When Lucian returned to SJ Garden, it was already three in the morning.
As soon as he reached the living room, he heard footsteps. Someone was coming down the stairs.
In his surprise, he turned his head and saw that it was Shelly. Her hair was a mess. Wearing a lace
nightgown, she presented herself to Lucian the way that someone might dangle a piece of meat in front
of a dog.
Feeling a little annoyed, he looked away and asked coldly, "Why are you here?"
He found the whole thing strange. She was dressed like she was ready for bed, yet she had heavy
makeup on. Her dark red lips curled up in a seductive smile.
"This is my home. Can't I be here?" Shelly had managed to force that smile, but her voice trembled
slightly.
Exhaustion was becoming evident on Lucian's face. It was late, and he wanted no more of this.
"Whatever."
The indifference in his words was not lost to Shelly. By that point, she was already hurt, but it was his
words that drove her to the edge. There was a hint of jealousy in her voice when she asked, "Were you
with Amelia?"
"Yes," Lucian answered without hesitation.
The harsh way in which he regarded Shelly broke her heart.
For the past few days, she had been staying with the An family. She had hoped that Lucian would
come over and pick her up. She had even asked Edmund to talk to him about this. Now, Lucian
showed no guilt after coming home in the wee hours of the morning from having met up with Amelia.
Add that to the fact that he had never gone to pick her up as she had originally expected he would.
She began running back the way she had come in an obvious display of her pain. She had thought that
by doing this, she would catch his attention or gain his sympathy. Instead, she saw his eyes flash with
disgust.
"Lucian, I know that that woman still has a special place in your heart. But why do you deliberately hurt
me? You don't want me to be your wife anymore." Tears fell down her cheeks. Shortly after, she began
crying like an injured kitten.
Lucian was annoyed by this whole show. He didn't want to talk anymore. Without a word, he turned
around and headed for the stairs.
"Lucian, no matter who you truly love, we're not getting a divorce!" She ran to him, grabbed his arm,
and clung onto it like a vine.
Lucian frowned and forcefully shook her off. "Will you stop it?"
"Ah!!" Shelly screamed and fell to the ground. There was a thud and then silence. The back of her head
had hit the corner of a low table as she fell.
"Shelly?" Upon seeing what had happened, Lucian's anger was immediately replaced with something
else. He knelt down to help her up, but when he placed his hand under her head to support her, he felt
something sticky. Afraid of what he might see, he looked at his hand anyway. The red liquid confirmed
what he already thought. He was almost scared out of his wits.
Having heard the commotion in the living room, Lily rushed over immediately. When she saw what had
happened, she was so scared that her eyes glazed over and she just stood there, trembling. "Mr.
Lucian, what should we do?" she muttered.
"Call an ambulance!" Lucian instructed her as he carefully picked Shelly up in both arms.
He had succeeded in slowing down the bleeding when the ambulance arrived.
"Mr. Lucian, don't worry. Miss Shelly will be fine," he heard someone say. Outside the emergency room,
Lucian leaned on the wall with his eyes closed, exhausted and worried.
About two hours later, the emergency room doors opened, and the doctor came out. Lucian hurried
over to him and asked, "Is she alright?"
"The patient is now unconscious but safe. It was fortunate that her injury was treated on time.
Otherwise, there would have been further complications due to the amount of blood she would have
lost."
"That's good news! Thank you, Doctor." Lucian felt a wave of relief overcome him. Once more, he
leaned against the wall feeling weak.
"Mr. Lucian, you can go back home. Get some rest. I'll take care of Miss Shelly," Lily assured him.
"No, it's almost morning. The An family will be here any moment now. You can't possibly answer the
questions they're going to ask, so I'll stay. You can go home ahead of me." Lucian and Edmund had not
been having the best relationship for the past few days. Now, this had happened, complicating things
even more.
"I'll fix you a meal. You can rest on the other bed if you're feeling sleepy," Lily offered instead.
At daybreak, Lucian was awakened by a noise. Edmund and Emma had arrived.
The look of worry on Emma's face was in stark contrast to Edmund's glare. He had been looking at
Lucian this way as soon as he had entered the ward. In many ways, he looked like a volcano, gathering
magma until it had enough for an eruption.
"Lucian, you must be very tired. You haven't gotten a wink of sleep. Go back home and get some rest,"
Emma urged gently.
Indeed, he felt exhausted, but he had to stay and tell them about what had happened.
He solemnly stood in front of them and bowed deeply. "Uncle, Auntie, I'm sorry for the injury I have
caused Shelly. Please accept my apologies. I'm truly sorry..."
Although he had married Shelly, for it was what Edmund had wanted, he still addressed the older
gentleman the way that he had had before the marriage.
This was a deliberate move on Lucian's part. Maybe through this, he could make Edmund feel that he
had forced the marriage and that the couple was unhappy.
"Do you think saying sorry is enough for me to forgive you and forget what you've done to my
daughter?" Edmund was fuming.
Emma put her arms around him in an attempt to placate him. "Don't be mad at Lucian. Look. Shelly's
stable now. Besides, he's family, too. Let's not let anger ruin this harmonious relationship."
Edmund looked at her with cold eyes and pushed her away with a force that almost made her fall.
Lucian caught her in time. He was still on edge. The previous night, Shelly had sustained a serious
injury because of a fall.
"Harmonious? If he cares at all about this harmonious relationship that you speak of, he won't have
anything to do with that prodigal son. He's going to ruin me!" Instead of Shelly's injuries, what seemed
to enrage Edmund now was his relationship with Jonny and Lucian's association with him.
Edmund's executive position at the An Group was in danger.
Disgusted, Lucian regarded his father-in-law coldly. He said, "You didn't come here to talk to me about
your daughter. You're here because you're hurt. You're about to lose your position as CEO of the An
Group. Isn't that right?"
Edmund was taken aback by the fact that Lucian had seen right through him. In his rage, he
stammered, "How could you... How dare you turn things around? Shelly has always been the apple of
my eye, and you have caused her nothing but misery since the day that you two got married. I want
you to pay!"
Instead of feeling threatened, Lucian was actually amused. Edmund was panicking, and his guilt was
showing. Lucian responded with the same coolness as before, "If you love your daughter as much as
you claim that you do, why did you force her to marry a man who doesn't love her at all?"
"Lucian, don't forget. I'm the reason why Zhan Group is still here." Edmund immediately changed the
topic. He could not think of an appropriate response to Lucian's question.
Emma, who had decided to watch over Shelly, couldn't help overhearing the argument. She reminded
them softly, "Gentlemen, we are in a hospital ward. Shelly is recovering from an injury. Do you really
want her to wake up to see you being escorted out?"
She had asked them quietly, but Edmund did not respond the same way.
"This is none of your business! Shut up!" he yelled. He muttered something then. Perhaps he had
thought of something else but decided not to say it out loud. Then, he continued, disregarding Lucian's
presence, "Don't think I don't know what you're planning! You've always wanted your son to be the
CEO of the An Group!"
Now enraged by the accusation, Emma stood up and replied, "You said you love your daughter, but
you keep talking about something else. Have you even seen her since we entered the hospital? Jonny
is not only my son. He is also yours."
Emma had always been gentle, and this was the first time that she had ever shown Edmund this side
of hers.
It did not sit well with him. Angrily, he pointed a finger at her and warned, "When we get home, I'm
teaching you a lesson."
Without another word, he stormed out of the ward. He didn't even check on Shelly.
It became silent in the ward again. Emma began to sob painfully with her hand over her mouth.
This broke Lucian's heart. Shortly after, he heard sniffling noises. He looked over at Emma, who was
now crying quietly. He handed her a tissue and said, "Auntie, don't be sad. I'm so sorry about what
happened."
"I believe you. I know you didn't do it on purpose." Emma knew how spoiled and unruly her daughter
could get. And although she was Shelly's mother, the two had never really been close. On the contrary,
Edmund had always indulged their daughter, making her think that in life, she could get everything that
she wanted whenever she wanted it.
"Thanks for your understanding, Auntie." Lucian knew that Emma was simply trying to stay away from
trouble. He had also heard that Edmund was treating her badly.
"I was not myself just now." Emma smiled apologetically, and the lines on her forehead disappeared.
"But I feel better now. I don't regret saying what I said."
She took a deep breath, knowing that she had done something brave. Ever since she married Edmund,
she had felt even less important than a servant. He mistreated her, but she endured everything
because of the children. However, today, when she saw him prioritize his position over the safety and
well-being of his children, she was unable to hold back.
Lucian understood. He smiled gently and said, "Auntie, Jonny loves you very much. He's doing all of
this for you."
Jonny had been unwilling to take over the company. Before he even finished school, Edmund had been
mentoring him and preparing him to be a valuable member of the An Group. Instead, Jonny wanted to
follow his heart and do the things that he loved. It was then that his relationship with his father soured.
"Jonny's father can be selfish. He used to think that it was only natural for a son to take over his
father's company. Now, he feels threatened that Jonny is taking the company away from him, that
Jonny is going to lead An Group and will run it poorly." Emma knew exactly how Edmund thought.
"I have always favored fair competition, not dirty tricks like his." If it weren't for Edmund, Zhan Group
wouldn't be in the mess he had seemed to save it from in the first place.
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