Chloe was lost in thought as she sat in the carriage headed to the Blanchett mansion.
“Why am I going back?”
She recalled having torn the book in her dream prior to her return. And the words she had seen after tearing the book apart.
[Gerard Blanchett and Chloe Roem got married… Abel Blanchett was born…]
“I tore it with my own hands…”
What was it about? Why did she tear the book which contained the story of their marriage and birth of their lovely son?
At that moment, Chloe belatedly had a hunch that the book could be touched for some sort of purpose.
“Could it be that I could hold the book on purpose? For what reason?”
Chloe bit her trembling lip. The more she tried to form a conclusion, the harder it felt to breathe.
“Huff…”
At that moment, Chloe’s carriage stopped at the main gate of Blanchett’s mansion. The gatekeeper guarding the main gate stopped her.
“We didn’t receive any messages from the Roem family that you’re coming today.”
The gatekeeper exchanged a few words with the coachman before shaking his head firmly.
“You can’t go in unless you have made an appointment in advance.”
After hearing the commotion outside, Chloe rubbed away her tears and opened the carriage window. She shouldn’t have appeared like a mess here. She had to meet her husband now.
“What’s going on?”
“Oh, young Lady Roem. May you rest in the peaceful embrace of the Empire.”
The gatekeeper greeted her politely. Chloe’s face should have been familiar, but he didn’t recognize her.
“I have an urgent matter to talk about with my husband… I mean, Sir Blanchett, can you let me in?”
“I’m sorry, but you can’t go in unless you made an appointment ahead of time.”
“…At least, tell him. Chloe from the Roem family has come.”
Chloe emphasized her name as she replied. It was an involuntary act laced with desire for him to remember her. The gatekeeper nodded while staring at the young Lady Roem’s face, which was red.
“…Yes, I’ll inform him now.”
A few moments later, the carriage of the Roem family was allowed to enter the Blanchett mansion.
Chloe felt a bit relieved when she was led to the parlor. There was hope that she might not be the only one who had these memories.
The fact that he agreed to greet her despite the unexpected visit meant that her husband remembered her. She wanted to think that way.
“Young Lady Roem, kindly wait for a moment. The young Master is finishing his sword training.”
“I see.”
However, she couldn’t understand why he didn’t come to meet her if he had memories of his past life. She was suffocated by the rising anxiety.
Knock, knock.
“I’ll come in.”
The words were followed by Gerard Blanchett’s knock on the door. Chloe stiffened in her spot as she turned her head towards the voice.
“May you rest in the peaceful arms of the Empire. I’m Gerard Blanchett.”
It was her husband, Gerard Blanchett, who appeared much younger and more fresh that the last time she saw him.
Chloe couldn’t help but cry upon meeting his green eyes.
“…What happened to you, young Lady?”
When she saw Gerard’s bewildered expression, a cold sense of reality washed over her. Chloe’s heart sank upon realizing that she had travelled back in time.
Her son.
“My Abel… What should I do?”
In fact, Chloe was having a hard time keeping her mind together. Her dearest son… it felt as if their eight years together disappeared by her own hands.
“Abel?”
Gerard tilted his head. He seemed to be confused by the situation.
“Don’t you remember… Abel?”
Chloe approached him and asked as if grasping at her last hope.
“Who are you talking about?”
Gerard stepped back when Chloe approached him. She stared at him helplessly.
“Please don’t do this…”
Gerard Blanchett didn’t remember their eight years together. Once again, she became a stranger to him.
It was useless. Her husband, who used to smile affectionately at her, was no more. There was only the young Master of the Marquis family who looked at her without any feelings.
She couldn’t accept the fact that their eight years together had disappeared in the blink of an eye. The moments that she remembered alone broke her heart.
“You can’t do this to me! Gerard, I beg you!”
Chloe cried as she grabbed his arm.
However, such behavior made an impression on Gerard. He hadn’t understood what the young Lady of Roem was talking about since the moment he stepped into the room.
And the fact that she called his name in such an affectionate manner. It was the first time he met her formally. Calling his first name without hesitation itself already aroused confusion in him.
Recently, he was informed that Leila was helped in the street, and he knew that Owen was also dating the second daughter of the Roem family, so he accepted the uninformed visit.
Perhaps, he was wrong.
“I’m sorry, but I’m afraid I’m oblivious to what you intend to say.”
Gerard removed Chloe’s grip on him in a gentlemanly way, but the gesture was, nonetheless, cold.
Thump.
Chloe couldn’t mutter anything and just stared at his hands, feeling something torn apart inside.
“I have plans after this, so I have to go now. Next time, however, please make an appointment in advance.”
Gerard said and closed his eyes out of habit. However, his eyes held no emotion. Chloe’s last hope were shattered by his cold gaze.
“Then, I hope you return safely.”
After saying so, Gerard left the drawing room. As soon as the door closed, Chloe fell to the floor.
“Huhu… Abel.”
The fact that she was the only one who remembered Abel was unbearably painful. She felt suffocated knowing that she had no one to share this traumatic situation with.
She wanted to scream and yell to demand her child back. However, she had to have power to do that.
Chloe, whose entire body was weak, broke down on the floor of the drawing room and cried her heart out.
-Mother, I love you the most in the world.
Chloe covered her ears when she began hearing Abel’s voice. She wanted to hold on to his fading voice for a little longer.
-Mother, watch me! I learned this from Sir Aiden today!
Abel’s appearance was still vivid in her mind. The more she remembered the face of her son, the more she missed him.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. Mother is sorry, baby…”
Chloe panted. The guilt of not being able to protect her child imposed a heavy burden on her.
Why did this happen to her?
“Was it because I was greedy…? Was it because I became greedy for wanting to be with Gerard Blanchett?”
She realised why the book could be held now. It clearly wanted to emphasize that they were not meant to be.
“I won’t be greedy anymore, so you should give him back. Return my son to me!”
Right. She wasn’t meant to be with him. How their relationship got turned back was proof of that.
However, it felt unfair that Abel just disappeared.
“I miss you, I miss you so much. Abel…”
Chloe gritted her teeth. She couldn’t stand the storm of emotions that hit her simultaneously.
“AHH! My baby…”
She lost her mind. She couldn’t handle the things that has happened with rational mind.
***
“Don’t do that… Please. Don’t you dare do that to your own wife, I beg you!”
And there was someone praying in the dark. It was Gerard, who finally read the book in his dream from beginning to end.
The book that came in his fever induced coma showed Chloe’s life after she went back to the past. The book felt more realistic than a simple fantasy, which overwhelmed him.
[“Abel… Don’t you remember him?”
“Who is that?”
“Don’t do this…”]
Gerard couldn’t even invalidate the future that was shown by the book and had no choice but to accept it. He sobbed.
“Don’t say that, d*mn…”
However, Gerard’s earnest desire didn’t reach his younger self. He was cursed to run away when Chloe approached him.
[“You can’t do this to me! Gerard, I beg you!”
Chloe sobbed as she grabbed his arm. However, it left a sour impression on Gerard.]
He eventually shook off Chloe’s hand when she held him according to the book. And at that moment, the sorrow that Chloe had to experience transferred to Gerard, who read the book.
As*hole. D*ckhead. Those curses lingered in his mouth.
However, all he could do in that situation was to beg his younger self in the book.
“Please give her a hug, hug her…”
He had to wipe her tears. He had to hold her in his arms. He shouldn’t have left Chloe alone in such a heartbreaking situation.
However,
[“Then, I hope you return safely.”
After saying so, Gerard left the drawing room again. As soon as the door closed, Chloe fell onto the floor.]
“B*st*rd! Don’t go!”
Gerard shouted at his younger self who turned away, but there was no way his younger self in the book could have heard it.
[“Was it because I was greedy? Was it because I became greedy for wanting to be with Gerard Blanchett…?”]
Following Chloe’s words, Gerard bit his lip. He experienced her sorrow.
[“AHH! My baby…”]
“Chloe!”
Gerard ran to reach Chloe when he came to his senses again. It was the immediate response of his body to the situation that was unfolding so vividly right in front of him.
However, regardless of how much he tried to reach her, he couldn’t pull Chloe into his arms. She fell to the cold floor instead of into Gerard’s arms.
“Chloe…”
Gerard reached out to Chloe’s pale face with trembling hands. However, he couldn’t touch her face.
“Don’t do this…”
He swallowed his words when he realized he didn’t even know what to say.
“I’m… I’m sorry. I know I made a mistake, so please stop this.”
Gerard wished desperately, just like Chloe in the book. If he didn’t do that, he felt as if he would be unable to overcome the misery that hit him.
However, the hollow darkness swallowed his pleas heartlessly.
“Please, It’s me… who should have gone through this instead.”
Gerard knelt beside Chloe, not even thinking about wiping away the tears from his eyes. He thought it should have been him to feel such despair instead of seeing them.
However, the book was ruthless. Gerard’s plea to stop this didn’t change anything. It just turned to reveal the next story.
“Heu…”
His hands clenched into fist, and his veins protruted as if they were about to burst.
He wouldn’t even be shocked if his mind was currently in a state of disarray when trying to process not only his emotions, but also Chloe’s sorrow and despair.
However, Gerard was surprisingly still sane.
The book didn’t even allow him to turn around.
He still had many pages to read until the end. Gerard had to read the rest carefully.
Thud!
The bookcase was turned upside down.
Chloe was lost in thought as she sat in the carriage headed to the Blanchett mansion.
“Why am I going back?”
She recalled having torn the book in her dream prior to her return. And the words she had seen after tearing the book apart.
[Gerard Blanchett and Chloe Roem got married… Abel Blanchett was born…]
“I tore it with my own hands…”
What was it about? Why did she tear the book which contained the story of their marriage and birth of their lovely son?
At that moment, Chloe belatedly had a hunch that the book could be touched for some sort of purpose.
“Could it be that I could hold the book on purpose? For what reason?”
Chloe bit her trembling lip. The more she tried to form a conclusion, the harder it felt to breathe.
“Huff…”
At that moment, Chloe’s carriage stopped at the main gate of Blanchett’s mansion. The gatekeeper guarding the main gate stopped her.
“We didn’t receive any messages from the Roem family that you’re coming today.”
The gatekeeper exchanged a few words with the coachman before shaking his head firmly.
“You can’t go in unless you have made an appointment in advance.”
After hearing the commotion outside, Chloe rubbed away her tears and opened the carriage window. She shouldn’t have appeared like a mess here. She had to meet her husband now.
“What’s going on?”
“Oh, young Lady Roem. May you rest in the peaceful embrace of the Empire.”
The gatekeeper greeted her politely. Chloe’s face should have been familiar, but he didn’t recognize her.
“I have an urgent matter to talk about with my husband… I mean, Sir Blanchett, can you let me in?”
“I’m sorry, but you can’t go in unless you made an appointment ahead of time.”
“…At least, tell him. Chloe from the Roem family has come.”
Chloe emphasized her name as she replied. It was an involuntary act laced with desire for him to remember her. The gatekeeper nodded while staring at the young Lady Roem’s face, which was red.
“…Yes, I’ll inform him now.”
A few moments later, the carriage of the Roem family was allowed to enter the Blanchett mansion.
Chloe felt a bit relieved when she was led to the parlor. There was hope that she might not be the only one who had these memories.
The fact that he agreed to greet her despite the unexpected visit meant that her husband remembered her. She wanted to think that way.
“Young Lady Roem, kindly wait for a moment. The young Master is finishing his sword training.”
“I see.”
However, she couldn’t understand why he didn’t come to meet her if he had memories of his past life. She was suffocated by the rising anxiety.
Knock, knock.
“I’ll come in.”
The words were followed by Gerard Blanchett’s knock on the door. Chloe stiffened in her spot as she turned her head towards the voice.
“May you rest in the peaceful arms of the Empire. I’m Gerard Blanchett.”
It was her husband, Gerard Blanchett, who appeared much younger and more fresh that the last time she saw him.
Chloe couldn’t help but cry upon meeting his green eyes.
“…What happened to you, young Lady?”
When she saw Gerard’s bewildered expression, a cold sense of reality washed over her. Chloe’s heart sank upon realizing that she had travelled back in time.
Her son.
“My Abel… What should I do?”
In fact, Chloe was having a hard time keeping her mind together. Her dearest son… it felt as if their eight years together disappeared by her own hands.
“Abel?”
Gerard tilted his head. He seemed to be confused by the situation.
“Don’t you remember… Abel?”
Chloe approached him and asked as if grasping at her last hope.
“Who are you talking about?”
Gerard stepped back when Chloe approached him. She stared at him helplessly.
“Please don’t do this…”
Gerard Blanchett didn’t remember their eight years together. Once again, she became a stranger to him.
It was useless. Her husband, who used to smile affectionately at her, was no more. There was only the young Master of the Marquis family who looked at her without any feelings.
She couldn’t accept the fact that their eight years together had disappeared in the blink of an eye. The moments that she remembered alone broke her heart.
“You can’t do this to me! Gerard, I beg you!”
Chloe cried as she grabbed his arm.
However, such behavior made an impression on Gerard. He hadn’t understood what the young Lady of Roem was talking about since the moment he stepped into the room.
And the fact that she called his name in such an affectionate manner. It was the first time he met her formally. Calling his first name without hesitation itself already aroused confusion in him.
Recently, he was informed that Leila was helped in the street, and he knew that Owen was also dating the second daughter of the Roem family, so he accepted the uninformed visit.
Perhaps, he was wrong.
“I’m sorry, but I’m afraid I’m oblivious to what you intend to say.”
Gerard removed Chloe’s grip on him in a gentlemanly way, but the gesture was, nonetheless, cold.
Thump.
Chloe couldn’t mutter anything and just stared at his hands, feeling something torn apart inside.
“I have plans after this, so I have to go now. Next time, however, please make an appointment in advance.”
Gerard said and closed his eyes out of habit. However, his eyes held no emotion. Chloe’s last hope were shattered by his cold gaze.
“Then, I hope you return safely.”
After saying so, Gerard left the drawing room. As soon as the door closed, Chloe fell to the floor.
“Huhu… Abel.”
The fact that she was the only one who remembered Abel was unbearably painful. She felt suffocated knowing that she had no one to share this traumatic situation with.
She wanted to scream and yell to demand her child back. However, she had to have power to do that.
Chloe, whose entire body was weak, broke down on the floor of the drawing room and cried her heart out.
-Mother, I love you the most in the world.
Chloe covered her ears when she began hearing Abel’s voice. She wanted to hold on to his fading voice for a little longer.
-Mother, watch me! I learned this from Sir Aiden today!
Abel’s appearance was still vivid in her mind. The more she remembered the face of her son, the more she missed him.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. Mother is sorry, baby…”
Chloe panted. The guilt of not being able to protect her child imposed a heavy burden on her.
Why did this happen to her?
“Was it because I was greedy…? Was it because I became greedy for wanting to be with Gerard Blanchett?”
She realised why the book could be held now. It clearly wanted to emphasize that they were not meant to be.
“I won’t be greedy anymore, so you should give him back. Return my son to me!”
Right. She wasn’t meant to be with him. How their relationship got turned back was proof of that.
However, it felt unfair that Abel just disappeared.
“I miss you, I miss you so much. Abel…”
Chloe gritted her teeth. She couldn’t stand the storm of emotions that hit her simultaneously.
“AHH! My baby…”
She lost her mind. She couldn’t handle the things that has happened with rational mind.
***
“Don’t do that… Please. Don’t you dare do that to your own wife, I beg you!”
And there was someone praying in the dark. It was Gerard, who finally read the book in his dream from beginning to end.
The book that came in his fever induced coma showed Chloe’s life after she went back to the past. The book felt more realistic than a simple fantasy, which overwhelmed him.
[“Abel… Don’t you remember him?”
“Who is that?”
“Don’t do this…”]
Gerard couldn’t even invalidate the future that was shown by the book and had no choice but to accept it. He sobbed.
“Don’t say that, d*mn…”
However, Gerard’s earnest desire didn’t reach his younger self. He was cursed to run away when Chloe approached him.
[“You can’t do this to me! Gerard, I beg you!”
Chloe sobbed as she grabbed his arm. However, it left a sour impression on Gerard.]
He eventually shook off Chloe’s hand when she held him according to the book. And at that moment, the sorrow that Chloe had to experience transferred to Gerard, who read the book.
As*hole. D*ckhead. Those curses lingered in his mouth.
However, all he could do in that situation was to beg his younger self in the book.
“Please give her a hug, hug her…”
He had to wipe her tears. He had to hold her in his arms. He shouldn’t have left Chloe alone in such a heartbreaking situation.
However,
[“Then, I hope you return safely.”
After saying so, Gerard left the drawing room again. As soon as the door closed, Chloe fell onto the floor.]
“B*st*rd! Don’t go!”
Gerard shouted at his younger self who turned away, but there was no way his younger self in the book could have heard it.
[“Was it because I was greedy? Was it because I became greedy for wanting to be with Gerard Blanchett…?”]
Following Chloe’s words, Gerard bit his lip. He experienced her sorrow.
[“AHH! My baby…”]
“Chloe!”
Gerard ran to reach Chloe when he came to his senses again. It was the immediate response of his body to the situation that was unfolding so vividly right in front of him.
However, regardless of how much he tried to reach her, he couldn’t pull Chloe into his arms. She fell to the cold floor instead of into Gerard’s arms.
“Chloe…”
Gerard reached out to Chloe’s pale face with trembling hands. However, he couldn’t touch her face.
“Don’t do this…”
He swallowed his words when he realized he didn’t even know what to say.
“I’m… I’m sorry. I know I made a mistake, so please stop this.”
Gerard wished desperately, just like Chloe in the book. If he didn’t do that, he felt as if he would be unable to overcome the misery that hit him.
However, the hollow darkness swallowed his pleas heartlessly.
“Please, It’s me… who should have gone through this instead.”
Gerard knelt beside Chloe, not even thinking about wiping away the tears from his eyes. He thought it should have been him to feel such despair instead of seeing them.
However, the book was ruthless. Gerard’s plea to stop this didn’t change anything. It just turned to reveal the next story.
“Heu…”
His hands clenched into fist, and his veins protruted as if they were about to burst.
He wouldn’t even be shocked if his mind was currently in a state of disarray when trying to process not only his emotions, but also Chloe’s sorrow and despair.
However, Gerard was surprisingly still sane.
The book didn’t even allow him to turn around.
He still had many pages to read until the end. Gerard had to read the rest carefully.
Thud!
The bookcase was turned upside down.
