Can't Come Back - Chapter 46

‘It was as if I was under a trance for several days!’

Bang!

He abruptly closed the door and exited. He was sick of Riley and Berlia and planned to meet another woman.

“…How can he… continually say such nasty things…? Sob… Of course, I have no feelings for him, but for a wife to be treated like this… until I met you, I was wondering what the three years of marriage were all about… I can’t stop crying, sob, sob…”

Berlia sobbed as she gazed at where Dean stormed off to. Her tears were laced with skepticism about having lived with a man who treated her in this manner.

“Don’t worry about him. He’s always been that way. Just concentrate on getting better, Berlia.”

“Cain, I would have been… so miserable without you. Thank you for being with me…”

“It is me who should be grateful for your existence. Everything will be alright. Try to get some more sleep now.”

“…Okay.”

Cain consoled her. Berlia closed her eyes slowly, feeling his warmth. Cain was preparing to exit the room discreetly after ensuring Berlia was asleep. He needed to figure out who was behind this. Cain then inadvertently glanced down at his feet.

‘Wait, what is this?’

It was long and curly red hair. There was just one individual in this mansion with such hair.

‘That lady…!’

Riley was the one. She had a clear purpose to harm Berlia. Jealousy was palpable. Riley was one of the people Cain had suspicions about. Cain’s pupils constricted.

* * *

Meanwhile, Riley was pleased to learn that Berlia’s child had died.

‘I had a feeling! The backstreet pharmacist was correct! It worked out wonderfully, ten drips are just enough to kill the infant.’

She was concerned when she learned that Berlia’s condition had not improved a day after being poisoned. She was concerned that the infant would survive. But she no longer had to be concerned about that.

‘I’m now the only one who can accept the Duke’s love!’

She went back to her imagination. Her grin spread from ear to ear just thinking about herself being a member of the exquisite tea parties of royal ladies. Not only that, but she imagined herself as the star of a glitzy ballroom.

‘Wait a minute, if the Duchess dies… could I have been the Duchess?’

That concept occurred to Riley. If Berlia was not present, she could be the next Duchess. Dean’s attention would return to her, who is childless. If she plays her cards well, she might be able to take over as principal wife.

‘What if I use even more poison…?’

It was a frightening concept. But once it surfaced, it was difficult to suppress the growing yearning. She still had some of the poison on her own.

‘According to the old hag, half of the poison in this bottle is enough to kill a healthy man. As a result, the frail woman would perish even more quickly.’

Everyone would be glad if she made a show of pity. Riley planned to use the poison on Berlia once more, seizing the opportunity when people’s guards were down.

‘I’ll have to look for an opportunity tonight.’

Riley’s imagination’s power had already blinded her.

The night has come. Riley climbed to the third floor softly. There was no one around, as she had expected.

‘If I happen to run into anyone, I’ll just tell them I was worried about the Duchess.’

Riley softly unlocked Berlia’s door, carefully approaching the sleeping woman without making a sound. She affirmed Berlia was sleeping with a bitter smile.

‘Sleep like this forever.’

Riley retrieved a glass bottle from her pocket and approached Berlia gently.

Clatter-

“Ah!”

Cain then arrived, grabbing Riley’s wrist. He took the bottle from her grasp with his other hand and stared at her.

“What exactly are you doing?”

Riley was perplexed as he glanced at Cain. It was an unexpected circumstance.

‘Why is Young Master Cain here…?!’

“I, I came because I was worried about the Duchess.”

“At this late hour?” 

“I was just going to go check on her and then leave!”

It was a ridiculous excuse. Cain was not going to believe her. Cain apprehended Riley right away.

“Please let me go! That is not the case! It isn’t!”

Riley kept fighting, but a woman’s strength could not defeat a man’s. Berlia awoke as she continued to scream that it wasn’t her.

“What’s going on, Cain? …Riley?! What are you doing…”

Berlia, who was still sleepy, couldn’t make sense of what was happening in front of her eyes. Riley was in her room for what reason? And why was Cain clutching her so tightly?

“Not only did this woman harm your child, but she also attempted to harm you.”

Berlia’s eyes widened in surprise as she heard Cain’s comments.

“What, what did you say?”

Riley was the person responsible for her child’s death. Berlia inquired, her eyes wide with surprise.

“Why, Ri, Riley?”

Riley, on the other hand, remained silent. She was just trying to get rid of Cain.

“Why are you in this room, Young Master Cain?!”

Riley hadn’t expected to sneak up in the middle of the night to find Cain in Berlia’s room. She had only expected to see Betty.

Of all people, it is Young Master Cain. He was an unusual character. A thought came through Riley’s head as she strained to get away from him.

‘Is it possible…?’

It was a woman’s instinct. Could Young Master Cain be the father of Berlia’s unborn child? It felt strange how invested he was in something that wasn’t even his own.

Looking back, she noticed Berlia peering around as she exited Young Master Cain’s room. Had she seen a private meeting between the two?

‘If that’s the case…!’

Riley had detected something odd a long time ago. But she assumed it was nothing serious. She was even under the assumption that Dean had not fathered the child in her womb. However, the notion that the dead fetus’s father was not Dean but Cain was of a different magnitude.

‘It would have been better to not have killed the child!’

Riley felt a flood of regret. She could have disclosed the duchess’s affair and dismissed her if she had caught on sooner. But the infant within the lady had already died.

Riley, though, did not give up. She yelled as she continued to shake Cain’s hand.

“If you don’t let me go, I’ll tell everyone everything about you!! Everything is clear to me! You were the father of the Duchess’s child, not the duke’s! If only I hadn’t killed it… Huh!”

Riley exclaimed, “I killed Berlia’s child!” in her ecstasy. Cain’s face darkened as he heard her remarks.

“You did it, just like I predicted.”

Cain’s hand, which was clutching Riley, grew stronger.

“Ouch! Ouch! Let go! I’m the only woman who is pregnant with the Duke’s child!!! I mean, I’m the one who’s going to be the Duchess!”

Riley‘s body shook aggressively, but her hands were eventually secured behind her back. She was unable to move at all.

Berlia, on the other hand, was terrified after hearing all Riley said. She was terrified that someone had discovered her affair with Cain. What if other people discovered it? What happens if Riley reveals it? Her hands shook.

‘Oh, no… There is no evidence, thus everything is fine.’

She soothed herself. Riley’s claim was merely rhetoric. There was no proof. As she witnessed Riley being bound, she kept assuring herself that everything will be fine.

* * *

The clear poison taken from the roots of the Madiana flower was definitely contained within the bottle Cain grabbed from Riley. From the evidence to the crime scene. Anyone could see she was the culprit.

Even though it was early morning, everyone in the estate was awake. Riley was kneeling in the middle of the mansion’s first floor corridor, arms tied behind her back.

Riley had killed Berlia’s child and even attempted to injure her, which astonished everyone.

“Riley! You bitch!”

Riley was yelled at by Dean, who was enraged.

“I’ve done a lot for you! You have betrayed me!”

Dean was furious that she had dared to murder the Duke’s lawful heir.

Riley glanced at Dean with furious eyes in response to his comments.

“Wouldn’t it be nice if you didn’t care about that woman! You, Duke, deceived me by breaking your vow to take me as your concubine!”

“How dare you, you wench!”

SLAP-

Riley was slapped across the face by Dean, who lifted his hand. Her mind raced. Riley’s left cheek pricked. But she thought she could handle it.

‘The Duchess’s child is no longer alive. I am the one who carries the Hildayden Duke’s heir.’

Riley was convinced that Dean would never desert her. Because she was the sole carrier of his child.

She was also aware that the Duchess had committed adultery. Riley assumed that after all of this was disclosed, Dean would be forced to take her hand again. She secretly smiled at the prospect of being the mother of the next Duke.

“Could you ignore me even after knowing the Duchess committed adultery?”

“What?”

Dean’s face wrinkled up. His expression indicated that he didn’t understand what Riley was saying.

Riley’s mouth was raised, as if she had anticipated this.

“Say I killed the Duchess’s dead child; shouldn’t you be grateful for the murder? After all, the child’s father is not you, Duke, but Cain, Hildayden’s illegitimate son!”