We’re in a Contract Marriage, But I’ve Imprinted - Chapter 133

Monica’s unmistakable voice glued my feet to the ground. No, it felt like I was being sucked in. I looked up the stairs in disbelief.

Soon, I came face to face with them on the landing. Ian was holding Diers, with Monica standing right beside him. The warm expression he had just a moment ago hardened upon seeing me.

“Mel, what’s the matter?”

As he spoke, Monica twisted her lips into a smile. Receiving that familiar contempt after such a long time, I found it hard to breathe.

“Mel?”

His voice sounded affectionate, but it all felt like a lie. I wondered if, in my absence, the two had been preparing for the marriage they had promised long ago.

Maybe he was introducing Diers to the woman who would care for him in the future, or perhaps they had returned to the past.

Doubt crept in. Had I really given birth to this child? Could it be that everything was the same as before and I had deluded myself? What day, month, and year was it anyway?

The mood that hadn’t been bad when I left the annex plummeted instantly. No, it felt like I had fallen to a place even lower than the ground.

The alpha I had imprinted with, holding our child, had another woman by his side…

As I recited the reality in my mind, a hot, sour feeling surged up.

“Guh.”

Unable to hold back the sickening feeling, I staggered and vomited everything out. A red liquid spread before my eyes.

It felt as if someone was squeezing my heart to bursting. Overwhelmed by unbearable pain, my vision blurred.

Thud, my face hit the cold ground, and I heard several sounds approaching.

“Mel!”

His voice, filled with concern, might just be an illusion I had created.

Ah, now I think I understand why Nicola had said and done those things…

I had only truly understood the harsh reality of one-sided imprinting after experiencing it myself, foolishly so.

* * *

After regaining consciousness, I found Ian looking at me with concern.

The first thing I did when I saw him was to look for his pheromones. Unlike before, when his pheromones would fill the room, he no longer released them as freely. This distance he had created felt sad, and I couldn’t stand it.

My heart, once twisted, did not easily return to its original state. Having not felt his pheromones for over two weeks, I writhed in serious thirst.

“Are you awake?”

“….Please release some pheromones.”

It was rare to meet him, and since I met him, I didn’t want to miss the opportunity.

“Alright.”

He might have been curious why, but Ian complied with my request. However, I didn’t feel thankful.

I was angry. Angry at him for not saying anything, and angry at myself for still wanting him despite everything. Despite feeling miserable as if stuck in a mire, his pheromones were so intoxicating that I cried.

“….Ha, you cry often.”

His sighing words, sounding almost like a reprimand, made my lips quiver.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s not an apology I want.”

Then what did he mean by that? I wanted to get closer to him, but didn’t know how. I wanted to raise my voice at him, but didn’t know what to say.

As I struggled to hold back tears, he wiped them away. His hand on my face felt warm, but why did my heart feel so cold?

“The doctor visited. He said he couldn’t find the cause. Hmm, maybe you haven’t recovered yet?”

“…There’s something I’d like to ask of you.”

“What is it?”

All this time, I had only worried about him distancing himself, never anticipating anything else.

“Until the contract expires, I’d prefer if you didn’t invite Monica here.”

Would it be crazy to say that having Monica by his side, making us more distant, is worse than him just moving away? I started speaking incoherently, much like Nicola used to.

“Of course, I could just stay in the annex, but sometimes I might go to the main house. Like today, I don’t want to run into Monica.”

“Mel.”

“Can’t you at least grant me that request? I’m not asking for much else. Please…”

I had always felt stabilized by his pheromones, today they failed to comfort me. Still feeling dizzy and troubled, I couldn’t stop speaking.

“You’re not going to accommodate me if I ask for something, are you? So please, just this once.”

“….Do I seem like I haven’t accommodated you?”

Ian murmured, his low tone quieting my babbling.

“Ha, Melissa.”

My name, usually said affectionately, sounded awkwardly foreign coming from him now.

“You’ve made thorough preparations for after the contract expires.”

“…What do you mean by that?”

“Why pretend you don’t know?”

“I really don’t understand what you’re talking about.”

“…That’s disappointing.”

Though I didn’t grasp the context, his expression of disappointment made my heart sink.

* * *

“What exactly have I done…”

Her innocence seemed especially irritating today. Ian recalled something he had only recently learned.

After entering into a contract marriage with Melissa, he had not set a budget limit for her expenditures. It was a decision that was impulsive and uncharacteristic of him at the time. Perhaps he had pitied her.

Having seen Melissa at the Rosewood estate always in shabby clothes, often uncomfortably constrained by a choker, she did not appear sophisticated.

Therefore, he had hoped that during her time at the Duchy, she could buy whatever she wanted and enjoy some happiness.

He had not wanted to delve into the awkwardness he felt in her dressing room, but it nagged at him. He did not think of her as extravagant.

Worried it might be a misunderstanding, he had his aide review her expenditures over the years, and the findings were surprising.