Chapter 3

Felix shouted, "What are you doing?"

He hurried over, medicine in hand.

Turns out, Felix was actually here to accompany Casey and Maeve to the hospital. Visiting Eden and bringing her soup were just incidental.

Before Eden could say anything, Casey, with tears in her eyes, said, "Felix, I was just trying to comfort her because I thought she was too upset. I didn't expect..."

Then Maeve started crying loudly, saying, "It's all my fault. Please, don't hit my daughter. Hit me instead. I'm begging you, if you have to blame someone, blame me."

As she spoke, she grabbed Eden's hand and tried to make Eden slap her own face.

"Let go of me!" Eden tried to pull away from her.

But Eden barely touched her, and in the next second, Maeve screamed and fell to the ground.

"Mom!" Casey rushed over, dropped to her knees, and clung to Maeve. The two of them sobbed uncontrollably, looking utterly pitiful.

Seeing this, Felix's chest rose and fell with rage. He growled, "Eden, are you happy now?"

Eden twisted her wrist, bruised and sore from Maeve's grip, and said, "She fell on her own. It's got nothing to do with me."

Felix let out a cold laugh. "I saw it with my own eyes. What are you still trying to argue about? Apologize to them!"

Eden stared straight at him, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Apologize to them? Who should really be apologizing here?"

Felix said, "Let's keep things separate. I owe you for what happened to your father, but that doesn't give you the right to bully them.

"Casey was just trying to comfort you, and you repaid her kindness by hitting her. Maeve is your elder, and you pushed her. Don't you think you owe her an apology?"

Eden stood her ground, her voice unwavering. "They staged the whole thing just to frame me. There's no way I'm apologizing to them!"

Felix snapped, "Still making excuses? There happen to be several death row inmates requiring on-site supervision today. I'll let you reflect on your actions there!"

He didn't care about Eden's injuries, just yanked her by the arm and hauled her out.

His grip was like a vise. Eden couldn't break free, no matter how hard she tried.

Eden was hauled to the execution site, and just stepping inside brought back the memory of her father's death.

A coldness swept over her, and her heart felt frozen, like it had been dropped into an endless glacier.

Felix knew all too well how her father's death had devastated her and how much pain she still carried.

Even in her sleep, the crack of gunfire would jerk her awake.

The sound of gunfire had become Eden's constant nightmare.

Felix kept saying he owed Eden. But in the end, he punished her in this cruel way just to vent for Casey.

Every time a death row inmate appeared, Eden kept seeing her father's face in each one, lost in a haze of memories.

With every gunshot, Eden's body would shudder, forced to endure the pain of her father's death again and again.

She collapsed to her knees, her fingernails digging into the wire fence until they broke and tore into her flesh, blood seeping out.

Her heart felt like it was being tortured with knives, the pain relentless and unending.

Eden was panting heavily, sweat streaming down her face, trembling as if she was caught in a nightmare with no end in sight.

Finally, all the executions for the day were over.

Felix stood over her, his voice cold and commanding. "Eden, stop messing with Casey from now on."

Eden had to summon every ounce of strength just to pull herself up from the ground.

Tears streaked her face, and her lips were smeared with blood.

She gave Felix one last look, then slowly turned around, dragging her numb legs as she walked away, step by painful step.

Regret washed over Eden. She wished she'd never trusted Felix. She wished even more she'd never let herself fall for him.

Back when Felix was kidnapped, tortured, and finally woke up in the hospital, Casey had fled abroad to avoid implication, leaving only a breakup message.

Eden risked everything to rescue Felix, then cared for him day and night until he was well again. After he was discharged, Felix got down on one knee and proposed, swearing he'd forget Casey, that he'd love Eden and protect her forever.

When the Dotson family's business ran into trouble, Casey finally returned to the country. She said she had her reasons for leaving Felix back then. She said she had been diagnosed with a fatal disease.

Casey claimed she was afraid Felix would be devastated after she was gone, so she pretended she was scared to stay and deliberately dumped him.

Felix told her on the spot that he already had Eden, and he wasn't going back to Casey.

For five years after they got married, Felix was genuinely good to Eden.

So Eden let herself believe him.

But later, Felix told Eden he felt he owed Casey a debt, and he wanted the Harper family to join forces with the Dotson family to help them weather the storm.

Eden went home and pleaded with her father, Dillon Harper, and only then did he reluctantly agree to work with the Dotson family.

If Felix hadn't lied to her, if she hadn't begged her father to team up with the Dotson family, her dad would never have gotten caught up in all this, and he never would've died.

She put her trust in the wrong person, fell for the wrong guy, and because of her mistakes, her father ended up paying the ultimate price.