Eddie's POV

"Forgotten, have you?"

I let the question hang, my voice steady, but weighed down like a storm cloud.

"Then, do you still remember when things started to change between you and him?"

I looked at her calmly as I asked again, "Do you remember what you said to me the night I caught you after your ridiculous one-night stand with him?"

The room was suddenly and completely silent. The subtle smell of vetiver in the air brought both our minds back to the past.

Landon Murphy.

He was a university student whom Stephanie had brought back two years ago when she went on a business trip to a remote area. At that time, Landon had been venting his frustrations about his family, who were pressuring him to marry the village chief's daughter.

He fought against his parents, insisting that love should be the foundation of any relationship, not family arrangements. He didn't want to be tied down to a small, backward village.

And because of his firm beliefs about love, he connected with Stephanie.

Stephanie couldn't resist. She decided to fund him, bringing him back and settling him at a prominent university near the Thomas family's mansion. She bought him a house, gave him a luxury car, and handed him a black card to support his entrepreneurial ventures.

As time went on, Stephanie and Landon grew both closer and more distant from me. It became so extreme that she even started to ignore our daughter.

Then came the night everything came crashing down.

Stephanie had worked late, and somehow, she came back to the wrong house.

When I found her, she knelt before me, her face pale and frantic. She grabbed my hand and slapped her own face. Over and over.

"I'm sorry, Eddie. It's my fault. I drank too much at a business dinner. He didn't want this. I forced him... I promise it won't happen again. After he graduates, I'll stop supporting him."

Then, she got pregnant.

Recalling that incident, a mocking smile played on my lips.

"Stephanie, can you explain something to me? You slept with him a year ago, but now you're eight months pregnant? Has there been new research showing that ovulation and fertilization can be delayed by 2 to 4 months?"

She flinched, and I could see the color drain from her face. "That's enough, Edward!"

Her anger flared, and for a brief moment, I almost felt like I'd won, but it didn't matter. Nothing did.

Facing my questions, Stephanie said, "I'll explain everything later."

Then, she dismissed my question and shifted our conversation.

"What about Thea? Why didn't you bring her back? She's just got diarrhea. Does she really need to stay in the hospital this long?"

Thinking about my daughter felt like a thousand hammers pounding my chest, each blow making it harder to breathe.

I pulled out the folded death certificate and divorce agreement from my bag, my hands trembling. I slumped weakly into the foyer, my face drained—drained of any hope I had left.

"Three days from now, cremation," I said quietly, with the weight of my loss hanging in the air. "Find some time to go see your daughter and take care of the divorce paperwork."

Stephanie took the documents from me, her eyes scanning them briefly before turning back to me with a cold gaze that seemed to pierce straight through.

Then she laughed.

The timing was too much for me to take.

"The timing is so coincidental," she said, her voice sounding almost casual.

The documents slipped from her grasp, scattering at my feet.

"Sorry, I didn't think diarrhea could kill someone."

I clenched my fists, my frustration building.

"I know you're heartbroken," Stephanie said, her voice unnervingly calm. "But it's okay. In three days, Landon and my baby will be born."

There it was again. That casual tone. The coldness. As if none of this even mattered.

"I've already agreed with him that after the baby is born, he'll bring the child to you to raise. You just need to be a good son-in-law to the Thomas family. But there's one condition: you have to let Landon visit the child regularly."

I froze. My entire body went still, like a bomb had gone off in my chest.

Disbelief. Anger. Shock.

"Stephanie!" I spat, my voice rising, the words coming out in a roar. "Do you even hear yourself? Are you a monster?!"

My voice echoed through the house, waking Landon, who had been napping in the bedroom.

Stephanie glanced at me, eyes full of judgment. "Lower your voice. Landon is exhausted from doing prenatal education and needs his nap."

Her words barely registered as I fought to keep my emotions in check.

And then, before I even knew it, everything exploded.

A sharp slap.

The sound echoed through the room, and I barely had time to process it before the coldness in Stephanie's eyes froze me in place.

"Feeling better now?"

She crossed the line again.

"Don't make jokes like that again. Who dies from diarrhea? And making jokes like that about Thea. Aren't you worried she'll pick up bad habits from you?"

Eddie's POV

It became painfully clear. Stephanie didn't believe the death certificate.

I could feel the exhaustion weighing me down as I picked up the divorce agreement and walked over to the coffee table, signing my name slowly, deliberately.

After I was done, I put the death certificate away and glanced at Stephanie.

"Don't forget to sign," I reminded.

She hesitated, her mouth opening slightly as if she wanted to say something, but then her eyes caught on something, and her frustration faded away in an instant.

"You're awake?"

Landon stepped out of the master bedroom, his silk pajama collar hanging loosely, revealing a noticeable bruise on his collarbone.

What an eyesore!

"Stephanie, did you and Eddie have a fight?" Landon asked, sounding like the poor, innocent fool he was pretending to be.

He exaggeratedly grabbed the divorce papers, wide-eyed, his confusion spilling over.

"Eddie, are you getting a divorce from Stephanie?!"

Landon paused, then added with a mocking tilt to his voice, "Why? Is it because of me?"

I scoffed, disbelief flooding through me as I turned to him. "Yes, it's because of you. Because you shamelessly got a married woman pregnant, and because she's too shameless to keep another family outside her marriage."

Landon's face turned red as he instinctively tried to cover the bruise on his collarbone with his other hand.

"I'm sorry, Eddie," he stammered. "I... I didn't know that opening the door that night would cause such a big misunderstanding. I thought Stephanie came to talk about her troubles."

I found it laughable. What kind of 'trouble' would someone need to abandon their husband on their wedding anniversary to confide in an outsider?

Stephanie, showing off her pregnant belly like it was some badge, walked over to Landon and buttoned his pajama collar gently.

"Don't mind him," she said, her voice dripping with false sweetness. "He's just upset today."

I didn't want to spend any more time on them. Ignoring the challenge in Landon's eyes, I turned and headed straight to Thea's room.

When I stepped outside, Landon was alone, crushing the divorce papers in his hands. He threw them at my feet as if it were some insult.

I recognized the document immediately—it was my daughter's death certificate.

"Who gave you permission to go through my things?" I glared at him, my voice icy with anger.

Landon put on an exaggerated face of surprise, but there was a flicker of joy in his eyes.

"Eddie," he laughed, "your daughter really died from diarrhea? That's so ridiculous! Stephanie was right. Weak children are just so hard to handle."

The anger that surged through me was unlike anything I'd felt before. My whole body shook, and before I could even think, I took two quick steps and punched Landon in the face.

He cried out, stumbling backward and crashing to the floor.

Before I could even react, two sharp slaps landed on my face and head.

Stephanie had struggled to help Landon up, her eyes filled with a venomous rage.

"Edward, you've gone too far!"

Landon, clutching his bruised mouth, cowered behind her.

"I just asked about Thea's condition, and Eddie just... I just suggested that he shouldn't make the child so fragile and shouldn't lie with the child. Stephanie, did I say something wrong?"

Stephanie shook her head.

"Edward, what did Landon say wrong? How have you become like this? This is the second time you've hit him. If you do it again, we'll really get a divorce!"

Stephanie then stormed out of the room, with Landon trailing behind, looking sullen.

Not wanting to get any more tangled in their drama, I purposely waited for fifteen minutes before grabbing my packed luggage and heading downstairs.

Stephanie must have forgotten something.

I've always been a mild-tempered person. As long as nothing crosses my line, I never go out of my way to make things difficult for anyone, let alone resort to violence.

And when it comes to crossing lines, Stephanie has done that far too many times.

The precious cufflinks from the last auction were a gift that Stephanie personally arranged to have made by a famous designer abroad six years ago for our engagement.

Not only Stephanie, but probably everyone, had forgotten that the Thomas family and my family had always supported each other.

Unfortunately, the plane crash turned my family into a hollow shell.

These cufflinks symbolized a promise Stephanie made while kneeling at my parents' grave, vowing to give me everything, just as my parents had given me their love and devotion.

Eddie's POV

Six years had passed, and by then, Stephanie had long forgotten the final payment for those cufflinks. The deadline had passed, and when the designer had no other options, he decided to auction them off.

I wasn't even looking for money anymore. I just wanted to retrieve what was initially meant for me, but Stephanie had stopped my card.

As a result, Thea never received the medical treatment she needed.

...

The next time I woke up, I was in the hospital, staring up at the ceiling in confusion.

"You're awake?"

The nurse removed the needle from the back of my hand.

She said, "You fainted on the roadside last night from low blood sugar. A couple found you and brought you here."

"A couple?" I repeated, trying to shake off the fogginess.

The nurse smiled brightly at the mention of the couple. "Yes, the man really loves his wife. When she was giving birth, he was running around, stressing about everything, sweating outside the operating room."

"How long was I out?" I asked, trying to piece things together.

The nurse replied, "Since the night before yesterday."

I didn't need to ask who the 'couple' was. I already knew.

So I asked the nurse for the room number and headed there, walking through the sterile hallways, still trying to clear my head.

Just as I rounded the corner, I spotted Landon, spooning some porridge into Stephanie's mouth. Her mother was sitting beside them, watching the scene with a warm smile.

When Stephanie saw me, she froze, her expression faltering for just a second.

"Oh, hey, you're up? The doctor said it was just low blood sugar. Just make sure to eat on time next time."

Then, she invited me into the room.

"Come look. Isn't our baby adorable? Doesn't he look more like Landon?"

For a moment, it felt like I was transported back in time to when she was first a mother, before everything spiraled out of control.

"You're really happy about giving birth to the product of your affair?" I couldn't help but ask, the words escaping before I could stop them.

Stephanie and her mother's smiles froze.

Meanwhile, tears of grievance and anger welled up in Landon's eyes.

"Eddie, I know you're upset with me, but please don't speak like that about the baby. He's still so young," Landon said, his voice trembling.

Stephanie gave me a disapproving look, then reached for a tissue to wipe away his tears.

'God, my wife is so fucking thoughtful, isn't she?' I mocked inwardly.

Seeing the situation, Stephanie's mother suggested that Stephanie and I should talk things over alone. She said I would always be the Thomas family's son-in-law, and that Landon's child wouldn't impact Thea's place in the family.

It was all so sweet, like a rehearsed line meant to calm me down.

"Mom's right," Stephanie said, taking a deep breath.

Still recovering from giving birth, she winced slightly as she moved. "Edward, I hope you understand that no one can affect you and Thea's place in the family. So, can you stop being so hostile toward Landon? He grew up poor his whole life, and his life hasn't been easy. "

Stephanie added, "I also checked with the hospital today, and Thea has already been discharged. Do you know where she went? Didn't she always feel lonely with no other kids around? Now she has a little brother; shouldn't she be happy?"

She continued, "And for the record, Landon didn't say anything wrong that day. Even though Thea is a girl, you can't make her too fragile. You should let her exercise more and learn to swim so she can build a stronger body.

I couldn't help but snort. "And what about you?"

Stephanie's face briefly showed a flicker of guilt before she straightened up, her expression defensive. "I just gave birth, Eddie. It's inconvenient for me. And besides, the baby just arrived; he needs me..."

I couldn't help myself, I rolled my eyes.

I looked at her with scorn and asked, "Why is Thea's health so fragile? You haven't forgotten, have you?"

Stephanie stared at me like I had just slapped her. She looked lost, as if what I said hadn't crossed her mind.

But I wasn't going to let her off the hook that easily.

I was 19 when I lost my parents and became an unwanted child. It was Stephanie who appeared and brought me into the Thomas family. At age 21, she revealed her feelings and gently persuaded me to accept her completely.

That same year, she found out she was pregnant, but due to sneaking out late at night to race cars, she had a miscarriage.

The doctors confirmed there were two heartbeats.

Doctors usually recommend waiting at least two years before trying for another baby following a miscarriage. However, Stephanie felt that I hadn't truly forgiven her. She was afraid I would secretly abandon her, so she drugged me to ensure that I left my mark inside her.