About Becoming My Ex-Husband's Mistress - Chapter 189
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 189. Out of Jealousy
Bridget stared at me with a look of utter shock, her mouth falling open.
“That’s so unfair! You didn’t even tell me!”
That was when Bridget’s Mother struck Bridget’s back with the palm of her hand.
“What are you doing, speaking so casually in front of her?”
“Oh… I was just so surprised.”
Tears welled up in Bridget’s eyes as she flustered.
The sight of her on the verge of tears, just as she had been in childhood, brought a smile to my face.
“I’m sorry, Bridget. I was a bit embarrassed to mention it first.”
I gave Bridget’s shoulder a gentle pat.
“Don’t feel burdened. I’m just Priscilla from Heril Island.”
At my words, Bridget wiped her eyes with her hand, linked her arm through mine, and stuck her tongue out at her mother.
“See? It’s fine.”
“This girl…”
Soon, laughter bloomed all around us.
Now it was time to exchange thanks and catch up on what had happened in the meantime.
* * *
After sharing a brief, pleasant conversation with the villagers on the street, I returned home and spotted Luderne Sellen.
Shirtless with a towel draped around his neck, he was splitting firewood, having apparently finished tidying the yard long ago.
Sweat dripped down his forehead and along his muscles. Each time he lifted the axe, his arms and chest muscles rippled with power.
He seemed to have been moving without pause.
“Isn’t it exhausting?”
When I spoke, Luderne Sellen wiped away the sweat flowing down with his towel.
“Almost done.”
He took the basket from my hands.
“Why did you buy so much? I already brought simple meal ingredients.”
“There’s a dish I wanted to make for you.”
“A dish?”
“Yes. I know how to make my special menu. You didn’t know that, did you?”
Luderne Sellen looked genuinely surprised.
“I’ll prepare lunch, so go wash up.”
Luderne Sellen nodded and headed to the Bathroom.
While he was washing, I prepared my own special lunch.
White rice, octopus soup, grilled fish, stir-fried cabbage, lettuce and tomato salad, and rolled egg.
By the time lunch was ready, Luderne Sellen appeared, drying his wet hair with a towel.
“What… is this cuisine?”
Luderne Sellen looked bewildered at the Korean dishes laid out on the table.
“I think I recognize the salad and vegetable stir-fry, but the rest is unfamiliar.”
At his words, I smiled softly.
“I wanted to let you taste it someday. It’s food I often ate alone, and sometimes shared with Sir Jester when he was tired from his research.”
After hearing the full explanation, Luderne Sellen tasted the food methodically.
I clutched my racing heart and studied his reaction carefully.
I hoped he would say it was delicious.
“….”
But after tasting it, Luderne Sellen’s brow furrowed. After a single bite, he simply stared at the food, and anxiety crept over me.
“It’s not to your taste?”
Luderne Sellen didn’t answer my question. His gaze remained fixed on the food.
I felt embarrassed. It seemed the food truly wasn’t to his liking.
Now that I thought about it, he must be quite hungry after doing strenuous work in the yard.
I felt foolish for serving him something so plain and unappealing.
“I-I’m sorry. Let me clear this away and bring something else right away. Sir Jester praised it so highly that I thought you would enjoy it too.”
I began apologizing hastily and reached for his rice bowl.
Luderne Sellen grabbed my wrist.
Before I could react, his chair slid backward, and I found myself sitting on his lap.
Luderne Sellen pulled me close and pressed his lips to my ear.
“It’s truly delicious. I can hardly believe such food exists in this world.”
The sincerity in his praise left me bewildered.
I lifted my head to look directly at his face. His brow was still furrowed.
“W-well, that’s a relief. But why does your expression look like that?”
“I’m jealous.”
Luderne Sellen’s lips curved into a bitter smile.
“If I had come during the day or at mealtime back then, I would have tasted it too. I wish I had been more honest with my emotions. I’m growing melancholy now, thinking of how I remained silent out of fear at the time.”
I couldn’t help but open my eyes wide.
Then laughter simply spilled out.
“Ahaha, what was I thinking?”
One of Luderne Sellen’s eyebrows rose.
“I’m being serious, and you’re laughing?”
“Because it’s adorable.”
“Calling an adult man adorable doesn’t seem quite fitting.”
I kissed his forehead and then rose from his lap to sit across from him at the table.
“There are many other dishes. Seaweed soup, shabu-shabu, celebration noodles, curry, and so on.”
“Names I’ve never heard before.”
Luderne Sellen gazed at the octopus soup.
“Is seaweed soup made by putting seaweed in here instead of octopus?”
“That’s right. I’ll make plenty for you from now on.”
Luderne Sellen nodded and examined the rice.
“How is this made?”
“It’s rice. I poured water over it and boiled it, then let it steam.”
Luderne Sellen tilted his head. He seemed not to fully understand.
Next, he touched the rolled omelet.
“What is this?”
“You beat eggs thin and cook them, then roll them up inside.”
“I see. Then what is this shabu-shabu dish?”
Luderne Sellen’s questions about food had grown more frequent. Korean cuisine seemed to fascinate him.
His furrowed brow soon gave way to a warm, cheerful atmosphere.
Thanks to that, I answered his questions with ease.
After finishing lunch, we took a walk through the nearby area.
We ended up sitting side by side on a wide rock by the Beach in front of the house, watching the waves crash.
Hoping that Sir Jester was safe somewhere out on that vast Sea.
* * *
About half a month passed like that.
It was a morning with particularly beautiful sunlight, yet the moment I opened my eyes, I felt melancholy and sadness wash over me, and I wanted to cry.
My period had started.
Despite my daily efforts, I still hadn’t conceived.
‘Why won’t I get pregnant?’
All sorts of thoughts crossed my mind.
Was it because I’d drunk too much contraceptive tea, or taken contraceptive pills for too long? Or had the curse itself changed my body into one where pregnancy wasn’t easy?
Or was I simply infertile?
But there were no definitive answers to any of these questions.
It was difficult to ask, but sometimes I wondered if the problem might be with Luderne Sellen instead.
Perhaps sensing such thoughts, he summoned a renowned Doctor from the Capital.
But Luderne Sellen had no issues.
In the end, my personal Doctor concluded that the cause of infertility lay with me.
It seemed I was indeed the problem.
As I reflected on the past, tears spilled forth unbidden from disappointment.
Why did children come so easily to others, yet refused to come to me—to us?
“I’m sorry.”
“Why do you keep apologizing? I’m the one who should be sorry.”
Luderne Sellen held me against his chest, letting me cry.
He always comforted me, saying there would be next time, that a child would surely come to us.
But this time, he didn’t say those words. His lips seemed unable to move, and he couldn’t hide his look of despair.
He had no choice.
According to my calculations, I didn’t have much time left to live. In terms of menstrual cycles, only one more remained.
So I couldn’t help but feel even more despondent.
We shut ourselves away in the house.
Then, as my period was ending, Luderne Sellen, searching for something we could do together inside the house, made a suggestion.
“How about we wash the bedding today?”
“That’s a wonderful idea.”
It truly was a wonderful idea. Moving my body would keep such gloomy thoughts at bay.
Luderne Sellen brought out a large basin of appropriate depth.
We placed water, laundry soap, and bedding into a large tub, clasped hands, and began trampling the fabric beneath our feet.
A soft giggle escaped me as I worked the laundry.
“What’s so amusing?”
Luderne’s expression bloomed with a smile as he asked.
I covered my mouth with both hands.
“It’s surreal—I’m actually washing bedding with Prince Wintem himself. It doesn’t feel real. What about you?”
At my question, Luderne drew me close.
He placed one of my hands upon his shoulder while his own settled at my waist.
As we continued trampling the laundry in this embrace, our movements naturally evolved into a waltz.
The sky spun gracefully above us, and the world turned beautifully with it. The sea breeze that drifted past was refreshingly crisp.
And in those crimson eyes gazing down at me, light blazed brilliantly.
His lips brushed against my forehead.
Then came a soft, honeyed whisper.
“Every moment with you is like this. I’ve never known such happiness.”
Our lips met, and his voice—sweet as honey—mingled with our shared breath.
“I wish this happiness could last a lifetime.”
I closed my eyes and drew my arms around his neck, holding him close.
After we lingered in that sweet embrace for a long while, we finished the laundry.
“Rest for a moment—I’ll prepare today’s meal.”
At his words, I made my way toward the seaside.
I sat upon a flat rock and gazed out at the sea.
Then my gaze drifted downward, and I spotted an old fish trap I had set long ago.
I pulled it up.
Barnacles clung to the wooden trap, which had been submerged for years.
Something stirred inside. It appeared something had been caught.
I emptied the trap onto the rock.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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