When I Stopped Being Your Shadow

Chapter 51

***

Ryan pointed to Charlotte first.

“Look at that, Lady Jason even says that.”

“Charlotte, and the other girls like dolls. However, the taste may differ from person to person…”

Then Ryan looked down at Ines, as if she was pathetic.

“Ines, how long are you going to keep talking back and forth like that? There is no cuteness.”

Then he continued speaking as if he was teaching.

“Women should be feminine and like feminine objects like dolls.”

Ines shuddered and stiffened her shoulders.

“That… !”

“You’re unattractive because you’re so stiff like a piece of wood.”

Ryan clicked his tongue as if annoyed.

At that insult, Ines’ face turned red.

Just then, Charlotte said as she smiled softly.

“Please understand, Count Brierton, our Ines had only grown up in the house.”

Then she blinked her eyes and added her words.

“I am by her side. I can help her in many ways.”

“Really, Ines should be nice to Lady Jason. Where else in the world can you find such a friend!”

The two burst into laughter next to each other. Only Ines did not know what to do, so she just looked at the two of them.

As Ines recalled that time, she naturally felt depressed. Ines spoke coldly.

“Just throw that doll away.”

“What? If so, wouldn’t it be better to give it back?”

“No, you don’t even need to give it back. Just throw it away.”

Ines, who was commanding once more, suddenly opened her eyes.

She had come into sight of the maid fiddling with the doll’s ear with a sad expression on her face.

‘Oh, yes.’

Ines had a good idea.

“Then let’s do this.”

“Yes?”

“That doll looks pretty expensive. It’s a pity to throw it away like this… “

Ines looked up and down at the doll and smiled brightly.

“Let the two of you take care of it yourself.”

With surprised bunny eyes, the maid asked Ines.

“Well, is that okay? It was a gift for the Lord, and it’s too expensive for us to dispose of.”

“Don’t worry about that.”

Ines shrugged her shoulders.

“No matter how you dispose of the gift, isn’t it up to the recipient?”

Ines spoke softly again. At that, the maids looked at each other with their eyes twinkling.

“The materials from which the dolls are made are of very good quality. So, why not use it in many ways?”

In an instant, the maids’ faces brightened.

****

Viscount Gott stood outside the Brierton’s residence with an annoyed expression.

‘Oh, I’m going to die from the cold.’

The Viscount shrank his shoulders and held his coat tighter.

Although it was early spring, the weather was still chilly to stand outside for a long time. He desperately wanted to go into a warm room and drink hot tea. However,

‘How long are you planning to leave me outside?’

Ines still did not call the Viscount into the house.

Viscount Gott chewed the swear words into his mouth and swallowed them.

‘D*mn it, if Ryan had done well, things wouldn’t have turned out this way…… ’

Last night.

Ryan crawled into the house, drunkenly.

He had been living off the booze ever since his divorce, but yesterday was a little strange. He couldn’t beat the one whose face was bright red and throbbing.

“Charlotte, you don’t know the subject and you dare…!”

“What’s wrong with you?”

Viscount Gott, unable to overcome his frustration, asked Ryan.

Then Ryan licked his slips, and stumbled into his bedroom.

“You don’t need to know!”

Until then, it was just a fight with Charlotte, he thought it wouldn’t be a big deal.

The full story of the incident was revealed this morning.

“Ines, that girl, isn’t she really funny?!’

Breakfast began with the gossip of the ex-daughter-in-law of the Gott family.

“What the hell did we do wrong?”

The elder, Viscountess Gott, didn’t even touch the meal, and raised her voice in a sarcastic tone.

“She used to cling to Ryan like she was dying, but now, she divorced him like that?!”

The Viscountess Gott could not contain her anger and pounded on the table with her tableware.

“My son, what should we do about Ryan!!”

“…”

“Look at him. Ines is so cold-blooded that makes him drink every day…..!”

The Viscountess Gott just looked like she was about to die of pity for her son Ryan, but the Viscount Gott, her eldest son, was different. Viscount Gott looked at Ryan’s empty seat with pitiful eyes.

‘Stupid child.’

Who was Ines Briarton?

She was the golden rope that everyone in the kingdom wanted to hold on to.

Heir to one of the most prestigious families in Lancaster, she had an outstanding appearance, inherited a great fortune, and even had an obedient personality. If Ryan had been lucky enough to hold onto that rope, he shouldn’t have missed it, but he had already lost it.

If he had stood still, he could have continued to pretend to be Count of Brierton!

“Ha, whatever.”

Viscount Gott let out a long sigh and shook his head.

“Losing Brierton is a huge loss for us too, so let’s watch the situation for a bit and then respond..

Having said that, the Viscount looked at his mother in annoyance.

“Why on earth did mother pick on sister-in-law for no reason?”

“Oh no! I did it to make it work!”

The elder Viscountess was furious.

“Honestly, isn’t it funny that she divorced Ryan?”

“Mother, please.”

“What, she’s a girl without parents! If my precious son took her as his wife, she shouldn’t be so ungrateful… !”

When the Viscountess was very angry.

“Viscount!”

Someone ran into the dining room. He was Viscount Gott’s personal secretary.

“Big, big trouble!”

The secretary raised his voice.

His face was so pale, it looked like he’d lose his mind if someone touched it. Viscount Gott narrowed his brow.

“What? Can’t you see I’m eating right now……”

“Now, the Countess of Brierton’s agent has come to visit!”

The secretary gasped and exclaimed.

“They are withdrawing all the investment they invested in our business!”

“What?”

Viscount Gott doubted his ears. The secretary’s face was full of despair.

“If all the investment is recovered, our business is over, we won’t be able to make it!”

“Why, why are they suddenly withdrawing the money?”

The Viscountess jumped up from her seat, as if she was about to pass out. Frankly, since Ines and Ryan were divorced, it was only natural that Ines would stop her investments.

But they never imagined that such a sudden withdrawal of funds would occur. The Gott’s business was well-established, but such a sudden withdrawal would kill it.

“What the hell is the reason?”

“The agent just said that the Countess of Brierton made that decision, but he didn’t give a specific reason…”

“Just what!”

The secretary, who had hesitated for a while, closed his eyes tightly and spoke.

“Yesterday, Young Master went to visit the Count and was left outside.”

“What?!”

“Even Baron Jason’s Young Lady was there with him.”

“What the hell have you done, Ryan!”

Viscount Gott cried out.

After he found out about the circumstances, he rushed to the Brierton’s residence.

‘No, it will be fine.’

Viscount Gott struggled to persuade his nervous heart.

He also prepared a present, and roughly decided how to convince Ines.

Ryan was reflecting on what he did to Ines yesterday.

In his passionate love for Ines, when he saw the rumors spreading, he acted rudely ahead of time. He couldn’t come to visit today, but instead, he prepared this gift himself and sent it to Ines.

What Ryan really wanted was a reunion with Ines.

‘I have to convince my sister-in – law somehow.’

Viscount Gott was firmly entrenched in his heart.

The only way to keep their business from going bankrupt was the support of Brierton.

‘Anyway, it’s true that sister- in- law truly loved Ryan…’

‘I think she will probably come back if I beg for it.’

The Viscount clicked his tongue briefly.

‘Ugh, for the time being, I have to tell Ryan to lay low.’

Already in the Viscount’s mind, the future where Ines and Ryan were reunited was clearly established.