Filed to story: I Got Married Without You
His lonely figure made Paul feel like he could collapse at any moment. But he also saw his friend’s determination to keep moving forward, without any intention of turning back.
Perhaps even if he did turn back, no one would be waiting for him there…
“What are you going to do from now on?”
Anthony didn’t answer him, he just raised his hand and waved casually.
It seemed as if he was saying that life is long and everything is predetermined. He’s not going to struggle anymore, whatever happens.
Paul lowered his despondent eyelashes, staring at his own shadow on the ground, lost in thought.
Anthony and Edith were once in love, but he and Eva never loved each other. Their life paths won’t follow Anthony and Edith’s because there’s no love story between them…
He took out his phone and opened the photos sent by his assistant. For a moment, he wanted to take these photos and find Eva, but the lessons he learned from before restored his sanity. Even if he presented evidence to Eva, would she believe it?
Paul couldn’t afford to take the risk. He was afraid she wouldn’t believe him, and even more afraid that she would forgive Jayden once she did. It’s ridiculous, he found himself feeling inferior in front of a doctor who was nowhere near his level, and this inferiority was bestowed upon him by Eva… Edith’s mother, Kate, and father, Eric, sat down on the living room couch after finishing their meal.
Kate called a beautician to take care of her skin, while Eric lowered his head and looked through the latest financial newspaper.
It drizzled a bit in the evening, with the sound of raindrops falling on the eaves, adding a touch of liveliness to the quiet villa.
Along with the sound of rain, there were also sounds of knocking on doors and windows. The maid, who was wiping the dining table, quickly put down her cloth to pull the curtains.
After the curtains were drawn, drenched Edith stood outside the glass door, her red eyes fixed on the wealthy woman inside.
Now that the children had grown up and moved out, only Kate and Eric lived in the house. The two children occasionally come back for meals, but they always informed in advance.
Seeing Edith appearing at the door so late and in such a disheveled state, Kate and Eric were extremely surprised and, quickly had someone open the door.
“Edith, what’s wrong with you?”
Kate and Eric quickly got up, approached her with concern, and held her hand, only to find that she was trembling all over. The couple was terrified.
“Did something happen?”
Kate used her own hand to wipe the rainwater off Edith’s face, but Edith turned her head aside.
Kate paused, seemingly understanding something, and when she looked into Edith’s teary eyes, a sense of guilt surged within her.
Edith pushed away the hands of the couple without even entering the house. She stood under the porch, red-eyed, looking at them. “Why did you treat me like this, and why did you treat Anthony like this?”
If it weren’t for them, she wouldn’t have suffered so much and wouldn’t have been separated from the person she loved the most.
They were her parents, the ones who had cherished her since she was little, but they were the ones who pushed her into the abyss and made her wish for death.
She couldn’t accept it. Anthony was so heartless to push her away, and it was because of her parents.
Her parents seemed so kind and understanding…
“Do you know that Anthony’s grandmother committed suicide because of this?” Edith clenched her fists, no longer caring about her image, yelling at her parents in a fit of rage.
“Because of your efforts to break us apart, indirectly causing someone’s death, how can you still act like nothing happened and keep it from me for so many years?”
Edith’s heartbreaking scream left Kate and Eric stunned in place. They were both shocked and filled with guilt as they stared at Edith.
“Mom, you also have a son. If someone else’s parents treated your son like this, wouldn’t you feel heartbroken and upset?”
Kate opened her thin lips to say something but was interrupted by Edith’s bitter laughter.
“Mom, Anthony is loved by someone, just not his parents but his grandmother. Yet you used his grandmother to threaten. him. You achieved your goal, but it not only hurt me, but also implicated his grandmother.”
Edith never imagined what kind of life Anthony had during those years when she was suffering. He pushed her away and lost his grandmother, but he never said a word. Many years later, he became a shining star in the legal world, gaining her parents’ approval, and only then did he come back to find her.
But she forced herself to let him go. When he came to her with joy, bringing flowers and saying, “Edith, I’m back, now we can be together,” he was happy, but she didn’t want to say anything extra to him and had her bodyguard escort him out.
And despite him coming to find her so many times, he never mentioned that her parents forced him. He only kept begging for her forgiveness.
She had always thought Anthony was the problem, never considering that it was her own parents.
“Mom, you clearly know everything, yet you pretend to know nothing and come to comfort me, saying that someone like Anthony, a playboy, doesn’t deserve love. Is it him who doesn’t deserve it or is it that you think he doesn’t deserve it?!”
With a resounding accusation like this, Kate felt ashamed and reached out to hold Edith’s hand, but she was pushed away.
“Don’t touch me. Your acting and your thoughts frighten me,” Edith said.
Kate’s heart skipped a beat as she looked at her daughter’s hostility. For a moment, she couldn’t find the words to say. Tears filled her eyes as she stared at Edith in shock.
Eric quickly stepped in to defend Kate. “Edith, your mother is only trying to protect you. Anthony is always partying at nightclubs and involving your brother in his reckless behavior. If it weren’t for that, your mother wouldn’t have tried to break you two apart. If you’re going to blame anyone, blame him for not being responsible.”
Edith cried out in anger, “Dad! You also come from a wealthy and influential family. Don’t you know all the schemes in this circle?”
Eric frowned but remained silent, Edith stared into his eyes and spoke word by word.
“Anthony’s mother passed away a long time ago, and his stepmother, in order to secure the inheritance for her own son, manipulated him into ruining his own reputation!”
Eric and Kate seemed shocked to learn about Anthony’s past. Looking at Edith, they said, “We had no idea…”
“Yes, you know nothing. You think you know it all and make decisions for me without even asking me!” Edith exclaimed.
With a pained expression, Edith continued, “Do you know that your actions caused me to lose the person I loved the most?”
Seeing Edith’s tear-stained face, Kate felt immense guilt. “I’m sorry, it’s all my fault, I was wrong…”
She held onto Edith’s cold and trembling hand, explaining, “I thought Anthony had a bad character, so when I found out you two were dating, I tried to separate you. But after meeting him a few times, I realized he wasn’t as bad as I thought. I thought if I let go, he could win you back, and then I wouldn’t feel guilty about what I did in the past…”
“You thought that if you let go, he would win me back, and then we would be together, and you wouldn’t feel guilty about what you did back then, right?” Edith interrupted.
Kate shook her head, but Edith continued to approach her Step by step.
“Mom, tell me, did you let go because you saw Anthony creating his own career and thought he was worthy of me, or did you know that his grandmother committed suicide because of your pressure?” If it was the former, Edith would think that Kate placed too much importance on a guy’s family background.
If it was the latter, Edith would feel that her mother didn’t love her as much as she portrayed, not with her whole heart.
At least, not the way she had shown it, wholeheartedly loving her child.
“Edith, how could you be so suspicious of your own mother?” Eric stepped forward once again to defend his wife.
“She did try to break you and Anthony apart back then, but later on she saw Anthony’s efforts and thought he was not bad, so she relented,” he explained.
