The End of a Fake Marriage

As his touch grazed her sensitive skin, she flinched instinctively.

“The cat…”

Her voice trembled in embarrassment. Like an idiot.

“The cat?”

“…Scratched me by mistake.”

“Did you put anything on it?” He gently inquired, his gaze lingering on her wound as if he had a keen interest in it.

Look at this. This is what makes people misunderstand you.

Rene stepped away from his range and answered nonchalantly.

“Why would I need to put anything on it? It’ll heal quickly.”

“Still, you should put something on it. Your skin is delicate, and even a little redness shows up easily.”

Alexander mumbled nonchalantly as he closed the distance between them and reached out again.

“What’s this?” His long, thick fingers lifted the necklace given to her by the old lady.

‘Why is this man so interested in me?’

Renee couldn’t hide her startled expression as she replied coolly,
“My grandmother gave it to me.”

“…Your grandmother?”

Interestingly, he pushed one of his eyebrows up, fiddling with the jewelry on the necklace, and then let it go.

Renee took a step back to increase the uncomfortably close distance.

But his hand was faster. Placing his hand behind her waist, he tacitly invited her to take no further steps back.

Startled, she frowned and asked, “Why are you doing this?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re acting strangely. Are you drunk? How many drinks did you have earlier?”

“I’m not going to get drunk from just that.”

He swirled his whiskey glass, then lifted his gaze again to stare at Renee.

The way his eyes focused on her eyebrows and eyes, to the small but sharp bridge of her nose, to the faint trace of freckles on the bridge of her nose, to the pink lips that remained stubbornly pursed beneath it.

Only after observing him persistently enough to be satisfied did his plump lips slowly open.

“I don’t know. It just feels like it’s been a long time since I saw you.”

“…It has been a long time.”

“Not just a long time, but a much longer time.”

He paused, smiling ambiguously as he added, “About twenty years.”

An unbearable feeling of awkwardness washed over me. I felt so uncomfortable with my heart, which was reacting all over the place.

She tried to push Alexander’s arm away to step back, but his unnecessarily firm grip wouldn’t budge.

“Can you let me go?”

As he tightened his hold around her waist, Renee realized she had no choice but to twist and turn her body to escape.

If I can’t back down, I have no choice but to ruin this situation.

She reached out her struggling hand and pinched his cheek. Hard. Painfully.

“…Ow.”

His painfully handsome face contorted, and the sight of his furrowed brow eased her discomfort.

At that moment, she asked Alexander, “Is something wrong?”

“…What? Someone pinching my cheek?”

“No, not that. I mean, did something happen while you were on your business trip?”

“Not really.”

“Then why are you acting so weird?”

“What did I do?”

“Don’t say you don’t know. At least you’re paying attention.”

“…”

“Get it together, Alexander Chambler. Come back to your usual self. Stop making people uncomfortable.”

There was a brief silence.

Alexander, who had been quietly staring at her, took Renee’s hand that was holding her cheek and asked.

“What do you think my usual self is like?” he asked.

“Well…”

“Well?”

“…You tend to get on people’s nerves.”

Ah-ha.

Alexander nodded knowingly, and in that moment, a mischievous glint appeared in his eyes. The feeling was unsettling.

It was just after this premonition that I suddenly felt a shiver run up my spine.

“What are you doing?” she asked, startled, reflexively grabbing his shoulder.

“You told me to act like usual.”

“What?”

“You said I get on people’s nerves. So I’m just trying to meet your expectations.”

Alexander strode into the bedroom using his long legs. Renee’s eyes widened in surprise, her round orange irises trembling slightly.

“What—what are you doing! Put me down, right now! Alexander!”

“If you keep moving like that, Renee, won’t that poor gown you’re trying so hard to keep closed fall open?”

The timing couldn’t have been worse. At that moment, just as he warned, the gown’s collar flared wide open, revealing her plump cleavage.

“…!”

Renee had always considered her disproportionately large breasts, compared to her slender frame, a source of complexity and stress. Her cheeks flushed instantly, and she hugged her chest tightly while glaring at him.

“Don’t look.”

“I’m not looking. I’m not interested.”

“Where did this crazy bastard eat something bad and come here to bully me? Get off me, hurry!”

Suddenly, harsh words came out of Renee’s mouth as her anger surged. Alexander burst out laughing at the blatant swearing he had heard after a long time.

“Isn’t that a bit unrefined, Lady Chambler?”

“It’s fine; I learned it all from my husband. Ho ho ho.”

He chuckled along with her. Damn it. Even though it had been a long time since they last met, her heart raced as if they had seen each other just yesterday.

Don’t do this. There’s not much time left. Don’t get caught up in this man’s mischievous games.

Renee glared at him even harder, and he met her gaze as if it didn’t matter, until suddenly, he scooped her up.

“…!”

Her voice shot up as she found herself placed on the highest shelf in the bedroom, like a decorative doll.

“Alexander!”

“It’s nice to hear it after so long. Your booming voice.”

“Are you crazy? Why would you put someone on top of a dresser? Put me down! Now!”

“Put you down?”

He repeated, as if it were no big deal, and stood in front of Renee with his arms wide open as if inviting her to jump into them.

“…Not you, but someone else.”

“You don’t want your husband, but you’d like a different servant?”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Then just jump down. What’s the problem?”

“This is childish. And why are you putting people in places like this?” Alexander crossed his arms and smiled wickedly at her grumbling and demanding words.

“My wife is the cutest when she’s angry.”

“Oh my, you’re really talking nonsense, dear.”

Alexander burst out laughing again at her reply that she was quirky.

“Instead of laughing, how about you just put me down quickly, darling?”

“Should I? Well then, come here, my lady.”

He opened his arms wide towards her again.

Unable to contain herself any longer, Renee threw the towel that had slipped from her face straight at his.

“Get me a chair instead of yourself!”

As Alexander snatched the towel with a chuckle, he ran his fingers through the wet ends of Renee’s long hair. Then, he uttered completely unexpected words.

“Hello, darling. I missed you so much. Come here, my love.”

Alexander played with the end of her hair and muttered as if it was nothing. “Can’t you greet your husband who came back after three months like that?”

“…Did you hit your head or something?”

“No, I’m perfectly fine. I’m just playing the part of Alexander, the one who knows how to annoy you, as you said.”

Ah, it seemed like he had said the wrong thing and gotten caught in the wrong place.

Renee clenched her fists and gauged the height of the dresser below her.

It wasn’t so bad that she couldn’t jump. It’s just that her current outfit was so outrageous that it was difficult to move around carelessly.

Renee took a slow, deep breath before speaking again with a serious expression. “Enough with the jokes. Either let me down or just disappear, Alexander.”

“Is that really so hard to say?”

“…Could you say it?”

“I missed you too, darling. I missed you a lot. My love.”

“……”

“Do you want me to say more?”

“No. That’s enough. I don’t want to hear anymore.”

Renee glared at him with a face set in stone.

At this rate, it seemed like there would be no end to it. She didn’t want to get caught up in Alexander’s game any longer.

Well, if she jumped down from here, all she’d get would be a few bruises on her knees.

Renee, who had made up her mind, bit her lips tightly and leaned into the air. At the same time, Alexander, who was a step away, quickly caught her and hugged her.

“…You really are something,” Alexander sighed in disbelief as Renee pushed him away and quickly stepped back. Who is ridiculous right now?

Glaring at him, Renee kicked his shin before rushing into the dressing room. The hidden cats scampered out behind her, purring as they followed.