Chapter 3
In the next moment, Alexis slipped right back into his gentle persona. He reached out and ruffled her hair, sounding completely natural. "Did I remember wrong? I thought you said you wanted to try chestnut cakes a few days ago.
"Guess I got it mixed up. If you don't like it, that's fine. I'll have the kitchen make you some pumpkin pie instead, alright?"
His voice was so smooth and tender that Vanessa couldn't spot a single crack in it.
But with every word, she felt her heart sink deeper and deeper.
'I never said I wanted chestnut cakes. Not once,' Vanessa thought.
'Not in my previous life, and definitely not since I woke up in this one.'
She had been a die-hard novel fan for over a decade. Time travel, substitute lovers, and those classic "chasing after the wife" tropes? She could recite them in her sleep.
But right now, Alexis was acting all wrong. His gentleness felt forced, his actions were way off, and he even seemed to remember things from a timeline that shouldn't exist.
'Unless...
'Unless he's been back in time too,' she realized, her heart skipping a beat.
The moment that thought hit her, it was like vines had wrapped around her heart, squeezing so tight she could barely breathe.
She watched Alexis stand up and tell the servants to swap in pumpkin pie. His posture was upright, every movement radiating the authority of a general—but only Vanessa knew what kind of fixations and schemes he was hiding beneath that commanding presence.
'If he really was back with memories from his previous life, then why?' Vanessa thought to herself.
'Is it to make up for the wrongs he did to me? Or...
'Or is it to make up for the regret he felt for Ida? Is he here to save the woman he failed to save last time around?'
She clenched the brocade quilt beneath her, her knuckles turning white.
She forced herself to stop thinking about it.
For the next month, Alexis went all out spoiling her.
He skipped every unnecessary banquet or meeting, always making sure to be home before sunset. He'd share dinner with her, then walk with her in the courtyard, listening to all her wild stories about the "outside world."
He remembered even her casual remarks.
She mentioned the lighting was bad for reading at night, and the very next day, he had someone craft her a crystal lamp—one-of-a-kind in the whole Oxton.
She complained about the dry spring wind making her skin feel tight, and within a couple of days, he'd tracked down some beauty cream from overseas, said to have amazing moisturizing properties.
She casually mentioned wanting to see the lavender outside the city, and Alexis immediately put aside all his military affairs, arranged the carriage, and spent the entire day with her at the lavender manor.
Word spread throughout the city about how Alexis pampered his wife. They were the kind of couple everyone envied.
Whenever Vanessa walked the streets, the noble ladies gave her looks brimming with envy and jealousy.
The Queen even summoned her to the palace just to praise her for her good fortune in marrying such a devoted husband.
Everyone believed Vanessa was the luckiest woman alive.
But Vanessa was the only one who knew that beneath Alexis's gentle shell lay a heart as cold and calculating as ice.
She felt like she was teetering on the edge of a cliff, staring down at a pitfall disguised as paradise—every step was a gamble, and her nerves were stretched tight.
Vanessa was picking up on more and more subtle signs that something was seriously off.
He gave her a hairpin carved from creamy white emerald, with a blooming rose delicately crafted on it. It was a masterpiece, priceless.
He smiled and told her he'd had it custom-made, saying he knew she loved roses.
But Vanessa had told him countless times that her favorite was lavender—roses were actually the one flower she disliked the most.
Ida, on the other hand, loved roses above all else.
He set up a private estate for her on Mount Spring, just south of the city. The place was picturesque, with elegant pavilions and refined architecture nestled among the hills and streams.
He told her it was for her health, since the city was too noisy and this retreat was much more tranquil.
But Vanessa remembered perfectly from her previous life—Alexis had built this estate for Ida. Ida's lungs were weak, and the spring water here was ideal for her condition. Back then, Ida spent most of her days living in this very place.
At night, Alexis would mumble things in his sleep without even realizing it.
Vanessa had woken up more than once in the dead of night, catching him whispering, "Ida, don't be afraid," or "Ida, wait for me." His voice was laced with a frantic tenderness she'd never heard from him before.
Every time she woke, he'd quickly feign sleep. The next morning, he'd treat her with the same gentle affection as always, as if the night before had been nothing but a dream.
Every time Ida came over, Alexis's eyes would drift her way without even thinking about it.
No matter how deep in conversation he was with Vanessa, or how affectionate he acted, as soon as Ida made a move or a sound, his gaze would snap right over to her—you could see the worry and tension in his eyes, clear as day.
He'd use Vanessa as an excuse to send Ida all kinds of gifts and rare treasures, always saying, "Since you and my wife are such good friends, it's only natural to send her some gifts."