The End of a Fake Marriage

Beyond Alexander’s shoulder, Renee saw the darkness waiting for him. He seemed desperate to be drawn into it.

‘Why? Was it because of the sudden rain? Or was there another reason?’

After their marriage, Renee realized that Alexander had grown to hate the rain. But she had rarely seen him break down like this.

‘…Come to think of it, we’ve hardly spent time together on rainy days.’

He would either be at work, shut away in his study, or off on a distant trip.

‘…So, is it really the rain? Then what is it about this rain that hurts you so much?’

Renee searched through his buried childhood memories. About ten years ago, he wasn’t like this.

The two of them had run around in the rain together in Whitehall, and they had also hidden in a cave by the sea to avoid the rain, chatting for more than half a day and then falling asleep.

To the younger versions of them, rainy days had simply been a little more special than usual, nothing more and nothing less.

Her fingertips tingled from being shoved, but Renee clenched her fists tightly and cleared her throat again. Her voice froze him in place, gentle and warm and soothing, as if she were soothing a frightened little animal.

“Let’s go together. How could I leave when my husband’s like this? Okay?”

For a moment, Alexander froze. His deepening eyes locked onto hers.

Like a flickering blue flame burning fiercely, his gaze bore into her, and a rough voice spilled from his lips.

“…Husband?”

The corner of his mouth curled up in irritation under the shadows.

“A fake wife trying to act like a real one, is that it? Look around, Rene. There’s no one here. You don’t have to keep up the act. So drop this pathetic imitation of being a real wife!”

…Saying something like that at a moment like this was unfair.

Rene tensed his face, which was about to harden. He gritted his teeth and suppressed his expression.

A fake wife. A fake marriage. These were words Rene herself had repeated countless times, both silently and aloud. Yet, not once had she ever used them to wound him deliberately.

She had said them as reminders. This is what we truly are. Don’t forget the distance between us. Don’t let yourself hope. Don’t hurt yourself again. That’s why she repeated those words to herself.

And at that moment, Renee understood.

“Why are you being so infuriating today? Acting like someone who doesn’t know their place…”

…Ah, so that’s it.

“Just don’t interfere, okay? I don’t want to be with you right now, Renee.”

Alexander was making it clear to Renee. The distance that would never close between them.

“…Sasha, let me ask you one thing.” Their true relationship.
“Do you truly see me as something disposable, something to be used and discarded?”

“…Yes, exactly.”

Renee looked up at him with his mouth shut. He could see the blue light fluttering in the darkness.

“So act like the thing you are, Renee. Be useful, and nothing more. I don’t expect anything else from you.”
His words were both soaked in something and tinged with madness. Renée thought to herself, with a touch of self-deprecation.

‘Get a grip, Rene Hazelin. Why does it still hurt? Were you expecting something else? This is how it’s always been. This is how it’s supposed to be.’

‘…Right. I don’t know this Alexander.’

This man wasn’t the boy she once knew. That boy was gone, as was the world they’d shared. Where had it all disappeared to? And even if she wanted to, did she have the right to know this new version of him?

Our current relationship is all fake.

“…I see. I understand.”

Renee stepped back without resistance. She almost forced a smile but gave up, letting her lips settle into their natural line.

‘What’s the point of smiling after hearing that? Don’t be pathetic.’
“I’ll go first.”

Leaving him there, she slowly turned and walked away. Her sparkling crystal dress, now heavy and damp from the rain, lost its luster.

She walked neither quickly nor slowly, disappearing beyond the hallway, never once looking back. The golden light that had shone like the sun had vanished. The rain-soaked moonlight cast a dark shadow behind the lone figure, a shadow that seemed to weep, blurring and trembling.

***

…She’s gone.
Finally, she’s gone.

Only after Renee’s figure disappeared completely did Alexander bury his trembling face in his hands, staggering against the wall.

‘This is all your fault!’

A voice that seemed as if it would tear his ears continued to ring through his deafened ears. The terrible resonance of the violin and cello followed behind the voice.

“Summer Festival.”

The music that turned his summers into nightmares. The rain that always seemed to accompany it.

“…Damn it,” he muttered under his breath, his voice trembling like the rest of him.

He gasped, his breath trembling, pulling a vial of pills from his jacket. He poured a handful into his mouth and chewed the bitter pills down without water. (A vial is a small bottle or container, typically made of glass or plastic, used to store liquids, powders, or capsules.)

The world spun around.

‘When did my head get this messed up?’

His bitter smirk twisted into something resembling laughter as he slumped to the ground. The music, that cursed music, faded into the distance, but the haunting strains of the violin continued to echo in his ears, like the wailing of ghosts that refused to be silenced.

No matter how well he pretended, he was broken. A polished shell, a smiling facade, a mask of composure. No matter how well he disguised it, his insides were rotten beyond repair. A quick glance beneath the surface would reveal the fetid stench within.

‘It’s all because of you! You killed her, you!’

So you, shining so brilliantly,
You, filled with fragrance,
A you that is undoubtedly beautiful to anyone.

“……”

Whether it was the medicine’s effect or not, the ringing in his ears and the cold sweat that had been beading up began to subside. Only then did Alexander slowly lift his tightly shut eyelids.

His hazy eyes stared blankly beyond the window. The woman’s body, limp like wet laundry, was hanging in the air.

Not yet.

A faint laugh escaped his lips as he poured the remaining pills from the bottle into his mouth, swallowing them dry. He closed his eyes again.

The ghost that appeared in the rain had haunted Alexander for a very long time.

***

It was already late at night, and when she returned home, most of the mansion was asleep.

Renee returned quietly to her room, relying on the sound of the rain, and stopped taking off her earrings and looked at the mirror.

There was a woman who looked even more shabby and haggard, perhaps because of the humid air. A woman who didn’t match her fancy room, a flashy dress, expensive jewelry. A woman who didn’t match anything at all.

‘I’m so tired.’

Letting out a heavy sigh, she rubbed her eyes with the thick part of her palm.

Living a life full of tension, constantly striving to appear composed under everyone’s judgment, pretending things that weren’t hers were hers…

All of it was exhausting for Renee.

You’re beautiful, madam.
You’re pretty.

‘Such an arrogant, manipulative man.’

Recovered, my dear. I’m good at this.
Do you like it?

‘As if he hadn’t smiled so warmly, so affectionately before.’

So act like the thing you are, Renee. Be useful, and nothing more. I don’t expect anything else from you.

As if nothing had happened, he was tearing into people’s hearts again.

“…Do you think I’ll even flinch because of that?”

Renee bit her lip, rubbed her swollen eyes, and removed her other earring, placing it in the jewelry box.

She was relieved that the marriage was almost over. She only had to endure a little longer.

When the time came, she’d leave without a second thought. She would go coldly, without hesitation.

And after that? She’d find someone far kinder, better looking, and healthier than Alexander to fall in love with.

Sure, she’d carry the history of a divorce, but so what? Wouldn’t that make her even more irresistibly alluring?

“Right. My life is just beginning. Don’t lose confidence. There are decades of life ahead—what value could these mere two years possibly hold?”

…Even if there were, I would say there is none. Not even a little bit, not even a speck of dust. Not even as much as the pollen of spring.

“Just wait and see.”

Her chest heaving, she carefully placed the pearl necklace she was wearing into the jewelry box. As she put Josie’s necklace—the only thing truly hers—back around her neck, she noticed something.

“…Huh?”

Sensing something wasn’t right, Renee tilted her head and began to examine the jewelry box more closely.

One of the small jewel earrings, tucked into the corner of the box, was missing. Not the entire pair—just one.

Renee’s jewelry box was quite large, filled with items Alexander had given her upon their marriage. She had always meticulously cared for the jewelry, expecting to return it once the contract ended.

‘But I hadn’t worn that earring recently, so why was the other one is missing?’

“I can’t lose this…”

Renee hurriedly searched around the vanity but found nothing. Had she dropped it while changing clothes?

However, the dressing room, which the servants cleaned every day, was neatly organized without a speck of dust.

“How strange. Where could it have gone?”

Just in case, René checked the bathroom as well, carefully inspecting every corner, but the missing earring was nowhere to be found.

She decided to ask Mrs. Andrea or one of the maids who cleaned the bedroom to help her look for it tomorrow.

“…For now, I should get some rest.”

With weary steps, Renee climbed into bed.

As he rested his head on the soft pillow and was being dragged into the dark swamp of sleep, he felt something else strange.

Now that she thought about it…

“Where are the cats?”