Chapter 39

She had assumed that if anyone were to come looking for her, it would be Lisette.  

Asla never imagined that Margo would have any reason to seek her out again.  

The vivid pain she had been obsessively trying to forget began gnawing at her soul once more.  

Asla clenched her fists tightly.  

She rubbed the sweat from her palms against her skirt and forced herself to speak with composure.

“So my husband ordered that Madam Margo Ventus be prevented from approaching me.”

“That is correct, Madam.”

Asla, too, wanted to avoid Margo—just as Enoch did.

‘But…’

She bit her lower lip lightly, then turned her gaze to the head of security.

“Was anyone else with the lady?”

She asked, suspecting that Lisette might have accompanied Margo, given their cooperation.  

But the head of security replied that she had come alone.  

Asla felt a small sense of relief, but her chest still felt heavy, as though weighed down by iron.

Noticing her extreme tension, May spoke up carefully.

“Madam, why not let the security chief handle it and take a rest instead?”

It was a sweet temptation.  

She had people protecting her now.  

She could remain safely hidden behind the iron walls her husband had built for her.

But she realized—if she stayed like this, she would be no different from who she had been before.  

If she didn’t face Margo directly, she knew she would forever remain tangled in the older woman’s shadow.

“Let her in.”

“Madam!”

“We’ll meet somewhere public. I’ll speak with her in the hotel café. Chief, have the guards stationed there.”

“But—”

“That’s my decision. Just ensure my safety. Manager, inform the Ventus Corporation immediately.”

Her firm commands left both the manager and the security chief taken aback by her authority.  

They had no choice but to obey.  

After they bowed and hurried out, Asla turned to May.

“Please help me get ready.”

“Yes, Madam.”

Sensing that the situation was serious, May moved quickly.  

Asla watched in the mirror as May styled her hair and applied makeup, organizing her thoughts.

Enoch had told her that Margo had been disowned by the Ventus family.  

But even if she had, the legal documentation would take time to process—so for now, Margo was still officially Madam Ventus.  

An investigation was underway for defamation and slander, but since Margo was not only the wife of a great noble but from a high-ranking family herself, she couldn’t be detained unless she had committed murder.

‘Stay calm.’

Asla repeated it to herself over and over.  

She would not be swayed by Margo again.  

Whatever the reason was for aiding Lisette, Asla was certain that Margo’s hostility toward her was genuine.

‘Margo… loves Enoch.’

Asla felt her heart cool more than ever.  

It wasn’t fear this time, but rather, disgust.

She would no longer allow herself to be manipulated by the woman who intercepted Enoch’s gifts, his letters, and his feelings for her—driving them to the brink of divorce.

‘But still…’

Asla couldn’t be certain she’d have the strength to stand her ground.  

Not against the woman who had kept her imprisoned in the lonely Ventus estate for two long years, gradually wearing her down through pressure and influence.

Her trembling hands clasped together, Asla thought of Enoch.  

He had promised to be on her side now.  

She decided to trust in his words, one more time.

If she had the chance, she would try to bring up Lisette Grosset with Margo as well.  

Asla had expected that one day she would have to face Margo—but she hadn’t expected it to come so soon.  

To be honest, she was unsettled and afraid.

She forced herself to hold on by recalling all the good things that had happened to her since coming to the capital.

“All done, Madam.”

May had dressed her in a deep blue dress and elegant pearl earrings, and Asla was satisfied with the result.  

She looked nothing like the Asla Ventus who had suffocated inside the mansion.

Taking a deep breath, she left the room.  

As she walked down the hotel hallway, staff members bowed deeply in greeting.  

But today, she couldn’t bring herself to smile at them.

I thought I’d be fine—but it was getting harder to breathe.

As soon as Asla entered the café on the top floor of the hotel, she spotted Margo in an instant.  

The blonde woman sat at the best table, where the garden was fully visible in a single glance.  

Though others praised her platinum-tinged golden hair as perfection, to Asla, it was revolting.  

It felt as though the gears of time surrounding her and Margo were winding backward.

‘Back here again.’

The moment her pale mint eyes met Margo’s—just as she was lifting her teacup with gloved hands—Asla felt time stop.

The scenery changed.  

It couldn’t be real, and yet—Asla was back in the Ventus estate.  

That gentle smile directed at her still made her stomach churn, and she could barely breathe.

“Madam.”

The head of security appeared in front of her as she stood frozen.  

Looking around, she saw guards stationed all over the area, dressed similarly to him.

“If you raise your hand or make eye contact with any of the guards, we’ll move immediately.”

“Thank you. She won’t be able to touch me here.”

Asla offered a faint smile to reassure him.  

Still, it was as if she wore shackles—she could barely lift her heavy legs as she slowly approached Margo’s table.

Margo looked up at her and greeted her with a soft voice.

“It’s been a while.”

“Yes.”

Two beautiful women sat across from one another in a café filled with the gentle strains of string music.  

As arranged in advance, no one else was seated near their table.  

Watching Asla being escorted to her seat by a staff member, Margo curved one corner of her lips.

“It was quite hard getting in. Did you really think I’d try to harm you and got scared?”

“You still got in, didn’t you?”

Margo’s brow twitched slightly at the response, but then she smiled again.

“Do you like the Ventus Hotel, Asla?”

“……”

“I was here once at the start of the year. It’s even more splendid now. Our Duke really is remarkable.”

Asla knew full well that Margo was deliberately trying to put her down, yet the words still stung.  

She hated how Margo spoke of the hotel as if it were hers.

‘“Our Duke”…?’

“Yes, I heard you came to the capital to get a divorce. You should’ve told me you were going to divorce him—I would’ve seen you off myself.”

With a smile tinged with disappointment, Margo’s feigned kindness was unbearable.  

But what Asla hated even more was her own silence—just sitting there without saying a word.  

Margo was clearly relishing the sight of Asla’s pale, stiff face.

“What’s with that outfit? Trying to pretend you’re one of the Empire’s people now?”

Margo sneered with one raised eyebrow.  

The mockery made Asla feel as though a rope were tightening around her neck.  

Still, she tried to stay calm.

This wasn’t the Ventus estate.  

Asla reminded herself of that truth, forcing herself to part her lips at last.

“We’ve decided not to divorce.”

“…What?”

“Madam Margo Leslie.”

Asla summoned her courage and added the formal address.  

Margo’s face flushed bright red.  

She slammed her teacup onto the table and raised her voice.

“How dare you? That’s unbelievably rude!”

“You’ve been disowned, haven’t you? The paperwork should be finalized soon.”

“…What?”

“You’re also… currently under investigation for the incidents involving me.”

Margo’s icy blue eyes trembled with fury.  

Her sharp, blazing gaze bore down on Asla, and her legs weakened again.

Even though she was sitting, it felt like she would sink through the floor.  

That overwhelming fear made her want to surrender—just like she always had before.

“Madam, is something wrong?”

At that moment, the voice of a hotel staff member snapped Asla back to reality.

It was someone she had seen often while staying at the hotel—someone familiar.  

Noticing how the employee seemed subtly wary of Margo, Asla suddenly came to her senses.  

There was no need to act like a defeated woman.

This was her side of the field.  

There wasn’t a single maid or servant here who had once obeyed Margo’s every whim.  

That realization brought a strange sense of ease, and Asla felt her clarity return.

“I’m fine.”

“Understood. Shall I bring more tea?”

“Please.”

As Asla offered a gentle smile, the staff bowed politely and walked away.  

Margo looked at her with a stunned expression, as if she couldn’t believe what she was seeing.  

Asla spoke to her calmly.

“So you’ve finally taken off your mask.”

“…How insolent. Were you always like this?”

“You’re the one who created the circumstances that made me speak this way, Madam Margo.”

“I did?”

Margo glared at her with unrelenting hatred.  

And yet—strangely, Asla no longer feared her.  

This was Enoch Ventus’ world.  

A world he had built to protect her.

Asla bit her lip once and met Margo’s gaze.

“Why did you come to see me? The one who decided on your expulsion from the Ventus house was Duke Enoch Ventus himself. Speaking with me will change nothing.”

“You wretched thing.”

Margo’s twisted mouth trembled, as if she had finally shed her perfect mask.  

Even with her true face exposed, Margo remained beautiful—but she was terrifying.

“You must divorce him.”

The force of Margo’s words struck Asla dumb for a moment.  

Not long ago, she had been desperately trying to divorce Enoch. That memory now felt distant and hazy.  

The remark was offensive enough that Asla responded coldly.

“A divorce is a decision for my husband and me. You have no right to interfere.”

“You cannot satisfy Enoch.”

“…Then, can you satisfy him, Madam Margo?”

“Asla.”

Margo spat her name with furious intensity, but Asla didn’t flinch.  

She herself was surprised by how composed she remained.  

Barely a week outside of Margo’s lair, and she had already changed this much.

Margo sipped some ice water with a slice of lemon, as if trying to calm herself.      

“So you ran to your husband and confessed everything? Did it feel good? Bothering a busy and pitiful man like the Duke with that… you’re not fit to be a wife.” 

“…” 

Asla tasted bitterness in her mouth under Margo’s scornful gaze.  

But she had never once brought up Margo’s mistreatment to Enoch on her own.  

Still, things had reached this point—and trying to defend herself now would only make her look more pathetic.  

Instead, Asla responded with quiet sharpness.

“And how do you justify stealing and burning the gifts my husband sent me?  

Was there some reason for that?”

Her voice rose a little at the end as her anger got the better of her.

But Margo didn’t even flinch.

“Because they didn’t suit you in the slightest.”