Chapter 434


    Chapter 434


    The threedies had been to a county fair, afterwards indulging in a shopping spree and making a stop


    at a trendy afternoon tea spot before returning contentedly.


    To outsiders, their position as three women in one household was awkward. Most would expect a


    dramatic soap opera of rivalry and betrayal, but they were more like sisters than rivals. asionally,


    even Evadne would feel a pang of envy upon witnessing their bond.


    Emeric must have saved the gxy in his past life to deserve such devotion from these three women in


    this one.


    “Seriously, you guys went out and didn’t invite me! I’m mad, hmpf!”


    Evadne sat in the garden swing, her feet lightly touching the ground as she swung back and forth, her


    posture as lively and youthful as a teenager’s.


    “Oh, our sweetheart, it wasn’t intentional!”


    Aviana walked over to her, affectionately wrapping her arms around her neck from behind, “You


    decided toe home without giving us a heads up. If we’d known, nothing short of your father having


    a stroke or breaking a limb would have kept us away!”


    Evadne’s lips twitched at the corners.


    Suri and Myra looked stiff. “Aviana, don’t jinx Emeric!”


    “Ah, c’mon, if something happened to Emeric, where would I find another sugar daddy as dependable


    as him? Ha ha ha.” Avianaughed carelessly, hands on her hips.


    The other three women exchanged nces.


    Thankfully, Emeric wasn’t there to hear this.


    Otherwise, he might have had a heart attack.


    “Myra has longing for an interesting county fair, so we thought we’d apany her for a change of


    scenery,” Suri exined gently, holding Evadne’s hand. “I’m sorry, I’ll make a special dinner tonight to


    make it up to Evadne,” Myra, who doted on Evadne more than her own daughter, said, immediately


    heading towards the kitchen.


    “Myra, wait! I was just kidding!”


    Evadne quickly stood up, pulling Myra back and pouting, “You’re too sensitive to teasing.”


    Seeing Myra’s modest and submissive demeanor, she felt a pang of sympathy.


    It was exhausting to live so cautiously.


    “Myra, how have you been? Feeling better?” Evadne asked softly.


    –“Evadne, don’t worry about me, I’m fine, really fine,” Myra gently stroked Evadne’s sleek hair, her eyes


    full of concern, “What about you? I heard you’ve been


    causing a ruckustely. You haven’t been home in ages, your father’s been worried sick. He’s lost his


    appetite and he’s lost weight.”


    “Exactly! Even Myra’s cooking can’t tempt him, you can tell how much he misses you,” Aviana chimed


    in.


    Evadne felt a twinge of guilt but hid it well.


    “Evadne, I heard Emeric shouting at you over the phone the other day. Did you two have a fight?” Suri


    couldn’t help asking.


    “Not exactly.”


    “Not exactly? Wow, since that day, Emeric’s been under a dark cloud. His face was ashen when he left


    this morning, he was like a thundercloud,” Aviana shuddered at the thought.


    “Evadne, what happened? Your father rarely gets angry,” Myra asked, worried.


    Evadne clenched her lips, taking deep breaths before speaking, “I got back together with Thaddeus.”


    Silence fell.


    After a moment, the threedies nodded in unison, “No wonder. It’s surprising that Emeric didn’t blow


    up the Abernathy family or turn Thaddeus into a punching bag.”


    Before they could ask more, the butler hurriedly interrupted, “Miss, Mr. Ashbourne has returned and


    requests your presence in the study.”


    “Alright.”


    Evadne took a deep breath, stood up and was about to leave when the threedies, fearing Emeric’s


    wrath, simultaneously voiced their intention to apany her.


    In the study, Emeric sat on the sofa with a grim face, sipping his coffee.


    Usually, there was a lively and warm atmosphere between father and daughter. It was rare for the


    mood to be so oppressive.


    “Why are you all here? I just want to talk to Evadne alone.”


    Emeric nced at his three wives, putting down his teacup heavily, “She’s all grown up now. Do you


    think I’m going to spank her like when she was a child? Even if I did, I’d start by smashing that


    Abernathy boy’s head!”


    Upon hearing this, Evadne’s face fell.


    “Emeric.”


    Suri, fearing Evadne would be scolded, quickly defended her, “Thaddeus may have messed up in the


    past, but he’s repented. He’s risked his life for


    Evadne multiple times. He truly treasures her.”


    “Risked his life? What do you mean? Has Evadne been in danger?!” Emeric’s heart leapt, and he


    leaned forward sharply.


    “I’m fine, nothing happened. Suri is exaggerating,” Evadne hurriedly interrupted.


    It wasn’t that she didn’t want Emeric to know how good Thaddeus was to her, how much he loved her.


    But she was more afraid that her father, unable to ept the news, might fall ill from shock. She would


    never forgive herself.


    She had already lost her mom; she could not lose her father as well.


    Especially since she knew that out of all his children, Emeric loved her the most.


    Emeric slowly leaned back on the sofa, his hawk–like eyes fixed on her, “I don’t care what kind of spell


    that Abernathy boy has cast on you, or what kind of tricks he’s yed! Evadne, I’m telling you this:


    even if Thaddeus gave you the entire Abernathy Group as a wedding gift, I would never agree to you


    being with him! His life is worth nothingpared to the pain he’s caused you, to the three years of


    your youth you’ve wasted on him!”


    Emeric was angry, maybe a bit too much.


    But who in the Ashbourne family didn’t know that Evadne was his breath, his everything?


    Back when Evadne first started elementary school, because of her doll–like beauty, she was quite


    popr among the boys, which caused a lot of jealousy among the girls.


    There was a girl in the ss, spoiled by her parents, who didn’t like Evadne. Despite her young age,


    she started to iste Evadne. Although she never physically hurt her, she bullied her in other ways –


    tearing up her assignments, stealing her hair clips, and even pouring dirty water into her drink bottle.


    Fortunately, young Evadne was smart and broad–minded, and she managed to see through these


    childish tricks and avoid them. She never took them to heart.


    She didn’t want Emeric to worry, so she never mentioned what was happening at school. She was so


    considerate, it was heartbreaking.


    Until one day, that girl sat behind Evadne during ss and cut off her long braids.


    From N?velDrama.Org.


    When their daughter came home with her hair all messed up, Emeric finally learned what his precious


    girl had been going through at school.


    That day, the powerful businessman at the mall had red eyes, nearly in tears. However, little Evadne


    simply smiled brightly,forting her father.


    Later, it was heard that the girl dropped out of school three dayster.


    Her family went bankrupt, her father was sent to prison, and her mom was terrified after realizing that


    they had offended the daughter of the Ashbourne family, and she didn’t survive a serious illness.


    Emeric’s restraint towards Thaddeus, considering all this, was nothing short of a miracle.


    And the miracle was made possible by his daughter.


    If it weren’t for Evadne telling him again and again not to harm Thaddeus, he would have had the boy


    assassinated!


    Maybe, he wouldn’t even have to do it himself; Cassius and his gang would have done it ages ago!


    “Dad, I must admit that I am also to me for the failure of my marriage to Thaddeus.”


    Evadne was serious, no longer calling him “Emeric“, showing how firm and serious she was about this


    matter. “I was too eager to be with him, too eager to have him. I knew he didn’t like me, but I still


    insisted on marrying him. If you were in his shoes, could you ept a woman you didn’t love?


    Especially when he still had someone else in his heart.”


    “Evadne! Have you lost your mind?! There are millions of good men out there, why do you have to


    hang yourself on that crooked tree?!”


    Emeric pped the coffee table angrily, his eyes burning with rage. “I don’t care who he had in his


    heart, he could have chosen not to marry you! He had the responsibility to treat you well once he


    married you! But what did Thaddeus do?! He was an illegitimate child, unloved at home, so he couldn’t


    withstand the pressure from Mr. Hamilton and had to give up his old love and marry a woman he didn’t


    love! I despise him for this cowardly and weak behavior! He doesn’t deserve to be your man, to be my


    son–inw!”


    Evadne’s hands on her knees slowly clenched into fists, her heart heavy as a rock, leaving her


    breathless.


    “Dad, it’s not what you think.”


    “Enough, I don’t want to hear it! I want you to break up with him immediately,pletely! Don’t make


    me do it myself!”


    Emeric was furious, cold and decisive. “Your secret marriage and divorce have already been widely


    spread, you and the Abernathy family should have nothing to do with each other! How will people see


    you if you’re still ambiguous with Thaddeus?! They won’t care whether you two love each other, they’ll


    think that my daughter had to go back to Thaddeus because no one else would want her after the


    divorce! Don’t you care about yourself, or the dignity of the Ashbourne family?!”


    “You know me, I never care about what others think. No one can stop what I want to do. No one can


    stop who I love.” Evadne’s voice was cold as ice, firm and resolute.


    Emeric was so angry that his blood rushed to his head. Suddenly everything went dark, and he had to


    hold onto the arm of the sofa, his body shaking violently!


    “Dad, Dad?!”


    Eyadne immediately lost color, and quickly knelt down in front of her father and held his trembling body.


    “What’s wrong?! Where do you feel ufortable, dad?!”


    “Emeric!”


    The threedies were frightened, and they also rushed over to check on him.


    “I’m fine, don’t make a fuss.” Emeric closed his eyes tightly, trying hard to suppress the severe


    headache, and his body was almost unable to keep


    bnce.


    “Dad! Lie down quickly!”


    Evadne and Aviana immediatelyid him t on the sofa, while Myra, with tears in her eyes, took out


    her phone, ready to call for an ambnce.


    Suri, however, was especially calm. She quickly took out two bottles of medicine from the drawer under


    the desk, poured out a few pills and put them in Emeric’s mouth.


    “Emeric, take the medicine quickly!”


    Emeric took the medicine, drank some water, andy down again, his pained expression easing a bit.


    Evadne picked up the medicine bottle and looked at it closely. The next second, she covered her mouth


    in shock, her tears almost falling down.


    “Stroke?”


    “It’s medicine for stroke, developed by Bright Biopharmacy. The annual production is limited, and many


    people can’t buy it even if they have a lot of money.”


    Suri looked at Emeric, who still had a trace of pain on his face, and couldn’t hide her sorrow. “But since


    this year, the medicine can’t fully control his condition. In fact, your father had a stroke twice earlyst


    year, and he relied on the medicine to get through.”


    “You all knew? Was I the only one who didn’t know?” Evadne’s tears fell down, her heart breaking into


    pieces.


    “No, Cassius and Arnold didn’t know either. Your father didn’t want us to tell you kids, afraid that you


    would worry, afraid.”


    Suri also squatted down, took out a handkerchief and gently wiped the cold sweat from Emeric’s


    forehead. “Evadne, don’t be angry with your father. He just loves you too much, afraid that you’ll get


    hurt, afraid that others will look down on you, love is blind.”


    “Look down on? Who dares.”


    Aviana’s voice was hoarse, her eyes bloodshot with an angry fierceness. Evadne is the jewel of the


    Ashbourne family. Anyone who dares to belittle her, I’ll rip out their eyeballs and tear out their gossiping


    tongues!”


    Evadne clutched her father’s cold hand tightly, her head hung low.


    She had been such a terrible daughter.


    She had been reckless and selfish, gallivanting around the world for Thaddeus,pletely ignoring her


    family. She didn’t even know about her father’s state of health.


    How could she have been so ignorant.


    At that moment, there was a knock at the door.


    Suri collected her emotions and quickly walked to the door, “What is it?”


    “Madam Suri, there are visitors. They are waiting outside,” the butler said respectfully.


    “Visitors? At this hour? Who could it be?”


    “Mr. Avery of the Chambers family.”


    Evadne’s gaze darkened slightly as she slowly rose to her feet, a chill seeming to rise from the floor.


    “Suri, you stay here and look after father. I’ll meet him.”


    Evadne walked heavily out of the Silveke Harbor.


    Under the magnificent gatemp, Avery stood alone, patiently waiting. His tall figure was entuated


    by the light, his gentle and warm demeanor seemingly at odds with the rumors of his viinous nature.


    Hearing the door open, Avery quickly raised his eyes, the exquisite hazel irises behind his gold–rimmed


    sses brimming with joy. His lips curled up in a warm smile.


    “Evadne.”


    He called her, voice full of affection.


    Evadne’s beautiful face was icy, as she stepped forward to the man.


    “Evadne!”


    “What do you want?” Her tone was ice cold, devoid of previous familiarity.


    Avery felt a pang in his heart, he clenched his fingers, looking at her with deep concern, “I ran into Mr.


    Emeric at an event today. He looked really unwell in


    the VIP lounge, barely pushing through the event. When I got home, I couldn’t shake off my worry, so I


    came to check on him.”