Chapter 4
When I didn’t say anything, Eiden seemed to suddenly notice he had gone too far.
He let go of me and cleared his throat a bit. He felt a bit regretful.
He thought to himself, “Margaret just came home from being sick. I shouldn’t treat her like that.”
Then he asked, “How’s the burn on your thigh?”
His voice was soft, and for a second, he almost seemed to care.
But when he lifted my shirt and saw the small red spots left by the chemotherapy on my skin, his face changed.
He looked shocked, turned his face away, and held the edge of his shirt like a shield.
“Whatever… Hot water kills germs. It’ll clean the wound,” he said, maybe trying to make up for what he saw.
After that, he let me move back into the main room, probably out of guilt.
“I didn’t bother saying anything. That night, I slept fully dressed.
It felt like a whole galaxy was between us.”
The chemotherapy side effects were still hurting me. My bones and joints ached badly.
Back then, Eiden would have noticed before I even said anything. He’d
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stay up all night just to put warm towels on me.
But this time, when the pain woke me up, I was al
was all alone.
I walked out to the living room, drank some water, and took a couple of painkillers. Just as I was heading back to bed, I heard faint noises coming from Lillian’s room.
I instantly knew what was happening. I wanted to turn around and run- but my feet wouldn’t move. Instead, I slowly walked to the guest room step by step.
Peeking through the small gap in the door, I saw a man and a woman half- dressed, kissing like they couldn’t wait, right up against the wall. They were in such a rush that they didn’t even bother to close the door properly.
“What am I supposed to do? Just imagining that poisonous woman lying next to me gives me the creeps.”
Eiden was breathing hard, his whole body trembling, when he mentioned.
- me.
“Oh my god. Am I seriously going to end up marrying her?”
Lillian traced circles on his chest and smiled slyly. “Then don’t marry her. What’s the problem? You’re not in love with her, are you? Can’t stand to break her heart?”
Eiden let out a long sigh and kissed her forehead gently. “She’s acting crazy lately, and she’s obsessed with me. If I don’t go through with the wedding, what if she snaps and hurts you?
“Honey, if it weren’t for your kind heart, worrying she’d die alone because of her temper, I would’ve been with you long ago.”
Lillian responded, “She’s my best friend. I can’t just sit by and watch her
Chapter 4
suffer. Besides, on your wedding day, while she was in the main room, we were outside the room doing… Didn’t that feel exciting to you, too?”
I stood there frozen outside the door, like I’d been dropped into an ice.
bath.
Lillian was actually the one who introduced me to Eiden back in college. And even though she was always clinging to him, I never suspected anything.
She’d even looked me in the eyes once and promised, “Relax, Eiden and I are just childhood friends. If we were ever meant to be, it would’ve happened already. You don’t need to worry.”
Now my ex–husband is holding down my best friend and telling met they’ve been sneaking around for quite a while.
So what does that make me, just a side character in their secret story?
Does having the ex–wife still around make sneaking around even more exciting for them?
I ran straight to the bathroom and threw up hard. The thought of all those nights I spent with Eiden made me feel so disgusted. I wished I could scrub every inch of my skin clean.
“Honey, are you feeling sick again?”
I heard Eiden’s voice behind me. He wrapped his arms around me and gently patted my back like he was really worried.
But when I shakily went back to the bedroom, he stayed in the bathroom. for what felt like forever.
When he finally came out, his hair was damp. Clearly, he’d just taken a shower. He’d changed clothes too, and his hands were red like he’d been
scrubbing them too much.
“If you can’t stand being near me, just be honest,” I said.
He stared at me for a while, then walked over like he had made a choice. But when his eyes caught the red spots near my collarbone, he froze for a moment and quietly turned off the light.
I clenched my teeth and shoved him away.
“I’m on my period,” I muttered.
In the dark, I heard him let out a breath and shift to lie on the bed, turning
his back to me.
It felt like my heart had gone numb. I just wanted to make it to tomorrow. The sooner, the better.
My welcome party was buzzing with excitement. All of the Patnick family’s business associates showed up. People were eager to see what I looked like now, especially since the story of me “coming back from the dead” had spread.
And then, there was an unexpected guest at the party.
A blond–haired, green–eyed man sat in a wheelchair.. When he noticed me looking at him, his cold look softened, and he gave me a warm smile with slightly raised brows.
The crowd around him drew in sharp breaths.
Nobody knew who he was.
But the men in black standing behind him, clearly trained professionals, made it obvious that he was someone powerful and untouchable.
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Even the hall manager seemed to be informed ahead of time and smiled at me politely from afar.
I stood in the center of attention, wearing a gown. Eiden must’ve been worried that my scars would scare people, so he made sure I wore something with a high neckline that covered me up.
The gown was way too loose and clearly didn’t fit right. My parents kept asking why I looked so off, even though I had put on some weight.
Only I noticed the gown wasn’t picked for me, it was Lillian’s size.
I started to step toward that man when Eiden suddenly yanked me back, furious, holding a steel needle with blood on it.
“Margaret, how heartless can you be? You hid this needle in Lillian’s shoe just to force me into marrying you? Apologize right now, or I’ll never marry you!”
Gasps spread through the crowd, and people started whispering
“The Patnick family had taken in Lillian as their goddaughter, pushing their biological daughter to the side.”
Someone chimed in, “She had it coming. I heard she faked being sick just to run off abroad. She partied with foreign guys every night, drinking and messing around. They say she has a bunch of kids and doesn’t even know who the dads are. I swear it’s all true.”
Another added, “That’s not even the worst part. Look at that high neckline gown she’s wearing. A friend from Italy told me her whole body is covered in red spots. She blames it on chemotherapy, but it’s probably some sexually transmitted disease.”
“That’s just wrong. If I were in her place, I’d be too ashamed to show my
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face to anyone!”
“Hold on,” the blond man suddenly spoke up.
“So you’re saying she forced you to marry her? Why?”
Eiden let out a mocking laugh. “What else? She’s obsessed with me and scared I’ll abandon her.”
His face twisted in disgust. “It’s sickening to be caught up with someone as manipulative as you.”
Alvaro Binion raised his eyebrows, and a sly grin spread across his lips. “Strange. I heard Ms. Patnick already has a fiancé in Italy. From what I gather, they’re pretty much the picture–perfect couple.”
He said we were a perfect couple.
I almost laughed.
Eiden’s expression darkened instantly. He grabbed my hand so tightly that it felt like he wanted to break it. “So it’s true. You were fooling around. abroad. I’ve never met a woman as shameless as you.
“Who’s your lover? Tell me now. If I’m in a good mood, maybe I’ll spare his life.”
Spare his life?
Alvaro smirked.
His expression said it all. “You’ve got some nerve saying that.”
I raised my hand, planning to point at Alvaro, but Lillian cut me off, “I
know who her lover is.”
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I turned and saw her smiling proudly as she tapped the remote and lit up the banquet hall’s big screen.
She said, “That’s him! That’s her lover!”
