The End of a Fake Marriage

“She hasn’t changed one bit, still as stubborn as ever.”

Smirking, Alexander tossed the wet towel in his hand into the basket and walked into the bathroom. Due to Renee’s tidy personality, the bathroom was clean and tidy even though she had just showered. Not a single stray hair was in sight, but the lingering scent of soap gave away her presence.

Alexander’s gaze lingered on the water-splashed marks she’d left in the shower booth as he casually unfastened his shirt buttons, one by one.

It had been a bit of an impulsive decision to come straight from the train to the mansion.

At Kaliba Central Station, the staff waited, as usual, assuming he would head straight to the office. Lined up in neat rows, with cars on standby, and his secretary ready to ask, “Off to the office as always, sir?”

Suddenly, it occurred to me that I had to break that homeostasis. A feeling of déjà vu that we should not take things for granted. So, I went straight to the mansion, and feeling an urgency I don’t know why, I went straight into the bedroom looking for Renee.

“Meow—”

It wasn’t hard to find Renee in the mansion. Even if she wasn’t visible, if the calico cat was nearby, it meant she was somewhere close by. Though, he hadn’t anticipated that three tiny kittens would also be trailing along behind it.

After taking off all his clothes and entering the shower booth, Alexandre paused for a moment before pulling the faucet.

“……”

For a moment, he looked up, bewildered, as though he’d been hit by an unexpected blow. He closed his eyes briefly, then exhaled a low sigh, running a still-dry hand down his face. With a somewhat resentful glance downward, he eyed his uncooperative body and muttered to himself, sounding almost defeated.

“… “Why on earth is this arrogant bastard raising his head without context?”

He calmly pretended not to care about Renee, but from the moment he turned around and found her, his lower body was showing strength of its own accord.

‘Damn thing… how dare this ungrateful bundle of muscle go rogue without permission.’

Alexander turned the shower handle from the hot to the coldest setting. Without mercy, the icy water poured over his rebellious self, which had insolently swelled on its own.

A faint mist of water rose up as the ice-cold water poured down, whether from the heat or from the cold. Alexander closed his eyes, drenched from head to toe.

The sound of the water continued for a long time.

･ ｡ﾟ✧: *. ꕥ .* :✧ﾟ. ･

Whether fortunate or unfortunate, Alexander left for work immediately after changing clothes. This was to be expected since it was such a busy time. Actually, stopping by the mansion earlier was unusual.

“He probably won’t come back tonight.”

Renee, who checked the darkened sky over the window, folded the finished newspaper and put it to one side, and lifted the last newspaper.

“Meow—”

Rain, who was playing with her kittens, quietly jumped up on the table where Renee had placed the newspaper.

It seemed like she had come to say hello and say she was going to bed; Rain always made a point of greeting her before tucking in her little ones for the night.

“Going to sleep? Alright. Goodnight, Lane. And the little ones too.”

Renee greeted the cat by gently scratching her forehead with her thumb’s fingertips.

The cat purred lightly as if he had finished his job and walked with the kittens toward the pile of their cushions in the corner of the couple’s bedroom.

Rosa, the maid, came out after finishing tidying up the bedroom, crossing the path where the cats entered. She let out a small laugh at the parade of cats passing under her feet, then approached Renee holding a comb.

“Shall I brush your hair before bed, madam?”

“Thank you, Rosa,” Renee replied with a gentle smile, turning her attention back to the last newspaper. As expected, the articles were filled with updates on “Alexander” and “Chambler Industries” and their latest endeavors.

Alexander’s company “Chambler” was established about six years ago, right after the war ended. Alexander spent his time on the battlefield from the age of 18 to the end of his 20s, where he came across an older officer who shared a story about an island called “Kaverly.”

This island, a small, remote place in South Africa, was one the officer had visited in his youth, he had picked up a small shiny stone from a large river from this island. He laughed as he shared this memory, amused by his own surprise at the discovery.

Many people heard the old officer’s tale, but it seemed Alexander was the only one who took it seriously.

As soon as the war ended, he raised some funds by finding and reselling national treasures that had been lost in the war chest or circulating in the black market. When he had enough money, he immediately gathered experts and set off to find that island, “Kaverly.”

The outcome was a jackpot.

High-quality diamonds were found in abundance in Kaverly’s mines. Not only were they large, but they also had a delicate yellow tint that made them beautifully radiant, quickly earning the name “Kaverly Diamonds.” These gems were presented to royal houses across nations. Before that, they were just one of the upper-class nobles of Laverd, but since then, the Chambler has become a wealthy family that attracts attention around the world.

After accumulating astronomical wealth in just two years, Alexander wasted no time diving into the motor industry. He aggressively acquired dozens of industrial companies that he had his eye on and attracted engineers from all over the world.

With an abundance of funds poured into these skilled engineers and established manufacturing firms, it was only natural that remarkable products began rolling out.

“The deciding factors in the war were the bombs raining down from above and the motorcycles charging forward at terrifying speed. Ironically, instead of feeling fear, I thought, ‘These will determine the power of nations in the future,'” Alexander had once said in an interview. True to those words, he invested heavily in both the aviation and automobile industries.

Renee, not particularly knowledgeable in these areas, was unclear about the extent to which his capital and technology had infiltrated aviation. But with automobiles, it was a different story.

The “The Generous T.”

This was a luxury car into which Chambler poured its resources and cutting-edge technology. It was launched and articles about it poured in daily. Crafted as a top-of-the-line vehicle for royalty, Alexander sent the car as a gift to royal families worldwide, entirely at Chambler’s expense.

The safest car.

The most elegant car.

A car only the chosen could ride in.

Praise for him is poured in every day. Rene, who did not know much about economics, could not know exactly how it had affected his business.

She only knew that, following this, a wave of investment had been funneled into the production plans for the more accessible version of the car, the Generous W. Even before launch, pre-orders from each country reached hundreds of thousands of units.

And the official launch of ‘The Generous W’ and the first motor show in Laverd’s history were scheduled to be held in mid-September.

It was exciting, and something to be proud of.

But the problem was.

“…It just had to fall right when the contract period is ending.”

The timing of the show was uncomfortably aligned with the divorce stipulated in their contract.

As Rene sighed in confusion, Rosa, who was straightening her hair, looked surprised and asked. “Is something bothering you, ma’am?”

“Oh, no, I was just distracted for a moment. This should be fine, thank you, Ro—”

Renee was about to thank him when a sudden thumping of footsteps made her look up in surprise at the open doorway. Startled, she looked up to see Nina Chambler standing in the doorway.

“Is it true Alexander was here and then left? Did he come here and see you?”

Nina Chamberlain stared at Renee with a deep red face. She had just gotten home, apparently, and she was still wearing her pale yellow S-shaped dress.

Renee stared at Nina in silence, and Nina’s expression soured further.

“Why aren’t you answering? I’m asking if you saw Alexander!”

“Shouldn’t you apologize first for barging in without knocking?”

Renee wondered why she even had to state such an obvious courtesy. She forced herself to maintain a neutral expression while waiting for Nina’s response.

But of course, she was Nina Chambler.

“I knew you weren’t sleeping, and it’s just a door, so what’s the big deal? Are you trying to embarrass me by bringing up an apology?”

At that shameless answer, Rene burst out laughing and responded as if it was pitiful, “Do you even realize how embarrassing this is, Nina?”