Arrabella smiled.
It was not a warm smile. Nor was it a disappointed one.
Instead, it was a thin, sardonic smile that seemed to say she had known what the answer would be from the very beginning.
“Of course,” she murmured softly. “I knew it.”
Nareswara frowned. “What do you mean?”
Arrabella shook her head. “Nothing.”
She was far too tired to argue. After spending years in this house, Arrabella had come to understand one thing. Nareswara might apologize, feel guilty, and even realize his mistake after seeing the evidence with his own eyes. But when it came to making a decision that went against his mother’s wishes, that man would still choose Sinta.
And … Nareswara would never acknowledge her as his wife in public.
His answer tonight proved it once again.
Because she was too tired to argue, Arrabella said, “I’m not going to argue with you. Do whatever you want. And you can’t forbid me from doing anything, either.”
“Arrabella—”
“Shh! I don’t want to hear anything. Just pretend I never asked you for anything.” Arrabella was about to leave, but Nareswara called out to her.
“Arrabella.”
Arrabella stopped walking, but she did not turn around.
“I’m not finished talking.”
“I am,” Arrabella replied. After saying that, she continued walking.
The bedroom door closed behind her.
Nareswara could only stand there in silence, his chest tight. He had not expected the woman who usually always tried to explain her feelings to choose to leave without prolonging the conversation.
Meanwhile, Arrabella walked toward the adjoining bedroom, which turned out to be just as luxurious.
Her expression remained calm.
But the moment the door closed, she let out a long breath.
“Why should I waste my energy?” she whispered.
In the past, the woman who had owned this body cried every time she thought about Nareswara’s treatment of her. She had once hoped that her husband would change someday. She had waited for Nareswara to knock on her door and say that, starting that night, they would live as a real married couple.
But that hope had never come true.
Arrabella walked toward the bathroom. “I’ve cried far too much over a man like him.”
She turned on the bathtub faucet, then poured in liquid soap until the water filled with white foam. After making sure the water was warm enough, Arrabella slowly stepped in.
Her body sank into the warmth of the water.
For the first time that night, her mind grew a little calmer. She rested her head against the side of the bathtub and closed her eyes.
But only a few seconds later, her head suddenly began to throb.
Arrabella frowned. Then an image appeared.
A woman was standing in front of a mirror.
Her face was pale. Her eyes were swollen from crying.
Her hands trembled as she held a letter. “I really don’t understand … why is my life like this?”
The sound of sobbing filled the air.
Arrabella’s eyes flew open.
Her heart pounded.
Fragments of memories came one after another.
The woman who had owned this body. The original owner of Arrabella’s body.
She saw how the woman married Nareswara without receiving even a shred of love.
She saw how cold Nareswara had been from the first day of their marriage.
She saw how Sinta treated her cruelly.
And the most painful part was seeing the end of that woman’s life.
A quiet night.
The woman sat alone in her room, crying as she clutched her phone. No one came looking for her, as if her existence meant nothing in this world.
Even when her life was at its lowest point, the people who should have been her family were too busy blaming her.
The memory continued.
In the end, the woman left this world in a miserable state.
Alone. Without anyone to defend her.
Without a chance to explain the truth. Without ever knowing what it felt like to be valued as a wife.
Arrabella fell silent. Tears slowly streamed down her cheeks.
Not because she felt that death as her own. But because she now understood the suffering of the body’s original owner.
“So … this was how your life ended?” Arrabella’s voice trembled.
She closed her eyes. The final fragment of memory appeared once more. The woman was crying as she whispered to herself.
‘If only I could do it all over again …’
Arrabella’s eyes snapped open.