Chapter 553 Guests Arrive
Edward stared at Evelyn's pale, exhausted face, his heart aching unbearably.
"I want to be with Evelyn forever, too, but Eric, I can't be that selfish. Evelyn's family is different from mine. I can give up everything for her, but if she loses her family because of me, do you think I could live with that? Without her family's blessing and support, would she really be happy?"
Edward shook his head in pain, his voice hoarse as he repeated, "I've already taken too much from her. I almost destroyed her. Eric, I can't hurt her anymore. I can't let her lose anything else. I just can't."
"That's what you think, but have you asked Evelyn what she wants?"
Eric saw Patrick and guessed a bit of the situation, his brows furrowing tightly. "It's stormy outside tonight, and Evelyn came out to find you. You must understand her feelings. Family is important, but right now, Evelyn cares more about you. She wants to be with you. If you force yourself to let go of her so-called happiness, something worse than tonight might happen, even a tragedy. Edward, don't regret it later."
Edward recalled Evelyn mentioning the child, asking him to save their child. Even though it was feverish rambling, wasn't it also a deeply suppressed scar hidden beneath her cheerful smile, a pain that cut to the bone?
'How did you do it, Evelyn? How did you manage to see my hateful face every day and still smile, still be so good to me?'
In front of his best friend, Edward finally couldn't hold back his tears, hitting himself hard!
"Edward! What are you doing?"
Eric's eyes widened, quickly grabbing his hand. "Pull yourself together like a man! If self-harm worked, I'd bring you all the knives from the kitchen to cut your wrists!"
The private doctor arrived quickly to treat Evelyn.
Edward sat by the bed, staring deeply at Evelyn's pale face, pressing her slightly warm hand to his burning lips, kissing it silently.
"Her fever's up to 105.8°F; it's serious."
The doctor gave Evelyn a fever-reducing shot and an IV. "If it had been any later, it could have caused heart problems, which would be much harder to deal with. But Mr. Wellington, I suggest you take Ms. Taylor to a hospital in the morning. My facilities are limited, and I can't provide better treatment for Ms. Taylor. I can only temporarily reduce her fever and relieve her symptoms. If her temperature doesn't drop by tomorrow, she must go to the hospital."
Edward placed his trembling hand on Evelyn's sweat-covered forehead.
Still very hot. Hopefully, by morning, everything will be better.
"By the way, Mr. Wellington, has Ms. Taylor's hand been injured before? Was it broken?" the doctor suddenly asked, surprised.
Edward was stunned. "Broken? What do you mean?"
"Look at her left pinky. From my experience, it seems like it was broken or had a severe ligament tear. Even if it healed, it likely left some aftereffects."
Edward's eyes widened, his heart pounding violently.
"What? How could that be?" Eric was utterly shocked.
"It looks like an old injury, possibly not treated properly at the time."
Eric grew more astonished. "With Evelyn's status, even a small cut would have the Taylor family calling an ambulance. How could a broken bone be overlooked? Even if the pinky isn't used much, it's still a disability!"
Edward's breath hitched, gripping Evelyn's soft hand tightly.
He remembered asking Evelyn about her pinky before, but she had changed the subject, unwilling to answer directly.
What had happened that made her avoid talking about it?
After the private doctor left, Ellen brought clean pajamas, and then she and Eric left the room.
Edward personally changed Evelyn into the pajamas, then brought a basin of water, kneeling to wipe the mud off her feet with a wet towel.
Her beautiful little feet, which he always adored, were now covered in scars, blood, and dried dirt. Seeing this, his heart shattered.
"Evelyn, I wanted so much to bring you happiness, but look at what I've brought you."
Edward closed his eyes, breathing heavily, a choked sob escaping his hoarse throat.
His phone vibrated; it was Tyler calling.
Edward rubbed his eyes, walked to the window, and answered, "Tyler, how's Grandpa?"
"Mr. Wellington is fine, just worried about Ms. Taylor, so he went to bed late. Mr. Edward Wellington, has Ms. Taylor been found? Mr. Wellington was asking before he slept." Tyler's tone was very concerned.
"She's been found. Tell Grandpa when he wakes up, no need to worry. I'll stay with her."
Though he didn't know for how long.
"Mr. Edward Wellington, I'm sorry..."
Tyler's voice was filled with guilt. "It's my fault. If I had told you earlier about Ms. Taylor losing the baby, things wouldn't have turned out like this."
"It's not your fault. Today's tragedy is all my doing."
Edward fell silent, then suddenly remembered something!
Three years ago, on Christmas.
He remembered being on a business trip in Mythorica, inspecting a project.
Due to the time difference, it was daytime there when the car accident happened back home, so he couldn't have missed the call.
"Tyler, you said Evelyn called me, but I didn't answer?" Edward's nerves tightened again.
"Yes, Ms. Taylor contacted you immediately."
Tyler sighed. "It's all in the past, and Mr. Wellington is fine now. Don't blame yourself too much. You were busy with the company, often traveling, barely having time to eat. Missing the call wasn't intentional."
Suddenly, Edward felt like he was struck by lightning, his shoulders shaking!
He remembered!
That day, he was working at the Wellington Group's Mythorica branch. Nicole had come over, insisting he attend some party.
He was in a hurry for a meeting and refused, so she threw his phone into the fish tank.
So, Evelyn's call came at that time?
Instantly, a deep, dark abyss opened before his eyes.
"Mr. Edward Wellington? Mr. Edward Wellington? Why aren't you speaking? Are you okay?" Tyler asked worriedly.
At that moment, Edward leaned against the window, his tall frame slowly collapsing, his spirit nearly breaking.
The next day.
Evelyn's fever had subsided, and Edward's heart finally eased a bit.
She opened her eyes, and the first thing she saw was the person she loved. She excitedly threw herself into his arms, and the two lovers hugged each other tightly.
"Edward, am I dreaming?"
Evelyn looked up with her tear-swollen face, pinching Edward's thin cheeks, making them red.
But Edward didn't feel any pain, his eyes full of happiness, his large hand gently stroking her hair. "It's not a dream, Evelyn. It's me. If you don't believe it, touch again."
"That's great, really great!"
Evelyn threw herself into his arms again, all her pent-up sorrow and grievances pouring out, and the usually strong woman cried loudly.
She pinched hard and cried loudly. Her body seemed to have recovered quite a bit.
After a while, Edward's lips brushed her ear, whispering guiltily, "Evelyn... I'm sorry, I'm sorry... When you're better, you can hit me, hit me as hard as you want."
"Why? Why would I hit you?"
Evelyn blinked her bright eyes. "Did you get a mistress? Cheat on me while I was away?"
Edward's face turned green. "Evelyn..."
"Just kidding, look how serious you got."
Evelyn pinched his face again, feeling sad at how thin he had become. "You've lost so much weight. Are you trying to make me feel bad?"
Edward's face still bore the traces of last night's tears. He held her hand tightly, but said nothing.
After much thought, Edward decided not to mention it. Instead, he covered her lips with his, giving her a sweet, lingering kiss.
He would remember all the grievances and pain for her. For the rest of their lives, he would do everything to make it up to her.
When Molly woke up and heard that Edward and Evelyn were there, her pretty face lit up with excitement.
She wanted to see Evelyn, but Eric held her back. "Be a good wife and give Evelyn and Edward some time alone. They've had a hard time."
"But I miss Evelyn," Molly said, her eyes watery and full of longing.
"Don't you miss me?" Eric turned her to face him, looking at her with a pitiful expression. "I was busy all night and didn't sleep. Don't you miss me?"
"We see each other every day," Molly said, feeling confused.
Eric felt wronged, almost to the point of tears.
In a moment of urgency, Eric wrapped his arms around Molly's waist, pressing her down, kissing her passionately until she melted in his arms.
When they finally parted, Molly's eyes were misty, their lips still connected by a thin thread of saliva.
"Be good, wait a bit before seeing Edward and Evelyn, okay?" Eric's fingers brushed her lips, satisfied with her shy yet eager response.
"Okay then."
Molly, dazed from the kiss, agreed softly. "I'll make a cake for Evelyn. She loves sweets. I'll bring it to her later."
Molly was ready to show off her skills, and everything was quickly prepared for her in the kitchen. Eric loved watching her busy in her apron.
"Sweetheart, I'm hungry. Feed me a bite." Eric leaned over the counter, opening his mouth expectantly.
Molly mischievously dabbed some cream on his face, laughing heartily.
"Oh, you're asking for it! Watch me eat you up!"
As they played, the doorbell rang.
"Eric, did you invite someone over?" Molly asked, surprised.
Eric's brows furrowed.
He rarely had private visitors, and few knew his address.
"Ellen, see who's at the door," Eric ordered.
"Yes, Mr. Clark."
Ellen went to check.
But she didn't return for a while.
Suddenly, a loud thud from the foyer startled them both!
"Molly, stay here. I'll check it out!"
Eric walked into the living room and froze, his eyes widening in shock!
Ellen, who was usually very capable, was easily subdued by a handsome, imposing man, her wrists pinned against the wall!
"This villa is nice. I like it."
Ulysses surveyed the room, his sharp gaze finally landing on Eric's stunned face, a smirk forming on his lips. "Maybe I'll get one too, and we can be neighbors."
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