**Chapter 45 — Breath Laced with Jealousy**
*I Ended Up Living Next Door to My Ex-Husband*
---
The occupants of the Mansion of Light spent the entire afternoon preparing to receive the Grand Duchess.
Even so, their eyes kept drifting to one corner of the reception room, where their master, Cedric, stood watching the proceedings with quiet intensity. Finally, once the last dish for the evening had been arranged on the table, he spoke.
"Everyone, leave."
"Yes, my lord..."
"And see to it that no one comes near this room while I'm dining with the Grand Duchess."
Though he had already given this instruction several times, the staff simply bowed and withdrew without a word.
Alone at last, Cedric could no longer conceal his restlessness. He circled the table slowly, scrutinizing every detail — the lavishly arranged dishes, the wine of exceptional vintage, the candles casting a warm glow across every surface. The atmosphere was flawlessly romantic.
*Perfect.*
He allowed himself that much before conducting one final sweep of the room.
*Does Rebecca prefer this sort of setting? Perhaps I should have done more — something more extravagant before she arrives...*
He pressed a hand to his chin, deliberating in earnest, before catching himself and exhaling a short, wry breath.
*I'm so anxious it's embarrassing.*
He moved to the window to settle his nerves, leaning against the frame and letting the cool air still him — and that was when he saw her.
Rebecca stood just beyond the main gate of the Mansion of Light, and the moment his eyes found her, a slow smile touched his lips.
*You're finally here.*
But the smile did not last long.
He noticed, belatedly, that the man escorting her was Adrian. The two of them had paused before the entrance, engaged in quiet conversation — too far for any words to reach him, yet close enough that he couldn't look away.
It was a scene he once would have dismissed without a second thought. Now it consumed him entirely. He stood there, riveted and helpless, watching them speak at a distance that felt both unbearable and merciless.
At some point — he wasn't quite sure when — Rebecca had become someone he simply could not stop watching.
Neither of them noticed his gaze. They spoke for what felt like a long time, until Adrian finally fell silent and brought his lips to the back of her hand.
Cedric drew in a sharp breath, heat coiling tight in his chest.
His cousin Vincent's parting words echoed in his mind, unrelenting: *"If you take for granted what's right beside you — if you don't recognize its worth — someone like me will be watching, and we will take it."*
His heart burned.
*Is it truly possible to feel this way about someone I haven't yet imprinted on?*
The thought unsettled him — deeply, viscerally. Frightened him, even.
*If she really is my imprinted one... then from the moment I realize it, I'll be utterly lost to her.*
Cedric tore his eyes from the window, forcing his jealousy back by sheer will.
---
The hour had come. He finished dressing and made his way toward the grand foyer just as the Grand Duchess would be arriving.
He spotted Adrian first — leaning against a hallway window, gaze distant, as though lost somewhere far away.
"Adrian."
Adrian turned at once, and the corner of his mouth curved upward.
"Your Highness. You've arrived."
"Yes. Though I have to ask — what are you doing here?"
"I heard the news. That you would be dining with His Highness the Grand Duke at the Mansion of Light." He smiled, unhurried. "I came to escort you."
"There's no need for that—"
"There is. It's my duty."
I dipped my head slightly, a reluctant smile escaping despite myself. Escorting me was, technically, Adrian's role as my butler — but knowing how he felt about me made accepting that escort feel more complicated than it should have. I had planned to go alone precisely to spare him this.
"Your Highness," he said gently, "you look truly beautiful today."
"..."
"As always."
Adrian stepped to my side and extended his arm with quiet grace, his smile soft and unchanged.
"...Thank you."
I was quietly grateful that the maids had kept the incident with Duke Bold between us. Knowing Adrian, he would have tormented himself mercilessly over what had happened — and that was the last thing I wanted.
I took his arm, and we set off toward the Mansion of Light.
I tried to keep our conversation light along the way. Ordinary. Normal. But the more I tried, the more strained it felt.
*Here I am, being escorted to dinner with my ex-husband by the man who confessed his feelings to me just yesterday.*
Honestly... it was absurd.
I must have let that thought show on my face, because Adrian glanced at me with a barely suppressed smile.
"Your Highness, you don't need to force yourself on my account."
"But asking you to escort me at all feels unkind, Adrian. Under the circumstances."
A flicker of something bittersweet passed over his expression. We had nearly reached the front door of the Mansion of Light when he spoke again, his voice calm and measured.
"You don't need to make any decisions on my behalf — not yet. Not soon."
I looked up at him.
His blue-violet eyes met mine, a quiet undercurrent moving beneath their surface.
"Even if, in the end..." He paused. "Even if Your Highness doesn't choose me."
"...Adrian."
He smiled — faint, a little pained.
"Think of it as giving me time to prepare myself. Being rejected is difficult enough at any moment, but if it comes too quickly..." He glanced away briefly. "I think it would hurt a little more."
His fingers brushed lightly across the back of my hand as he spoke — a feather-light touch, fleeting, like someone memorizing the shape of something they know they can't keep.
Then his lips pressed softly to my hand.
"Just remember that my heart will always be with you. No matter what."
---
I saw Adrian off and stepped inside the Mansion of Light. The moment the door closed behind me, I exhaled slowly and let my eyes fall shut.
*Just as I thought. I've been a complete wreck since that day.*
I was still standing there, one hand resting on the closed door, steadying my breath, when—
"Did the two of you really have that much to say to each other?"
The voice came from beside me — calm, familiar, and cutting.
I startled and turned sharply. Cedric stood just beside the gate, arms folded across his chest, leaning against the wall with studied nonchalance. His expression was as composed as ever, yet something around the edges of it seemed... off. Taut, somehow.
"You frightened me. Were you actually waiting out here for me?"
"Hm."
"...Most hosts greet their guests in the reception room. That's generally how it works."
He smoothed a hand along his brow, the faintest trace of embarrassment crossing his face.
"I kept wondering when you would arrive."
He said it as though reciting something he'd rehearsed, then quietly extended his hand toward me.
"Shall we go up?"
---
When I finally entered the reception room, I looked around with some confusion. Not a single member of the staff was in sight.
"Where have all the servants gone?"
"I dismissed them. I don't want anyone else present while we dine."
He poured wine into my glass before continuing.
"You needn't worry — your host is fully prepared to wait on you himself."
"You?"
Cedric smiled — unhurried, self-assured — and inclined his head.
I studied the room quietly. Even for a Grand Duchess, this was my first personal invitation into Cedric's private reception room. It was smaller than I'd expected. More intimate. The table was barely large enough for two, which meant the space between us felt—
*Close. Noticeably so.*
It was the first time I had ever shared a meal with Cedric at this proximity, and the realization settled over me with the kind of quiet weight that makes your mouth go dry.
I reached for my wine.
"Here."
Cedric set a plate before me — my portion of the steak, already cut into neat, bite-sized pieces.
"You really don't need to keep doing that. Perhaps we should call the staff back after all."
He lifted a shoulder in a careless shrug.
"I'd rather not. There's something I want to speak with you about, and I'd prefer no audience."
"Is it that important?"
"It depends on how you look at it." His gaze settled on me steadily. "It concerns Adrian."
"Adrian?"
I paused. A memory surfaced — Adrian discovering the truth of our divorce not long ago. Had Cedric somehow pieced that together?
*Of course. Of course he found out.*
I swallowed and opened my mouth before I could think better of it.
"It was a mistake, Cedric."
He blinked. Slowly, as though the words had arrived from a direction he hadn't anticipated.
"...Pardon?"
"I was only looking into where I might live — afterward. I didn't think anyone would notice. And Adrian would never speak of it to anyone, I'm certain of that, so if you could simply overlook the matter and not bring up penalties—"
My voice trailed off as I caught the expression on his face.
Cedric stared at me with the look of a man who had just been handed information he had not gone looking for.
"Rebecca," he said carefully, "what exactly are you talking about?"
"...That Adrian found out about our divorce. Wasn't that what you wanted to discuss?"
His brows rose in a slow, distinct arc.
"That was not what I intended to bring up." He cleared his throat, the shadow of embarrassment crossing his face. "But I appreciate you informing me."
I wanted to sink through the floor.
It wasn't enough to have kept a secret poorly — I had personally delivered it, without prompting, on a silver platter.
"Rebecca." His voice softened, taking on something almost reassuring in its steadiness. "You needn't worry. I have no intention of enforcing the penalty out of spite."
I was briefly, absurdly grateful for the vast Twins family fortune that made such magnanimity possible.
"But the fact remains," Cedric murmured, his expression shifting — growing quieter, more deliberate — "that Adrian now knows we are divorced."
He fell silent for a moment, something working behind his eyes. When he looked at me again, his gaze had sharpened with resolve.
"I won't simply let it go without conditions."
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