery, she wasn't sure if it was possible to live her own life… but it was better to try anyway.
Chloe slowly sat up and opened her eyes.
She approached the window and looked outside, where she saw a huge clock, a prominent landmark in the capital.
Tick, tock, tick, tock. As the second hand on the clock moved, the palace guards crowded around him.
They all carried hunting rifles and wore prosthetic limbs.
I heard that prosthetic arms can be controlled to fire bullets.
Chloe doubts it at first, but quickly nods her head, thinking it's possible since Eric is the inventor.
The genius inventor, Eric Aslan, could have invented something like this without batting an eyelid.
“He is a great man.”
Chloe chuckled, remembering what he looked like in the lab.
I was confused by his unfamiliar appearance, but other than that, he still looked adorable.
He was drenched in sweat.
He is, covered in soot.
He's wearing very shabby clothes.
But it seems that this revealed his true personality.
He was a great man with limitless abilities.
“…I don’t belong around him.”
Chloe laughed again, leaning against the window and hitting her forehead against the glass.
Her breathing was mixed with sadness and misery.
At that moment, when the windows began to gradually overcast—
Ka-chak. The door opened. She could hear footsteps approaching, and she could tell who it was without looking back.
Eric.
It was now completely different than it was in the laboratory. He looked like he took a quick shower.
But there was something different from what she was used to seeing.
It was a face filled with anger.
Chloe's shoulders slumped.
“I'll go in first.”
Eric headed towards the inner room and opened the door.
“Don't come without an appointment from now on. You're annoying me. I lost focus on my research because of your interruption.”
Hearing the harsh reprimand, Chloe bit her lower lip.
She struggled to raise her head, wearing a mask of calm.
“I told you there was something I wanted to say.”
“You had better wait until I get back.”
“After coming to a place like this, you will never come back.”
Thinking over her words, he frowned.
“A place like this? What kind of place do you think this is?”
Instead of answering, Chloe looked at her surroundings.
It was an untidy room, and inside was an old sofa, a dirty rug, a vase with several cracks, and window frames covered in dust.
Then she turned to Eric.
“Don't you have servants here?”
“Are you saying my house is dirty?”
That's how Eric saw her stern look. His facial expression changed and he clicked his tongue for a moment.
“Now you're pestering me, even when you barged in uninvited.”
"I'm not pushing you. I meant it must be difficult for you."
Chloe took a step closer to him.
“You're having a hard time repaying the Duke's debts, aren't you?”
That was her only conclusion.
Considering the palace he owned here in the north, this amount was much less. It is even more miserable than a stable.
Hmmm. Chloe let out a soft sigh. Seeing Eric in front of her like this made her conscience heavy with guilt.
Eric was unable to spend the money on himf because he was doing his best to pay off the Duke's debts, which amounted to nearly four million pounds sterling. He had a very difficult life.
Now she understood why Eric hated her, and why he didn't love her. No wonder he wasn't into her in the first place.
“My wife,” Eric said, but Chloe didn’t look up. “How long are you going to ignore me until you're satisfied? I'm really curious.”
She didn't know why, but there was a hint of absurdity in his tone.
She didn't know what that meant, but it was a feeling of emptiness and misery.
Chloe slowly raised her chin.
“I don’t care if the Duke owes millions more. I make enough money, so don’t worry about it.”
Chloe's eyes met his, and his eyes shook for a moment.
“It's clear from your eyes that you don't believe me.”
Eric stared at her angrily, pushing his hair back violently.
“Are you trying to ask me how I can earn such wealth? Is that the question?”
"No, you're wrong. I'm not thinking about that."
He looked at her with eyes full of suspicion. Chloe clung to the skirt of her dress tightly.
“And you too… your eyes say you don’t believe me.”
“I don't believe you.”
“Why don't you trust me?”
Her question was like a tearful plea, but Eric didn't answer.
He always acted like this when he refused to talk, so Chloe felt like this conversation was already over.
“I'm telling you again – don't come here from now on. Understood?”
once again. He says the same thing.
Chloe's grip grew tighter.
“Is it really due to your inventions?”
“If not, then what could it be?”
She wasn't sure. What could it be?
I don't know. Maybe he has a mistress.
Those words were echoing in her ears again.
She tried to compose herf with her trembling voice, releasing the thoughts that had been occupying her mind all this time.
“Don't you have a girlfriend?”
Chloe swallowed.
She didn't know what to say anymore, but she wanted to say it anyway.
She thought that she would be able to relieve the anger and frustration accumulated in her heart by saying these words.
“That's what the servants say. Since we're like this as a couple, it must be because you have another woman.”
That's why she said that.
The thought of seeing Eric's aloof expression crack, if only for a few moments, was comforting.
“If you have a woman, please tell me. Then...”
“Is that what you're thinking too, wife?”
Eric moved closer to her and grabbed Chloe's weak shoulders.
“Really, wife, is this what you really believe?”
Chloe didn't answer. Rather, she looked at him with clear, teary eyes.