“I don’t want to hear that name. Eden and I are getting married soon and only then will we be a family. Even if those irrelevant outsiders died outside, it has nothing to do with me!”
Such harsh words would have devastated me in the past. But now, I had no time to think about anything else.
I simply stared intently at the relic beads on Eden’s neck, letting the tears roll down my cheeks. Father and daughter were connected by heart. I sensed something was amiss the moment Eden walked in.
Now, I finally saw it clearly. That wasn’t a relic bead around his neck. It was a bone bead! It was my… my beloved child’s!
I floated in front of Monica and wanted to tell her loudly. I wanted to tell her it was Eden who killed me. Tell her the beads around Eden’s neck were her deceased flesh and blood.
It was the one I had longed for, the one she carried for eight months; burned alive before she even knew anything!
Unfortunately, the dead couldn’t make a sound. Monica couldn’t hear the cries of my soul, let alone the grievances deep within me. Her good mood was ruined by my name. With a cold face, she was about to take Eden back.
Four years passed. Any trace of me in the house was completely purged. In their place, there were pictures of Eden.
Monica, ever proud, was willing to dress Eden in childish cartoon pajamas. She was willing to bend down to change his shoes.
She gently massaged Eden’s shoulders and legs. Together, they envisioned the upcoming wedding, just like us back then.
I turned my back, unable to bear to look at the scene before me. My mind couldn’t help but recall the past.
When I first met Monica, she wasn’t the decisive CEO, just a little red-haired girl. She was arrogant and rebellious, a stark contrast to my strict, old-fashioned family.
But she also gave me the care and concern I’d never experienced before. She would take me for bike rides and give me roses.
She would look me in the eye when I failed an exam. Every word she spoke was gentle yet firm.
“Theodore, you still have me. I will protect you. You don’t have to be a puppet of the family. With me, you can live the life you want.”
Because of her words, I made the first rebellious decision in my life. I gave up my second attempt at the postgraduate entrance exam and started a business together.