Chapter 198 His icy blue eyes were like an iceberg…
"I might be pregnant. I need to spend money shopping to feel secure, and I also need more friends." I wrapped my bare arms around his neck. "You won't be reluctant to spend that much, will you? I saw your former mistress, the one who framed me, living a very glamorous life, decked out in luxury goods from head to toe. Why are you so reluctant to invest in me?"
"How could that be? I was afraid something unpleasant had happened to you, that you'd suddenly become so unusual." Bernard kissed my face, his lips trembling slightly, as if he were a little excited. "Tomorrow I'll have a doctor check you out to see if you're pregnant. If you are, you need to take care of your health from now on."
The next morning, before I even got out of bed, the elderly doctor and several young female doctors came in carrying medicine. I lay in bed, and the old doctor directed the female doctors to examine me, asking me several questions, including about my period. I lied and said that it was many days late.
Shortly after, I was confirmed to be pregnant.
Bernard was overjoyed, and I took the opportunity to bring up the demands that Derson had mentioned. Bernard agreed almost without hesitation, which surprised me for a moment.
“Your plan might not work,” I told Derson. “I still need to figure out how to clean up this mess.”
Desen simply smiled and didn't say anything.
Just half a month later, after making love to me, Bernard suddenly whispered in my ear, "Let's separate for a little while, just a little while, I'll come to find you soon."
I was panting heavily, still not quite understanding what was going on, "What do you mean, 'separate for a short period of time'?"
"For now, we'll stay outside the palace in a royal city a little closer to the capital. There's a beautiful house I bought there; you'll like it."
"What did you say?!" I snapped back to reality. "You want me to move out?"
“I’ll be back soon, and I’ll only stay for a short time. Besides, don’t you feel that the palace is not free? There you will be the absolute mistress of the house.”
"What do you mean?!" My heart skipped a beat.
"What I mean is, we're going to announce to the public that we've broken up, but we won't actually break up."
I was stunned. Was Derson really right? Are men really such pragmatic creatures?
I grabbed his neck, gripped it tightly, and dug several bloody marks from it. "What did you say? You want to break up with me?"
“I will come to find you, don’t worry,” he tried his best to explain.
"Why?!" I demanded. "Why did you suddenly want to break up with me?!"
He sighed softly before replying, "Nora panicked when she heard you were pregnant and that I was going to give your child the benefits of a legitimate child. I've been struggling financially lately, and Nora has been helping me out. She begged me to break up with you; the child could have the benefits of a legitimate child, but you couldn't be by my side. I initially refused, but she said she has two secret mines she could transfer to me. I do need money recently. After the Four Realms Trade Fair, I have quite a few orders, but these orders require me to pay costs upfront, and those costs aren't low."
“If,” I said slowly, “you transferred some of these orders out, perhaps the cost wouldn’t be so high.”
He was silent for a moment, then looked at me tenderly. "Listen to me, we're only going to be apart for a short while. I won't leave you."
An indescribable sorrow welled up within me.
I'm a hopeless romantic, and so is Nora. Only he isn't.
Perhaps Desen is right; marrying him would be more advantageous for me. First, I would have the opportunity to leave the continent and return to my own world, perhaps eliminating the need to travel between the two. Second, even if I couldn't go back, I would at least have a prestigious status. Either way, I wouldn't lose out, except for the fact that I couldn't be with Bernard.
Derson also said he could turn a blind eye and wouldn't interfere with my dating with Bernard. But by then, things had completely changed; how could we still have a secret date?
"Either you break up with me, or you don't," I said slowly.
“We’re only apart for a short while,” he explained.
"No, it's either a real split, there's no fake split."
“Don’t be stubborn,” he said, frowning. “It’s just a temporary measure.”
I burst out laughing. "So, you're planning to swindle your wife out of two mines, then take me back with you?"
“I will negotiate with her, and I will have terms that satisfy her,” he said calmly. “I will not lie to women, I do not want to lie to you, and I will not lie to her.”
“Yeah, you’re a total jerk.” I laughed.
He suddenly pulled me into a tight embrace, pressing his face against mine. "I'm a jerk to every woman, but not to you."
I just sneered, "If you want to break up, then break up, it's just that your definition of breaking up is different from mine."
He paused for a moment, then said gently, "You will understand my feelings."
Three days later, he formally announced our breakup in our bedroom. I stood outside the bedroom as the maids were packing my luggage, placing suitcase after suitcase at my feet. The suitcases were filled with fine clothes, expensive jewelry, exquisite ornaments, and some valuable trinkets that Bernard had given me, as well as more than a dozen silver notes of considerable value.
To be honest, the breakup fee he gave me was quite substantial. In addition to giving me back everything he had given me, he also gave me extra banknotes.
On this continent, the usual practice of the powerful and wealthy is to take back the gold and silver jewelry and valuables that were once given as gifts, and then pay them back with silver notes of considerable value.
“I will also give you a luxury mansion. You and your child will live there happily,” he said softly to me.
I looked at him with a half-smile and asked, "Is the royal city not far from the western border that you gave me before still mine?"
“It’s still yours, but you’ve been away for many years and haven’t established or managed the nobles and affairs there, so the management rights are temporarily in my hands,” he said.
"So, to put it bluntly, is the royal city still yours?" I sneered.
“Yes,” he said, “but you still own the property, just not the real power.” He looked at me gently. “I don’t want you to go to that royal city. Perhaps one day when the children are older, you can go there and have real power.”
I smiled again. "I don't necessarily have to go there. I have money now, so I can go anywhere."
“I’m sorry, you can’t leave the Eastern Territory.” His gaze softened. “You can’t leave the capital either.”
"We've already broken up, why are you still trying to control me?" I was both amused and exasperated.
“You have my child now, you can’t go anywhere.”
I laughed loudly, ordered the maids to pick up my luggage, and turned to leave.
As I left the palace, everyone I encountered showed me expressions of sympathy, mockery, schadenfreude, and glee—a variety of emotions.
The following midnight, still half-asleep, I stood before King Amur, dressed in my finest attire, alongside Desen. I had been secretly brought here by Desen, who had woken me in the middle of the night from the mansion gifted to me by Benoit. This mansion was located on a hillside on the outskirts of the city; I set off at midnight and only secretly arrived at the palace just before dawn.
King Amur must have been persuaded by Desen to agree to the marriage long ago, but the look in his eyes when he looked at me was still ambiguous and full of amusement. It was clear that he looked down on me, but wanted to mess with his eldest son, and perhaps had some other ulterior motive, so he agreed to the marriage between Desen and me.
We stood before the altar of the temple inside the royal palace and signed the marriage certificate. King Amur also signed his name, and the marriage certificate became effective immediately.
King Amur yawned and left. I sat on the mat below the altar, lost in thought, while Desen quietly gave instructions to the people below.
When it was just the two of us left in the temple, I laughed and asked, "What are you busy with?"
“A prince’s wedding can’t be too shabby,” he said with a smile. “I have to instruct my subordinates to make some preparations.”
"Do you need me to lend you some money? Bernard also gave me some silver notes."
"No need, I'll borrow from you another day when I need money." He smiled, handsome as a rose, without the slightest bit of politeness.
As dawn broke, when Desen led me by the hand and we walked confidently out of the temple, we met some devout noblewomen who had come to pray. Desen smiled and told them that we had signed our marriage certificate.
The blinding sunlight shone on the wide-eyed, startled ladies.
Before we even returned to Derson's quarters, just standing at the foot of the palace steps, we saw Bernard holding a sharp sword, coldly watching us.
Desen smiled and stepped forward to exchange pleasantries, but he ignored me completely, looking at me as if I were his father's killer.
I just smiled and politely invited him to our wedding banquet that evening.
"Don't tell me that the child you're carrying is fake?" Bernard's voice was like ice, making one feel as if they had fallen into an ice cave.
I chuckled and said, "Well, doctors make mistakes sometimes."
“You shouldn’t be asking us, brother,” Desmond said with utmost calmness. “You should be asking your doctor.”
With a clang, Bernard's sword was drawn, pointed directly at Derson's neck. Derson, however, didn't even flinch.
The air suddenly became tense and still; everyone was so frightened that they dared not breathe.
A few seconds later, I stood in front of Desen and said coldly, "You were the one who broke up with me first, what do you want?! You want your wife's money and me too, isn't that too greedy? You dumped me, so can't I find another man?"
His icy blue eyes were like icebergs, radiating a chill that could freeze me.
I stared back at him without fear.
"Don't let people look down on you," I said coldly and slowly.
A group of armored guards suddenly rushed back from a distance, and after a series of heavy footsteps, they surrounded Bernot. At the same time, the Crown Prince Ivanhoe laughed loudly, "Hey, Father sent me to put out the fire. I thought something serious had happened. Turns out it's just a fight over a girl."
Crown Prince Ivanhoe approached with a loud laugh, "Hey Bernard, are you a sore loser? Don't be like a woman, your mistress didn't make a scene when you broke up with her."
Bernard's face was extremely pale.
“She may have found another job beforehand, but you didn’t lose out,” Crown Prince Ivanhoe said sarcastically. “I heard you even made a fortune.”
"Alright, alright," Prince Ivanhoe laughed loudly, seeing that Bernard's face was even uglier, as if he wanted to wipe us all out. "What are you, a prince, arguing with a woman and your brother for?!"
The implication is that the royal family's image is more important.
As Bernard's face darkened, becoming as black as the darkest clouds, the guards' breathing became tense.
I started to get nervous too. I was so nervous just now, but suddenly I felt a little scared. Bernard had never made me this scared before.
Crown Prince Ivanhoe and Desen's expressions also changed.
A dozen seconds later, Bernard's expression softened, but his eyes remained icy cold. With a clang, he tossed aside his sword, gave me a deep, piercing look, and strode away.
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Author's Note: Please add my new novel, "Animal Farm," to your favorites! Your support and encouragement are greatly appreciated!
Please also check out my novels: *Cinderella Wants a Thrilling Novel Script*, *Love Between Ice and Fire*, and *All the Male Gods in the World Are Dating Me*. Mwah! Also, *My Girlfriend is a Genius* is nearing its end, so please take a look too, hehe!
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