Wicked Husband-Chapter 172 - 171

When Cesare learned that he had to kill her seven times, he didn’t think it would be difficult.

After all, she was only a presence in a dream—a figment of his imagination. Like any fleeting dream, he thought he could end it quickly and return to reality.

The first time he killed Eileen, it didn’t bother him. The second and third times weren’t much different. But as the repetitions stacked, Cesare began to notice how each instance chipped away at him.

By the seventh and final time, he couldn’t go through with it.

Instead, Cesare spent long, quiet days with Eileen in their little brick house, having cast everything else aside. It was a perfect world, just the two of them.

The peaceful days were intoxicatingly sweet. Even though he knew it was all a fabricated illusion, he couldn’t bring himself to leave. At times, he even wondered if the outside world was the dream and this place was reality.

Eventually, though, he woke up. He realized the time he had spent there had been only for his own benefit.

The sensation of that last time he killed Eileen was still vivid in his hands. It was a rainy day, in the upstairs bedroom of their brick house. The air was damp, the shadows oppressive. He had broken his wife’s neck while she wept, pleading for her life.

Cesare recalled the Eileen from the dream—young and innocent, blissfully happy in the safe haven he had created for her.

Then he turned his gaze to the real Eileen, standing before him now. She gripped his hand firmly, her large eyes resolute, declaring that she had to know the truth, no matter what. The Eileen who now fought to protect him, even at the risk of her own safety, was nothing like the Eileen from the dream.

But this moment was reality.

"Cesare..." Eileen’s voice trembled, her shock clear. She had noticed something. Cesare, who had been looking down, slowly raised his eyes to meet hers. He faced her without hiding the cracks within himself.

Even if it had been a lie, he had killed her. Every one of those seven times felt as real as the world they stood in now.

Cesare had long known he was broken, that his shattered self would inevitably harm Eileen.

"For myself, I think."

The words struck Cesare deeply. For herself. But wasn’t that the reason behind all his choices, too?

Eileen, struggling so hard to change, was becoming more and more like him. She was his creation, his wife. Of course, it was only natural.

Gently, Cesare pressed his lips to the back of her hand. The gesture was one of devotion, as if honoring the most precious being in his world. He knew his brokenness would cause her pain, but he couldn’t stop himself.

"That gift you gave me, Eileen," he murmured. Slowly pulling away, he reached into his coat and pulled out a pocket watch—a silver piece she had given him to commemorate his victory in battle.

"I should return it to you."

Eileen’s eyes widened as she looked at him.

She was clever. It wouldn’t take her long to piece together the truth. Though he wanted to delay that moment, it was inevitable, and the time to confront it had come.

Cesare placed the watch in her hands. "You’ll need this now," he said softly.

***

Eileen held the watch up to the sunlight, examining it carefully. Its surface was flawless, without a single scratch. It was clear how much care Cesare had taken with it.

When he had first pulled it from his coat, she had been surprised. Though Cesare had once praised the gift and claimed to like it, she had assumed it would end up tucked away in a drawer, forgotten.

’He carried it with him all this time?’

Not just carried, but cared for it so meticulously. Eileen opened the watch, her fingers moving cautiously as she looked at the ticking hands. Out of curiosity, she glanced at the clock on the wall of her laboratory and noticed something odd—the watch’s time was wrong.

Cesare wasn’t the type to leave a watch unwound or out of sync. The inconsistency puzzled her.

She wound the watch and set the time carefully, her thoughts drifting back to their conversation in the forest.

Cesare had refused to tell her anything. Yet, he hadn’t forbidden her from seeking answers, either.

She recognized this as a kind of tacit permission. Or perhaps, more accurately, it was an acknowledgment that he wouldn’t stop her from pursuing what she wanted.

’Not permission exactly... more like a refusal to interfere.’

It was a subtle distinction, but to Eileen, it made all the difference.

She found herself replaying that moment with Cesare over and over in her mind. The sight of him shaken, his composure cracking, struck something deep within her.

’Why?’

He had insisted it wasn’t because of her. Eileen believed that, too. Yet, the logic of what she knew clashed with the intuition she felt when she looked at him.

’What if it is because of me?’

That single thought shattered her long-held assumptions. She had always believed Cesare never lied to her. But the idea that he would go to such dangerous lengths for her—risking his body and soul—seemed absurd.

Cesare’s affection for her was undeniable—he had even said it wouldn’t waver easily. But she had never believed his feelings mirrored her own.

Her world revolved around Cesare, but she couldn’t imagine his world revolving around her.

Shaking her head, Eileen forced herself to abandon her preconceptions. When conducting research, it was crucial not to dismiss possibilities prematurely, no matter how uncomfortable they seemed. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

’What if it’s really because of me?’

As the thought took root, her hands stilled. The once-clear stream of her thoughts became a flood, overwhelming and chaotic. What if her presence, her desires, had led Cesare to this point? Could she undo it? Could she at least stop him from continuing down this dangerous path?

Eileen squeezed her eyes shut, trying to quiet her mind.

’Focus on something else for now...’

Taking a deep breath, she wound the watch one last time, ensuring the time was set correctly. She traced her fingers over its smooth surface.

’Why did he return this to me?’

Among the many gifts she had given him over the years, this was the first one he had ever returned. It couldn’t be meaningless.

Her thoughts shifted to another peculiar item Cesare had given her: the golden feather he had taken from the Duke of Farbellini. Needing a distraction, she fetched the glass case containing the feather and placed it on her desk.

The feather’s shimmering light caught her eye, drawing her in with its beauty. On impulse, she set the pocket watch atop the glass case.

She stared at the two objects—one a gift she had given Cesare, the other something he had taken for her. They seemed unrelated, utterly disconnected.

"What now..." she muttered under her breath, frustrated.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Milady, it’s Sonio," came the butler’s voice.

Eileen quickly picked up the watch and tucked it into her pocket. "Come in," she called.

Sonio entered and bowed. "Your Majesty will be arriving shortly."

"So soon? I’ll be right down."

The emperor’s visit was earlier than expected. Eileen hurried to prepare, her nerves on edge. Today, Emperor Ornella and Leon Farbellini were visiting to check on Cesare’s recovery.

As Sonio had reminded her earlier, Cesare would receive them from his bed, maintaining the appearance of a recovering patient despite having fully healed.

For now, Eileen would have to greet the emperor and Lady Farbellini alone.

Following Sonio downstairs, Eileen stepped outside just as the imperial carriage—a vehicle adorned with the Empire’s winged lion insignia—rolled to a stop at the estate’s entrance.

Sonio opened the car door with practiced grace, bowing deeply. "Welcome, Your Majesty."

Eileen began to bow as well but froze mid-motion.

The person who stepped out wasn’t Ornella. It was Leon, alone.

***