Chapter 149
Eddy had taken her from a penniless nobody scraping by on odd jobs and transformed her into a student at a prestigious university. Surrounded by luxury cars, a sprawling house, designer clothes, sparkling jewelry, and exquisite meals, she lived like the cherished daughter of an old–money family.
Over the years, he’d given her so much–too much. He’d even helped lift her parents out of poverty, if only indirectly.
But she always knew she was nothing more than a hidden songbird in a gilded cage. The one who stood at his side, basking in everyone’s adoration, was always her sister, Blanche. Never her.
That was true–until she gave birth to Lara.
Eddy doted on Lara with a passion that spilled over to Jeannette as well. He became gentler, more affectionate.
He began bringing her to public events. His friends addressed her with respect and warmth, and her yanity soared higher than ever.
She started to crave the position beside him, to grow greedy for a place in his world.
A sudden, blinding pain tore through Jeannette, as if she’d been run over by a truck, leaving her numb and trembling.
She saw Eddy stand up.
He looked, for a second, like a ray of light breaking through her darkness–just as he once had, all those years ago.
She tried to call out to him, but the only sound that escaped her lips was a shameful, desperate moan.
She watched him pick up Kelvin’s phone and snap a picture of their tangled bodies. His gaze dropped, never lifting from the screen again, as though she’d ceased to
exist.
Jeannette screamed like a madwoman, her cries echoing down the hospital corridor.
Her father in prison, her mother behind bars, her own humiliation–what had she gotten out of any of it?
Regret crashed over her.
Chapter 144
No. She refused to regret it.
She was about to become Mrs. Anderson. Lara would be Miss Anderson. She still
had Kelvin.
But the hopeless tears spilled faster than she could wipe them away.
Eddy, unmoved, sent the photo to Kelvin’s social feed with a single, venomous caption: “She’s my wife now!”
A woman this poisonous had to be wiped clean from his life, stripped of hope, with no way back.
Within seconds, the comments flooded in with crude jokes and mocking congratulations..
“Really did it, huh? Aren’t you afraid Eddy’s gonna show up with a knife?”
“No way Kelvin had the guts to do this without Eddy’s say–so.”
“Well damn, congrats I guess.”
“Life’s a long road–aren’t we all just someone else’s hand–me–downs? Kelvin’s a real man!”
Ingrid saw the post and shook with fury.
Eddy had tossed Jeannette to Kelvin like yesterday’s garbage, all to please Blanche. Ingrid adored Eddy almost as much as she hated his hypocrisy. He loved Blanche, yet he kept cheating with Jeannette.
Why couldn’t he look at her, just once?
If only she’d swallowed her pride back then and agreed to be his mistress–she would never have ended up as pathetic as Jeannette.
She was Miss Marshall, after all–more dignified and elegant than Blanche. She could have outshone her easily.
It made her sick with resentment.
Ingrid forwarded the photo to Loraine. “Auntie, looks like Eddy and Jeannette are really done.”
“And he still won’t accept any of the women you’ve arranged for him.”
“What are we going to do?”
Half an hour later, Eddy got a call from Loraine and returned to the family estate.
Since their last argument, and with Blanche’s string of recent incidents, a cold wall had grown between mother and son. They hadn’t spoken properly in weeks.
“Sheila was my best friend. Before she passed, she entrusted Laney to me–how could I not care about her?” Loraine sat in the living room, poking at incense ashes with a silver needle. The scent of sandalwood drifted through the air.
I
Her voice was gentle, almost pleading. “Be honest, have I ever mistreated her? But now, she’s in the hospital for surgery and you wouldn’t even let me visit. Are you determined to cut me off for good?”
“Mom, she can’t handle any more stress.”
“Eddy, everything I do is for you and for Laney.” Loraine sighed deeply. “If you think I’ve been wrong, I’ll change. I won’t mention marrying again, not ever.”
Tears shone at the corners of Loraine’s eyes. Eddy’s heart softened, even as the incense’s subtle smoke crept into his lungs, stirring something hot and restless inside him. His skin burned, his eyes reddened, and a wild tremor ran through his
body.
The sensation was all too familiar–poison, down to the bone.
Eddy suddenly glared at Loraine, knocking the incense burner from her hand. His eyes blazed as he roared, “Is this what you call caring for Laney?”
Loraine’s sorrow vanished, replaced by a cold, empty stare. “You forced me to use these methods again, Eddy!”
At that moment, Ingrid stepped from the study in a flimsy slip, winding her arms. around Eddy’s neck, her soft body pressed against his burning skin. She whispered, seductive, “Eddy…”
His veins stood out as if ready to burst. The blood in his body seethed, scorching him from the inside out. He shoved Ingrid away, stumbling toward the door.
At the threshold, he found his way blocked. Bodyguards stood shoulder–to–shoulder, faces covered by gas masks, an impenetrable wall barring his escape.
“Out of my way!” Eddy shouted.
But the guards didn’t budge an inch.
“If you could accept Jeannette, you can accept Ingrid tonight!” Loraine led Ingri over, her tone icy. “She’s a thousand times better than Jeannette. She’ll take good care of you.”
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Loraine slipped through the guards, her words as chilling as the night. “I’ll go stay with Laney. That way, you won’t worry about her.”
“If you refuse to cooperate tonight, I’ll tell Laney everything.”
The guards linked arms, forming a living barricade, closing in tighter and tighter until Eddy and Ingrid were forced practically together.
The drug’s effects burned in his veins. His eyes gleamed with a feral, blood–hungry light. Desire threatened to consume him, and his hand fell to Ingrid’s shoulder, pulling her close.
His voice shattered the silence, ragged with fury and pain: “Get away from me-!”
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