I Won't Stop What's Coming, But No Reconciliation (3)
Finally, he broke free from Melissa's pressure.
"Go on."
"Ow, my leg hurts. You stepped way too hard. And my shoes are all creased now."
"Be grateful I stopped at just stepping on you. If we were at home, I'd have made you drop your pants first."
"And then what?"
"I'd get that dick of yours rock-hard and whip it raw while screaming why you stuck it in some other bitch."
Horrifying.
As he straightened his clothes and turned to leave, Melissa watched him silently before asking, "Are you... going back to the Laphone family?"
"No chance. Living with you is way more fun."
He tapped the floor with his sore instep, and Melissa's face brightened with obvious relief as she smiled.
"I'm not as nagging as a wife, right?"
"What was that just now, then?"
"That was love. Love's whip."
"Hilarious. Anyway, I'm heading out. Let's go back together later."
"Sure. Have a safe trip, honey~"
After parting with Melissa, he crossed the hall toward the inner stage.
Suddenly, a group of elegantly dressed young women blocked his path. It was Alicia and her entourage—arrogant bitches, in other words.
He was surprised to run into them in such an unexpected place.
"You girls are here too?"
"You girls? Watch your mouth around ladies."
Alicia shot him a disdainful look, pretending to be refined.
"Sir Naru? This isn't the academy. Inside these walls, we're all equals—gentlemen and ladies. Try not to show your lack of breeding. Oh ho ho ho."
So what? Quit the weird laugh and get out of my way.
He shrugged.
"Then enjoy yourselves."
"Hold it. You can't just ignore me without a proper greeting."
"What greeting?"
"Didn't they teach you? When you meet a beautiful lady at a social gathering, you kneel on one knee and kiss the back of her hand."
Alicia flashed a smug smile. Her lackeys chimed in from both sides.
"People are watching. Show Lady Alicia the proper respect—kneel on one knee and bow formally."
"Say something like, 'You look beautiful today, miss,' and she'll be thrilled. Got it, Assistant Professor?"
They really wanted to humiliate him, huh? As if.
"Sorry, I'm busy."
He brushed past them, but a voice called from behind.
"Where do you think you're going? I said kiss my hand! Ignoring me now?"
She didn't even care who was watching anymore. Duke's daughter or not, what a lunatic.
Pretending not to hear, he strode straight up to the podium.
"Welcome, Sir Naru. Please stand beside Lady Michelle."
Only he and his former mother-in-law were on the podium. Hireger, his ex-father-in-law, was nowhere to be seen.
The butler announced, "Lord Hireger, head of the Laphone family, has departed for a trip to Niso, the largest seaside resort in the southern region, a few days ago. Therefore, Lady Michelle, the lady of the house, will deliver today's address herself!"
The applause from the hall swelled loudly before fading.
Lady Michelle, in a modest dress with her hair pinned up elegantly, stood at the center of the podium and began speaking calmly.
"First, I am deeply grateful that all of you took time from your busy schedules to visit the Laphone estate. We gathered you here today to share tremendous good news. It concerns Vera's Curse, which has plagued our family for so long."
Before announcing the good news, Lady Michelle methodically explained the family's history. How the Laphone family had come under Vera's Curse. The agony of enduring a curse passed down through generations. And their pride in overcoming it through their ancestors' wisdom and patience.
By the time she finished, thirty minutes had flown by.
"But we have triumphed in the end. Ladies and gentlemen, I proudly declare right here: the Laphone family is completely free from Vera's Curse!"
"Hooray!"
Her joyful cry unleashed fervent cheers and thunderous applause.
She turned to him then, with an unusually warm gaze he'd never seen before.
"The one who ended our suffering is none other than my dearly beloved, my most cherished son-in-law, Sir Kang Naru. Without his help, Vera's Curse would have continued eternally."
"Ooh."
Gasps escaped the crowd. They all turned to him in unison, as if they'd had no idea.
"You will be astonished to hear this. Sir Naru did not lose to Vera. His limp? It was all part of fulfilling a grueling bet with Vera—for the sake of our Laphone family. For two whole years."
"Wow...!"
"Is that true, Sir Naru?"
He nodded slightly at the question.
"My God...! With all those stares, it must have been torture. How did you endure?"
"...I wanted to show the sea to my ex-wife, Ashley."
"Ooh! How touching!"
"I've only read stories like this in books—never seen one in real life!"
"To bear the world's scorn and contempt just to save his wife and her family—what a noble man!"
"They picked a fine son-in-law!"
"He must have won Lady Ashley's heart completely—plenty of reward there! Haha!"
From that moment, the mood shifted dramatically. The crowd began cheering for him and Ashley.
"You two are soulmates—don't divorce!"
"Go to the court and cancel it now!"
"Get back together and live happily!"
Was this the picture Michelle had wanted? She and Ashley both looked immensely satisfied.
"Now, let's hear from our proud hero, Sir Naru."
Michelle approached with a beaming smile and gave him a light hug.
"Declare that you're reuniting with Ashley," she whispered before stepping back.
He stepped forward and faced the crowd.
"Um... hello."
His mood was serene. The moment felt neither joyful nor tense, neither bad nor good. Like finishing overdue homework. Relief would come after.
"I've been waiting for this moment since I arrived. The time when you'd all pay attention to my voice. I have no regrets to share about the past. Only what's to come."
"Confess to Lady Ashley that you want to share her bed again!"
The hall erupted in laughter at the cheeky shout. He waited for it to die down before continuing calmly.
"As you all know, my ex-wife Ashley and I are in the midst of a mutual divorce. I have no intention of withdrawing it. Even after the one-year contemplation period ends, my feelings won't change. So let me make it clear here: I have zero desire to start over with Ashley. In other words, this marks the end between me and the Laphone family. We will never cross paths again. That's all."
He dropped the bomb in a steady voice.
The unexpected words from his mouth left everyone stunned, mouths agape.
Ashley just gaped in shock, speechless. Michelle scowled and shouted urgently.
"What nonsense is that?!"
"I've said my piece. I'm no longer part of this family, so I'll be going."
"You insolent brat! Wait!"
Lady Michelle rushed out in a panic. The arrogant son-in-law was climbing into his carriage. She was determined to drag him back to the drawing room and make him kneel, no matter how harshly she had to scold him.
"Where do you think you're going?!"
"Talk's over. Time to go."
Michelle met her son-in-law's eyes and flinched. He was looking down at her coldly.
Had he ever given her that look while they lived together? Never. Absolutely never.
He clearly hated her guts.
Her momentum faltered unconsciously.
"Y-you can't go. What about Ashley? What about me? Our family?"
Her son-in-law smiled in an unfamiliar, chilling way.
"You're all capable people who've managed fine so far. You'll do great without me. Don't worry."
When he limped, he'd had some fat under his chin from low activity, but now he was leaner, his jawline sharp.
Michelle felt a twinge of fear—if she treated him like before, she might lose him forever.
"Wh-what do you want? Tell me what I can do."
"Live long and healthy."
"Don't dodge! Tell me what you want! Should I kneel and beg?"
His lips curved slightly upward.
"I'd love to see that."
"What...? You really want me to go that far?"
"Nah, don't if you don't want to."
"Naru, come on. Get in already."
The woman already in the carriage beckoned him inside.
"Gotta go—I'm busy. It was fun today."
Those were his last words.
He hopped into the carriage and was gone in a flash.
"You can't go... How could you humiliate us and leave...!"
Lady Michelle clutched her forehead in dismay.
Glancing toward the entrance, she saw crowds fleeing outside in a hurry to head home.
"Come back in! Please, I have important things to say! Hurry back!"
She dashed after them desperately, but no one listened.
The vast hall emptied in an instant.
All that remained was Ashley's sobbing.