My Fiancée Hates Me
Chapter 90: Three of Us [Erik]

[Erik's Perspective of the Past Life]

When I was young, I met a boy who looked almost identically to me except for his black hair and deep scowl. I tried fixing his scowling eyebrows with my fingers. He attacked me like a rabid animal right afterwards. Needless to say, our first impressions were downright awful.

I still felt compelled to meet this child often. I found out later that he was my cousin named Garett from my mother's side. He was different to me despite us sharing one face, so I audaciously suggested that we trade places once in a while. I thought he would refuse, but he accepted right away against all of my expectations.

Twice a week, we exchanged clothes and began living in each other's home. He was incredibly smart and offered to take some of my tests in politics and world history, while I took the physical classes and played music with various instruments as awful as I sounded. He said that he wanted to expand his knowledge by exploring the Royal Castle's Library like a true study-bug.

At Garett's house, his room was surrounded by books like a Library. He was also allowed to eat high class meals with loads of meat and desserts. It was a large step-up from my meals that mostly consisted of hard bread and warm soup to mimic Commoner food. I enjoyed the refined cuisine.

There were plenty of servants around like my home, but I noticed that his parents were never around much. When I asked Garett about it, he just vaguely answered that they were out often, but I knew that there was a restricted wing of Garett's manor that I was not allowed to explore. That area obviously belonged to someone, but I did not dare ask who it was for.

Occasionally, I would see Garett's father Marquis Alvin come home. He would sometimes lift me in the air as if to check my weight and put me down on the ground after a few seconds of complete silence. I asked what that was about with Garett and he said that it was part of some weird ritual every time he comes home.

Even though he was a man of few words, he one day said to me while holding me up in the air, "You have gotten fat..."

I traded places with Garett the next day and quickly worked especially hard on exercising.

That was our life for the next several years.

When I told him about my fiancée, he suddenly said that he wanted to stop switching places. I agreed because we were no longer at the age to continue our antics as boys anymore, but once in a while, I still requested that he exchange places when I needed him to. He agreed since these exchanges would happen less frequently.

All in all, I thought he was a decent guy. Despite having good grades and looks similar to mine that were hidden behind his glasses, I thought it was a bit strange for him to not have any girls interested him. It was until I saw him interacting with one, namely my fiancée Arielle, that I understood why. He was terribly sharp and mean and would glare at all girls who came close to him. It was the same with Arielle who had known him the longest. Arielle was no pushover and would often stand her ground against him. I would constantly worry if there was going to be a bloodbath between them one of these days. When I asked him what kind of girl he liked, he answered that he liked a mean girl. I assumed that it meant he was the type of man who liked being abused and never asked about his preferences again. Garett never looked at another woman. During our school days, he often stared at my fiancée. I thought that it was his way of watching out for her and never thought more about it since they would argue every time, they met eyes with each other.

Arielle was a sweet girl and was respectful whenever she would talk to me but would turn lively the moment she argued with Garett. Some people had warned me that my fiancée seemed a bit close to Garett. I told those people all off saying that no one had the right to butt in our relationship if they did not know one thing about us. The rumors only got worse when Arielle entered the Royal Castle as my Crown Princess in training.

The two were extremely busy and had almost no time to ever meet. It was I who would forcibly bring those two together to meet whether it be for Arielle's dance lessons or for lunch. I enjoyed seeing my favorite two people interact. I was oblivious to the fact that my actions only hurt Garett who was already receiving scrutiny for being close to me.

"Garett, there are rumors that you are involved with my fiancée Arielle," I said to him one day.

I was not confronting him but brought it up anyways because I was curious about where the rumors originated from.

"That is ridiculous! I would never dare touch your fiancée," Garett denied vehemently.

Curious as I was, I probably should have stopped there...

"Do you have feelings for Arielle?" I asked.

The one person I considered more than a friend and almost like a brother showed me an honest face that could not hide his feelings. This person betrayed me by having feelings for my fiancée...

"I have never once touched your fiancée...However, I have been irrefutably in love with her ever since we were children," he admitted.

"You do realize that I am on the verge of getting married. In less than a few days, Arielle will be my wife and one day Queen!" I shouted at him.

Did he intend to hold such feelings towards her until we were married and had children together?

"...I never wanted either of you two to know my feelings, but if I am causing both of you pain, I would rather leave now," he said.

"...If Arielle feels the same way, I won't stop either of you because both of you are important to me too," I said.

Right before my wedding, Garett threw away his position and left without saying one word to either Arielle or me.

I think I felt sorer about how he chose to live in pain silently all these years. I felt guilty that I had been showing off my love for Arielle in front of him without knowing that he had an unrequited love for her. He even chose to live a lonely life and abandoned his position for the both of us.

I had to watch Arielle feel sad about Garett not attending our wedding without telling her that it was me who sent him away.

Just like that, I got married with complicated and bitter feelings.

My marriage with Arielle was like a dream. I loved her and she returned my feelings. She dutifully took over what I could not do by myself and handled everything perfectly. There were sometimes that I would see Garett in her. The two were more similar than I thought in the way they approached things to their thoughts and actions. I felt as though Garett probably understood Arielle more than I ever could and that made me lonely.

Half a year later, all the three of us reunited at the garrison Garett retreated to.

Not long after our reunion, Arielle was kidnapped by traitors of the kingdom. I could not go after her because of my position. The one who offered to go save her at the possible cost of his own life was Garett. In the end, only one person returned, and that person was Arielle.

I was given a list of hostages The Balik Empire procured with one of the names belonging to Garett. I met with the hostages personally and truly saw that Garett had fallen in the hands of the enemy kingdom. The ransom they requested in return was a document that detailed how to make ancient weapons that could be used for mass killing.

Garett understood that I could not give that document to a hostile kingdom and smiled as he mouthed the words "Take care of her" before being dragged away.

I wanted to save him. All I could hope was that I could replace a way to save him, but there was a chance that I would fail.

I later told Arielle about my decision of abandoning Garett as he would have wanted it. She understood my intentions but could not accept it in her heart, so she painfully told me that she hated me. I became a villain in her heart that day...00000☐☐