“Do you know how embarrassed I was earlier?”

Anger overcame reason. Rowena’s chest heaved as her fist struck down on Killian’s chest, unable to hold back her rising anger. A large hand covered hers as she tried to steady her rising breath.

“If I had told you…”

Killian squeezed the small hand that was trying to slip out of his; he laced his fingers between hers and pressed it against his chest.

“Would you have agreed to it then?”

Strangely, she could feel his heart beating rapidly through the sleek suit. Perhaps it was her own heartbeat. 

Glaring at the man who was trying to pull her closer. Frankly, it felt as if they were playing a dangerous game, a game where they took a turn in shooting using one gun, one with five empty rounds and one bullet. It was a terrible game that would never end before one of them died.

There was a short period of silence. The heavy breathing gradually subsided and turned back to normal.

Instead of replying, Rowena subtly changed the subject.

“But first, tell me, what made you want to marry all of a sudden?”

Killian, who let go of her hand, walked past her and sat down on the couch, then started speaking with an honest tone.

“Five years ago, I had this one misunderstanding.”

“What kind of… misunderstanding?”

“William Jenon.”

Rowena’s pupils fluttered at the unexpected mention of the name. Killian crossed his long legs as he stared at her.

“I thought you were having an affair with that man.”

“That’s absurd! Why would you have such a misunderstanding!!”

Rowena, shaking her head in disgust, approached him. Killian stirred in his pocket as he motioned with his head for her to sit across from him. Then, for the first time in a long time, he took a sip of his cigarette.

“Then why did you go to meet him?”

“I used to write a book… Just a small hobby to pass the time… I sent him my manuscript, and he contacted me. So we just met.”

“Why did you keep it a secret from me?”

“Because you wouldn’t like it!”

This was driving her crazy, but now it all made sense. At this moment, everything became clear to her on why he behaved so cruelly five years ago. Dry-faced, Rowena sat on the couch and swallowed a deep, heavy breath.

“So …… Who framed me in such a way?”

“Baron Benedict Sussex.”

Until the other day, he had suspected Jenok of this since he found out that he was hiding Damian’s true identity from him. Still, the more he investigated afterward, the clearer it became who the culprit was.

“Ah!”

Rowena, who had gone pale, screamed. Killian, who had been waiting for her to calm down, opened his mouth seriously.

“Surprisingly, the first accuser was Gertrude.”

“Mrs. Gertrude… Is that why you kicked her out that night?”

Killian nodded instead of replying.

“But, why do you say Baron Sussex was behind it?”

“At first, I thought Gertrude was behind everything because she always sought to get rid of you, but after having her kicked out and even deliberately had you followed without you noticing, you didn’t go to visit anyone, and no one came to find you. And you know how Baron Sussex was usually the one on your side.”

“That’s right.”

“Gertrude, who was captured and subjected to interrogation, eventually claimed it was her plan. Shortly after she was released, she disappeared. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but when I looked into it the other day, I found she had been killed, strangled to death. And …….”

This was more serious than she thought. Rowena listened to his words, biting the soft flesh of her mouth.

“A woman named Anna, she used to work with you.”

“I heard she ran away.”

“No, she was killed, in the exact same way.”

Another murder disguised as a suicide. Killian realized that when he heard Melissa’s confession, Gertrude and Anna faced the same horrifying end; this itself was enough of a proof that the murderers of the two women were the same.

“Have you found the culprit?”

“It was a hired assassin. After interrogation, all the leads pointed to Benedict Sussex.”

He only learned of this fact the night just before they came here. Before that, Killian didn’t know who to trust, he had been secretly testing Jenok, who seemed to be hiding Damian’s identity, and with the possibility that Damian might be targeted, he really couldn’t take chances. Nevertheless, when the culprit was made known, he told Jenok of all the facts he had gathered.

He wanted to tell her many other things, such as Melissa’s true face, but he did not dare to mention that fact. He couldn’t inflict an even greater betrayal on a woman who looked like she was about to collapse from the shock of it all at any moment now.

“Oh my god!”

Rowena, mortified by the brutal reality, lowered her head.

Killian, who had been watching her in silence, reached out to her slumped shoulders, but before he could touch her, Rowena raised her head again.

****