Chapter 08…
Kevin had come to terms with the fact that his marriage to his wife, Catherine, was merely a formality. Accepting this, he began to occasionally seek satisfaction elsewhere.
At first, he paid for prostitutes—less trouble that way—but soon, he started accepting invitations for one-night affairs.
Kevin was simply frustrated—seeking a place where he felt he belonged, after being treated as a nuisance by both his parents and his wife.
Before long, one woman in particular began inviting him often: the widow, Mrs. Michely.
She was about ten years older than Kevin—thirty-two—and a bewitchingly beautiful woman. She had no children with her late husband, who had been considerably older, and the mine she inherited in the division of his estate had turned out to be a gold mine. Wealthy and carefree, she now lived a life of leisure.
Kevin had become her lover, meeting her several times a month.
Of course, he knew he wasn’t her only man.
Still, he found their casual relationship comfortable—pleasant, even.
One day, after a rendezvous at a high-class inn, Kevin escorted Mrs. Michely to her carriage and watched her leave.
Just then, he felt someone’s gaze.
When he turned around, he saw a woman staring at him wide-eyed in surprise.
She looked familiar—and after a moment, he remembered. She’d been a classmate back in his student days.
“Uh… Julia Clemence, right?”
“…Yes. It’s been a while.”
“Yeah. Oh, you married Kirkes, didn’t you? So, Julia Kirkes now.”
He remembered she had married Oliver Kirkes, so that made sense.
But Julia shook her head.
“I just got divorced. Because I couldn’t have children… His mistress got pregnant.”
“Ah… sorry to hear that.”
Just now—as in, today?
Come to think of it, Oliver Kirkes had a mistress—a baron’s daughter.
Oliver was a year older than Kevin, and even back when he was engaged to Julia, he’d been seeing that woman.
Kevin had heard about the failure of the Clemence family’s business ventures.
Maybe Oliver’s parents had decided that the baron’s daughter was the better match—and now she was carrying his child.
“Are you going back to your family home?”
“…They just kicked me out. Told me to live on my own.”
They told a count’s daughter to fend for herself!?
Kevin understood the family’s financial troubles, but to abandon their own daughter? Unbelievable.
“So that’s why you’re here. But this place is expensive, isn’t it? Do you have enough money to stay long?”
Maybe she’d received some alimony, but staying in a luxury inn couldn’t last forever.
“I thought I’d try to find work. On my way here, I asked around if anyone would hire me, but they kept asking what skills I had, what experience… and I couldn’t answer. Someone even said I might as well become a prostitute.”
“You didn’t actually go to a brothel, did you!?”
Julia shook her head.
Kevin felt a wave of relief.
It would be awkward—painful, even—to see someone he knew reduced to that.
“I thought I’d stay one last night in a nice place, with what little money I have left, before… going there tomorrow.”
“Wait—hold on a second!”
So that’s why she was here?
Kevin glanced at her.
Julia had always been a quiet, reserved woman back in school.
He remembered hearing people call her plain, gloomy.
And she, a prostitute?
…Impossible. The clients would probably get angry.
Kevin let out a sigh.
