Page 140 of The Villainess Chose Naps Over Death Flags

Caspian went very still.

Caroline looked up at him, moonlight catching the tears gathering in her eyes.

"I trapped you," she said quietly. "With a spell. Got pregnant. Forced you into marriage. Everything she said—it's all true."

"Caroline—"

"No, please, let me finish." She stood, facing him directly. "I've been trying so hard these past weeks to be better. To make this marriage work. To be a good wife to you. But I can't... I can't move forward without addressing what happened. What I did to you."

Caspian's chest tightened. "You didn't do it alone. The spell—my power made it worse. I should have been able to resist, but I couldn't—"

"It was my spell," Caroline said firmly. "My trap. My choice to use love magic in the first place. You were just... you were an accident. The wrong person in the wrong place."

She took a shaky breath.

"And you've been trapped ever since. In a marriage you never wanted, with a woman who resented you, carrying a responsibility you never chose."

"Caroline, where is this going?" Caspian asked carefully.

"I want to give you a choice," Caroline said, and her voice broke slightly. "The choice you never had. The choice our families took away from both of us."

She met his eyes directly.

"Do you want a divorce?"

The question landed like a physical blow.

Caspian stared at her, his mind going completely blank.

Divorce. She was offering him divorce.

Freedom from the trap. From the forced marriage. From the woman who'd—

Who'd changed. Who'd become kind and thoughtful and genuine. Who made him laugh. Who cared about his safety enough to commission an enchanted pendant. Who'd handled a public attack tonight with more grace than most nobles could manage in their entire lives.

Who he'd started to—

"I know it would be scandalous," Caroline continued, misinterpreting his silence. "But we could manage it quietly. Arrange something discreet. I could return to my family estate, raise the child there. You could... you could be free."

Her voice wavered on the last word.

Caspian's thoughts raced. Did she want the divorce? Was she asking because she wanted out? Because despite everything, despite the changes, she still wished she'd caught Percival instead?

"Are you still in love with him?" Caspian asked, the words coming out rougher than he intended. "With Percival?"

Caroline's eyes widened in shock. "What? No! Absolutely not."

"You were obsessed with him for years," Caspian pressed. "The spell was meant for him. Everything was meant for him."

"And I was an idiot," Caroline said firmly. "I spent years chasing someone who never wanted me, never saw me, never cared. I wasted so much time on a fantasy when..." She paused. "When reality turned out to be so much better."

Caspian's heart stuttered. "Better?"

"You're kind," Caroline said softly. "Patient. You brought me a puppy when you came home from battle. You let me redecorate your entire estate without complaint. You practice dancing with me in the evenings. You find it endearing when I make happy sounds about dessert."

Her voice grew stronger.

"You're everything I didn't know I wanted. Everything I was too blind to see. And I don't deserve you, but I—" She stopped, blinking back tears. "But I want to be better. For you. For us. For this marriage."