To the duke of Hayes duchy, his wife had always been a beauty, even if there was no love in their marriage…at least from him. Silver hair resembling the fluffy white snow and blue eyes that remind him of the jewel, sapphire, as it always sparkles, no matter what. Those eyes always expressed whatever she felt at any time, but now, the duke was slightly uncomfortable with the emptiness within them.
They were too blank to the point he doubted if the woman in his front was truly his wife. It felt like she was staring at a stranger, and the stranger was him.
What happened? He did not know.
Regardless of the small heaviness at the bottom of his heart, the duke cleared away all those thoughts and concentrated on the news.
''..You are pregnant..'' He said with difficulty, as he did not know what to do, at the moment.
If it were his lover, he would be over the moon to have his child with her, but it was his wife. He did not know if he should celebrate the news or not, as he did not want his lover to be devastated by the pregnancy news.
It took him a while to get her heart since he was a married man and did not want his efforts to be wasted just for a woman he did not love.
Isla stared at her husband with her hand still on her tummy. The man that was the main cause of her lovely unborn child's death.
With flaming red hair and beautiful ruby-like eyes, she could see why she fell in love with him in her second life even though she did not know him personally.
She only knew him as the famous duke of the Hayes duchy in the western part of the capital. A desired bachelor by every young lady since he had both looks and status.
When her father told her about the arranged marriage, she was uncomfortable as her husband was someone she did not know. As a noble lady, especially the daughter of a Grand duke, she could not escape arranged marriages, and she was aware of that.
But all those negative thoughts flew out of her head the second she landed her eyes on him during their engagement party. His gentle touches and caresses during their dance were one of the reasons her heart got stolen by him. His voice was soft even though it was deep, and his smile...she really liked his contagious smile and thought one day she would be the reason for that smile.
how foolish of her to have that expectation.
After their first night, she saw his other side.
''Do not expect me to love you just because you are my wife. The only thing you can do for me is to give birth to an heir and carry on your duties as the duchess of Hayes duchy.'' He heartlessly told her in the morning after their first night before leaving her naked on the bed. She did not even get to know his name from his mouth and had to learn it from the butler, spencer.
Even after he told her that, she did not give up and tried to be the perfect duchess since he talked about that. Maybe he will notice her, and they can build their family together on love, not obligations.
She also attended tea parties and banquets to build connections, since her father did not allow her to leave the Grand-duchy. Everything she did was for the sake of getting his love and looking after their home, but reality had to slap her in the face when she learned of his long-term affair, which was a year after their marriage.
'I was stupid not to notice that time and foolishly waited for him when he was with her.' Isla continued to silently observe her husband as her second life flashed before her eyes.
She regularly wakes up early to have breakfast with him since that was the only time she could get a glimpse of him. And at sunset, she waits alone at the dining table to have dinner, but her hope was always crushed when he comes very late at night.
As always, he was with her, that woman, but she believed his excuse of being in the imperial palace for years until her pregnancy.
After minutes of silently observing each other, the duke did not like the pressuring silence and stated his reason for coming to her room, ''I did not see you outside.''
At his words, Isla's blank expression had a crack. She could not help but recall what happened in her second life and how she discovered his long-term affair.
It was another one of those days, she waited for him for dinner, but this time, she decided to wait for him outside. Even though Spencer begged her, she did not listen to him and waited for her husband.
Then, she was innocent. She did not know anything and wholeheartedly believed in him, unlike the servants who knew what was going on.
But how could they tell her? How could they tell their poor duchess who waited for her husband to come home, like a beggar?
After hours of standing in the cold weather, and Spencer's nagging, she fainted due to the stress and only to have woken up to find out about her pregnancy.
She was excited to have a child that connected her to her husband as it was one thing the noble ladies used to mock her with their twisted words. A child, that was the fruit of her one-sided love and her husband's obligation. Nevertheless, she was happy and decided to raise the child with love.
Maybe he will finally look at her. She thought then.
As always, the reality was too cruel.
''Is that so? Good job. I have been waiting for a long time,'' were his words, even after seeing her stressed state.
No pity for her and no joy for the unborn child. Even if he said he was waiting, she could not sense happiness in his voice.
As if his words were not enough, during one of her tea parties a month after the pregnancy discovery, she wanted to announce her pregnancy, since it was a reason for her to withdraw from the social world and nurture the baby.
The noble ladies stylishly told her of his affair. Still not believing their words, she sent Amelia to investigate his whereabouts, and got her answer.
It was like lightning struck her mind, and suddenly everything made sense to her. The red roses she sees in a servant's hand sometimes, the intimate gifts or his lateness for dinner. Every one of his actions started to make sense to her, and that moment was the beginning of her sickness; depression.
'He also took the life of my child...my precious baby,' Isla sharpened her gaze on her husband as a second hand landed on her tummy like she was protecting the unborn child.
It would be a lie if Isla had not thought of getting revenge on him, but her child was one of her main reasons for not doing it.
Unlike her second life, she wants him to grow in her abundance of love. She wants him to experience the light of this world. She wants to hear him calling her mother again. She wants to cuddle his soft and weak body once more. She just wants to see him.
And for her to do that, Her heart must not be burning with hatred for her husband, as she would not live her third life to the fullest with her baby.
''Duke, I thought Spencer sent a servant to tell you about my pregnancy?'' asked Isla, even though she knew he was not in the imperial palace but with that woman. ''Baron Stewart also warned me not to move too much during the first trimester as the unborn baby would be at weakest.''
Isla did not stop there and continued, ''I thought you knew of this good news unless you were not in the imperial palace, duke.''
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