Chapter 2
Edward jerked back in pain, finally letting go of me with a look of utter disbelief.
Claire screamed and cried, pulling him back. "Edward, are you okay? Does it hurt? I wish I could take the pain for you."
I had already dropped the knitting needle and was gripping the table leg tightly.
Yet Claire was still playing the concerned hero, jumping in front of Edward like she was dying to throw herself in harm's way for him.
Claire sobbed, "Hazel, I know you guys come from money and power, and I'm just a poor student you gave a chance to. I shouldn't have been so ungrateful—refusing to do what your family wanted for your grandfather, and even worse, turning to Edward for help.
"This is all my fault. If you're still angry, just go ahead and hit me. I just beg you, don't hurt him again. Seeing him hurt tears me apart..."
She wept as she suddenly grabbed my hand, trying to make me hit her.
I just looked at her, my face completely blank.
Back then, my family helped her out when she had nothing. My grandpa saw how smart and hardworking she was, so he gave her a job as his secretary.
But she played the victim and even went so far as to falsely accuse my grandpa of harassing her.
Edward completely lost it when he heard that, burst into our company and whisked Claire away.
That whole talk about me making her "buried with my grandpa"? What a joke.
"Hazel, you were always asking why I cared more about Claire. Well, here's your answer. The two of you aren't even on the same level. You're worlds apart," Edward roared, his voice cold and sharp.
He rushed over, full of concern for Claire, scooping her into his arms like she was the only thing that mattered. Then, without a second thought, he shoved me aside hard, like I was some dangerous beast getting too close.
But instead of clinging to him like he expected, I just picked up the scarf in silence and carefully put it back around the corpse, my face completely blank.
Edward flew into a fury the moment he saw that. Bleeding and wild-eyed, he shoved me hard toward the slab where the body lay.
He hissed, practically choking on his jealousy, "You'd rather show all your tenderness to a corpse, but none to me?
"You wanna keep up this act? Fine, then go all the way. Call him your husband? Why don't you just climb into bed with him, then?"
His words landed like an order, and I froze on the spot, my body stiffening.
Almost automatically, I obediently undressed and climbed onto the slab.
Edward totally snapped, yelling as he yanked me off and flipped the slab over.
He bent down to haul the stiff body away, but the moment he saw the man's face, he stopped cold, too stunned to make a sound.
"Isn't... Isn't he..." Edward stuttered, completely shell-shocked.
Seeing the body hit the floor, I totally lost it. I shook off Edward's grip and rushed over, frantically trying to get the body back onto the slab.
"Hon, are you hurt? I'm so sorry. I should've protected you!" My voice trembled as I spoke.
Edward's eyes widened. "Hold up, am I seeing things, or is that Lucas Lancaster? The eldest heir of the Lancaster family, the richest in Veyra City. How did you even end up with a guy like him?"
The butler, Alfred Grant, looked totally horrified. After a long pause, he finally spoke in a low voice.
He said, "Mr. Rivers, Lucas passed away under mysterious circumstances a few months ago. The Lancaster family has been searching for a young woman to be his nominal wife, which means..."
It meant Lucas was, in a way, my husband.
Edward looked like he'd just been struck by lightning, his chest heaving with shock.
He said, "The Lancaster family would never play along with a stunt like this. Are you seriously telling me..."