Home/I Am Trying to End This Wrong Marriage/ch 1

Episode 1

In the pitch-black forest, Angela ran among the trees, relying on the moonlight. Her long black hair whipped wildly behind her as she fled, clutching the hem of her skirt. Mud had splattered onto her white chemise dress, but Angela paid it no mind. All she could think about was getting away.

"Huff..."

Before long, her breath was caught in her throat. She hadn't run like this since childhood, back when she knew nothing of the world.

She paused to catch her breath, and in the distance she saw flickering torchlight.

"Where are you, my lady!"

The moment she heard voices calling for her, her heart plummeted. Had the knights already followed her this far?

As she froze with tension, a commanding voice rang out from closer by.

"She can't have gone far. Spread out and find her!"

'I have to go.'

Angela forced her stiff body to move and turned around. While the knights were still near, she kept to a fast walk, but once she had put some distance between them, she broke into a run again.

The forest path markers were useless in the dark anyway—not that she needed them. Even she didn't know where she was going.

'Should I go back to my family...?'

No, he would come for her there soon enough.

'For now, I just need to get as far away from him as possible...'

Despite having rested briefly, she was soon out of breath again.

Just as Angela stopped once more to steady her breathing, she heard footsteps encircling her.

"We've found her! She's here!"

"My lady!"

She had been caught.

Despair washed over Angela's face.

There was no escaping from seasoned knights.

Her shoulders sagged helplessly, and the face of the husband she had left behind came to mind.

Edward, the man who loved her more than anyone.

Soon, she would see his face again.

After all, it was her own husband who had pursued her.

---

Edward was waiting for her at the observatory attached to the villa.

"You're here."

"We have brought the lady."

As Angela was led in by the knights, he rose slowly from where he had been seated with his legs elegantly crossed.

He was the Emperor's only brother, now known as the Duke of Devonshire.

His amethyst eyes lit up with delight at the sight of her.

His fine golden hair gleamed immaculately even at this early hour.

His appearance was as beautiful as the day Angela had fallen for him at first sight.

Even now, knowing the twisted nature that lay within.

"What is this game at midnight?"

His expression was calm, as if he had always known she would end up captured before him.

Edward approached and let out a soft laugh at her state.

"What is this, darling? Your dress is filthy."

His voice was affectionate as he smoothed the lace of her chemise dress.

It was the same tenderness Angela had once loved.

But now, she was furious at herself for having been deceived by that very tenderness.

Even now, Edward paid no attention to the expression on his wife's face.

Even though this was hardly the time for loving gazes.

Angela glared at her husband resentfully and shook off his hand.

Edward gave an awkward smile before finally getting to the point.

"Why did you leave without me? You packed your bags and didn't even say a word to me. I'm quite hurt."

"Do you really need me to answer that?"

Angela forced the words out.

"You know the truth as well as I do."

"...Well, I'm not sure I do. Where could you possibly go alone?"

After a brief silence, he replied. He knew, yet pretended not to.

As if to prove Angela right, he grabbed her by the arm and whispered so only she could hear.

"Were you planning to meet someone here who would help you escape?"

"..."

His whisper sent chills down her spine.

"That duke from last time? My beautiful wife is quite resourceful. Is this why you insisted on coming to the villa? Hmm?"

Society called his excessive obsession with his wife a kind of illness.

Yet no one ever suspected Edward of such behavior. Only his loyal knights and Angela knew this side of him.

She too had never dreamed of it before marriage. Who could have anticipated such a flaw in someone so perfect?

"Did you really think you could escape from me?"

"None of this would have happened if you had just signed the divorce papers..."

"I told you, no divorce. Not until I die."

Edward answered firmly to Angela's pleading voice.

It was the same thing he had said when he tore up the divorce papers she had presented him with last time.

Hearing those words again filled her with resentment, and anguish welled up inside her.

"Please, just let me go. I can't stand being by your side anymore!"

As Angela recoiled in disgust, Edward's expression hardened with wounded pride.

"Even if you hate it, there's nothing you can do. You don't have a choice."

He sneered, his smile twisting.

"What can you possibly do? Even if I put a knife in your hand, you wouldn't be able to kill me."

---

He was right. Angela didn't have it in her to kill Edward. She couldn't even entertain the thought.

But the idea of continuing to live with him was horrifying.

A man who claimed to love her, yet wouldn't trust her, and treated her like a puppet to be manipulated at will...

Overwhelmed by revulsion, Angela darted away, putting distance between them. Behind her, there was nothing but the railing installed to prevent falling off the cliff.

"It's dangerous, Angela. Don't stay there. Come here."

Edward frowned and reached out his hand to her. He had raised a hand to stop the knights from approaching her, but when his wife refused to move, his tone grew harsh.

"There's a limit to how much of your rebelliousness I can tolerate."

"Don't command me. I am not your doll."

Defying him, Angela glanced down over the cliff.

Far below, the sea churned against the rocks.

Even if water lay beneath, there was no way she could survive a fall from such a height. And she couldn't swim either.

There was truly nowhere left to go. Only back to her husband's cage, suffocating day after day...

Was that even living?

In that moment of doubt, her fear remarkably subsided.

Angela thought back on the past three years of marriage.

She had become a woman who couldn't even step outside without her husband.

Everywhere she went, she had to be with Edward. Even contact with close friends and family was forbidden.

When Edward didn't take her out, her only companions were the servants he had assigned to her.

Within that vast ducal mansion, Angela lived a life of utter isolation.

Forced by her husband to play the part of the perfect couple in public, it was a secret no one else knew.

"You said this marriage could only end if you died."

Angela spoke with a resolute look, as if confirming it with him. Sensing something different about her, Edward raised an eyebrow—just before she continued.

"It doesn't have to be you who dies. If I die, our marriage ends as well."

"So you're saying you'll jump from there and kill yourself?"

Edward let out an incredulous laugh.

"Someone as fragile as you? Don't be dramatic. Come here."

Her husband extended his hand again, but she ignored it.

At that moment, Angela truly felt no fear of death.

All she felt was an overwhelming urge to escape from the man before her.

"No. I'd rather die than go back to you."

Leaning against the railing, Angela looked at her husband as she rose onto her tiptoes and tilted her body back. In that instant, she saw his confident eyes widen in shock.

"No."

Her feet left the ground, and her body fell completely backward.

Her startled husband rushed forward, reaching out for her—but he could no longer reach her. His hand grasped only empty air as he collapsed to his knees.

"ANGELA!!!"

Freedom.

As she heard her husband's agonized cry, Angela felt a sense of relief wash over her.

It would be a lie to say she wasn't afraid of death, but she prayed she could now sleep peacefully, in a place where he could never reach her...

---

Before her marriage, Angela's mother had always advised her.

"Angela, you must always be wary of those around you and be careful in your actions. Do you understand?"

"Don't worry, Mother. Just yesterday, a gentleman gave me flowers."

Angela took her mother's warnings lightly. After all, the world had always been kind to her.

"I'm telling you to beware of those who show you unearned favor."

The viscountess looked worriedly at her daughter, who didn't seem to understand. She had raised her exceptionally beautiful daughter with care, and she had always been concerned for her.

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