TB

CHAPTER 122

“Oh, I see. Your reasoning… that was your version of love and protection, right? But then, having a child with a presence that must be hidden for a lifetime? A child who would cry so loudly that everyone outside the annex would hear? It doesn’t make sense at all.”

Thud.

The folded newspaper landed roughly on the table.

“Darling, what exactly are you hoping for? Instead of beating around the bush, just tell me what you want.”

“What exactly are you hoping for? That’s what I wanted to ask.”

Grace also dropped her fork noisily, mimicking the man’s actions.

“What’s your plan?”

Her hand gestured slightly toward her now visibly emerging belly.

“What do you want, really? Do you want to live a normal life like everyone else?”

“I asked the question first. You started the argument because you wanted something.”

She thought he could defend himself like that. Grace hesitated for a moment to choose her words, her face contorted with restrained frustration.

“I don’t want to live like this.”

She looked like she was holding back her anger and made a small cry.

“I still terribly hate how I’ve become like this.”

When she mentioned having his child was terrible, the man’s gaze subtly turned colder.

“But it’s already done, and there’s no turning back. I know that, too.”

“Accepting your situation, it’s late, but it’s a good thought.”

Grace stared at the man with an equally cold gaze and sighed as if resigning herself.

“The child is innocent. Growing up under parents who don’t love each other, do you know how hard that is? Like me…”

The man’s gaze softened slightly as she added her words. His interest piqued.

‘I’ve got his attention now.’

Grace thought as she brought up her personal story to fully capture his interest.

“In reality, our parents didn’t get along very well. They were great as comrades, but as a couple… who knows?”

She didn’t expect to say such things. Grace felt a pang of guilt for a moment but hesitated, and the man urged her on by tapping the table with his fingertips.

“Go on.”

“What I mean is, it’s time to stop these exhausting fights and start thinking wisely about the future.”

“Are you going to stay quietly by my side now?”

“Is that what you want?”

The man nodded slowly. She intentionally let out a deep sigh and then, as if reluctantly, laid out her conditions.

“If you treat me like a human.”

At the obvious statement, the man snorted as if amused.

“Darling, I don’t give cake to dogs. I don’t dress them in silk, and I don’t let them use my bed.”

Grace wanted to retort that this wasn’t what she had in mind when she asked to be treated as a human, but she held back. After all, she hadn’t made a genuine request to be treated like a human.

“Alright. So, if I do as you wish, what will you do for me?”

“If you don’t want to live like this, I’ll let you live as you want. Just stay by my side.”