Chapter 481


    Chapter 481


    “President Ashbourne.”


    Thaddeus’s voice was as raspy as if a steamroller had passed over his throat, barely audible.


    “Thaddeus!”


    Cassius red with bloodshot eyes, his chest aze with fury, like a wild beast charging straight at


    Thaddeus, who stood frozen in ce!


    Thaddeus saw the fierce blow aimed at his cheeking; but he didn’t move a muscle. Hit him, that


    what he deserved. Even if Cassius beat him to death, he wouldn’t utter a word ofint.


    “Cassius! Stop!”


    Just as Cassius’s fist was inches away from the man’s face, Chasel appeared in the nick of time,


    throwing his arms around him from behind in a tight embrace!


    “Let go,” Cassius hissed, his lips bleeding, his heart dripping blood.


    “I won’t!”


    Chasel’s arms trembled around his sturdy waist as he shouted breathlessly, “What’s the point of hitting


    him?! Will beating him bring back what Evadne has lost?!”


    “But he deserves to die!”


    Cassius’s cheeks shivered with rage, his powerful body struggling fiercely, tears that had been held


    back now escaping uncontrobly, “Why doesn’t he just die? My sister can’t have children anymore!


    She’s only twenty–five and she’s lost the chance to be a mother forever! It’s all thanks to you,


    Thaddeus, why don’t you just die?!”


    Why didn’t he just die? Yes, he truly deserved death.


    Thaddeus felt like a y doll, drained of blood and spirit, his features defeated and ashen.


    Chasel noticed how wretched he looked. Thaddeus’s short hair was dripping wet, droplets tracing down


    his pale, once handsome


    cheeks.


    His finely tailored suit was soaked through, the hem of his trousers and his shoes caked in mud. It was


    a sorry sight.


    It had started raining when Evadne was taken away by her father. Thaddeus had chased after the


    Ashbourne family’s car in the pouring rain for miles, yet in the end, he hadn’t even caught a glimpse of


    Evadne.


    “I’m sorry, it’s all my fault, all my fault.”


    He muttered over and over, a lost soul, “All my fault.I am to me. I’m sorry.”


    “Thaddeus, do you have any idea how much Evadne loves children. How much she wanted to have a


    kid with you?!”


    told


    Cassius, a towering figure of a man, wept uncontrobly, “During those three years as your wife, she


    told us countless times, she wanted to be a mother. And sometimes, remembering your marriage in


    name only, your indifference, she’d call me in the middle of the night, crying secretly.”


    Thaddeus felt a sharp pain in his heart, as if it was being tortured by a poisoned de, the agony


    spreading rapidly through his limbs, seizing his entire consciousness.


    Tears rimmed his eyes, his shoulders shaking violently. All he could feel was pain, bone–deep, earth–


    shattering. Unbearable pain.


    “I didn’t know. I truly didn’t know.”


    Thaddeus’s eyes brimmed with tears, his lips pale as he stammered, “If I had known, I…”


    “You didn’t know?”


    Cassiusughed bitterly in extreme anger, “You didn’t know about your one–night stand with Evadne;


    you didn’t know she was pregnant with your child. Are you joking, or are you truly that clueless? But


    regardless of which it is, I can no longer forgive you. If I had left Evadne in the hands of a heartless


    man like you, I would not deserve to be even called a man!”


    Chasel was petrified and sighed helplessly upon hearing this. He had been back in the country for a


    while and had been through many harrowing experiences with them, well aware of how much


    Thaddeus loved Evadne.


    But that fruitless marriage of three years had wounded Evadne too deeply.


    If he were in that position, even if he still loved the man, he probably couldn’t bear the daily reminder of


    inability to bear children, that self–inflicted torment eroding the happiness of love day by day.


    Such a star–crossed couple, such an insoluble dilemma.


    But fearing things would deteriorate further, Chasel could only plead, “Cassius, no matter what,


    Thaddeus is still the man who saved


    Evadne’s and your lives. If it weren’t for his sacrifice, how could you have possibly returned alive? I’d


    never see you again! You’d cause more pain! Including to Evadne!”


    Cassius’s eyes were still red and swollen, but he slowly lowered his fist.


    “Thaddeus, you did save my life, so I’ll spare you. But from now on, don’t ever appear before me, and


    don’t step back into Evadne’s life. I can forgive all the past hurt you’ve caused her, except for this one. I


    just can’t get past it, not even in death.”


    With that, Cassius bit his lip and walked away. Chasel cast a silent nce at the bloodless Thaddeus


    and reluctantly followed Cassius.


    ‘Please give me onest chance to make amends!”


    Thaddeus’s cheeks were streaked with tears, as pitiful as Evadne had been when begging him not to


    divorce, perhaps even more so, “I truly love Evadne very much. Please give me one chance, thest


    one! Let me atone; let me make amends!”


    “Sure.”


    Cassius’s voice was cold, hisugh frosty, cruelly smashing the hope he had given, “Return to me a


    sister with an unharmed body, a healthy womb. Then I’ll no longer stand in your way.”


    Thaddeus couldn’t remember how he made it out of the parking lot.


    The severe headache that had long been absent came roaring back, a buzzing noise in his ears as if


    countless demons were jeering and mocking his foolishness, “Thaddeus, you deserve this day; you


    truly do! You deserve to die!”


    “Thad!”


    Jareth called out to him countless times from behind, but Thaddeus heard nothing, standing in the rain


    like a zombie.


    Suddenly, the headache intensified, and Thaddeus’s body swayed! The rain–washed world in front of


    him blurred and distorted, as if time and space were in disarray.


    If it wasn’t for Jareth’s timely dash to his side to catch him, he might have taken a nasty spill right into


    the puddle before them! “Thad! Hang in there!”


    Jareth wrapped his trembling body in a tight embrace, his eyes filled with urgent concern, “You can’t


    give up on Evadne, and you certainly can’t just throw in the towel! Can’t you see? Evadne still loves


    you deeply. Since you love her too, you’ve got to buck up and face all the hardships head–on!”


    “Her body’s ruined because of me. Jareth, what do I do?”


    Thaddeus’s handsome, pallid face was a portrait of despair, “What can I do? How can I make up fof…


    for everything she’s lost?” “There’s got to be a way! With modern medicine advancing so fast, there’s


    hardly a disease money can’t tackle. Even for terminal illnesses, enough cash can buy years more of


    life! Let’s brainstorm together, Evadne’s health can surely be restored! But if you give up on her, then


    you’re really hurting her, and it’s really over!” Jareth shouted over the drumming of the rain.


    Thaddeus sped his hands over his head, gasping in agony, “Back then, I told Evadne I wanted kids,


    that I wanted to start a family with her. If I had known. If I had known it woulde to this, why did I


    even bring up kids? What does it matter if we never have children?! How could I be so selfish!”


    Jareth’s own heart was heavy, and he shook his head in distress.


    Evadne had decided to drop all her psychological burdens and love Thaddeus anew, which was


    already a courageous act under immense pressure. Yet, every time Thaddeus mentioned kids, her


    heart must have still ached in silence.


    “Thad, I think what you need to do now is uncover exactly what happened back then, the full story


    behind Evadne’s miscarriage. Only then can wee up with a n, a targeted solution!”


    Thaddeus pulled at his hair, trying hard to recall everything.


    The medical reports said that Evadne had been two months pregnant when she lost the child. So, what


    exactly happened two months after they were together?


    ‘Mr. Thaddeus Abernathy!”


    Gordon, breathless and soaked from the rain, ran over with a look of grave concern, “Mr. Hamilton


    Abernathy can’t reach you, he got Mr. Murray to contact me. Mr. Hamilton Abernathy knows about the


    incident at the banquet; he’s asking you toe to Havenbrook Vi immediately!”


    The revtion of Evadne’s infertility by Edith at the banquet of William and his son spread like wildfire


    that very night.


    Due to the high level of security, there was no media at the banquet, and the guests, respectful of the


    pressure from both the Ashbourne Group and the Fairhaven Group, dared not leak any recordings to


    the press or post them online.


    Getting caught by the Ashbourne family or Fairhaven family would mean the end of their lives. After all,


    it was easy to track down the guests present. But no secret can be kept forever – the news had a way


    of getting out.


    Hamilton was sitting at home when he heard the news at the banquet, almost suffering a heart attack


    from the shock. Mr. Murray,


    terrified, had immediately summoned the private doctor to the house, ready for an emergency.


    “na! My poor na!”


    Learning that Evadne had once been pregnant with the Abernathy family’s child, Hamilton was both


    stunned and heartbroken, tears streaming down his face, “Silly girl! Such an important matter as


    pregnancy, how could you handle it so carelessly! The kid is gone, which is bad enough, but if your


    health is ruined, oh, my na, why must your life be so hard!”


    Mr. Murray, patting Hamilton’s heaving back, felt as if his heart was being scorched. The image of


    Evadne bleeding and begging him to keep her secret was vivid in his mind, and even now, it pained


    him deeply.


    Mr. Murray, deep in thought and taking a deep breath as if to speak, was cut off by Frederic who burst


    out, “Dad, your health isn’t good; you mustn’t get too worked up!”


    “How can I not be worked up?! na was pregnant with Thaddeus’s child, the Abernathy bloodline! A


    living child just gone without exnation. How can I not be heartbroken, not feel guilty?!”


    In the midst of Hamilton’s grief, Thaddeus walked in, his steps heavy and defeated.


    “Grandpa Hamilton.”


    “Thaddeus, where’s na? Did Emeric take her home?” Hamilton asked eagerly.


    Thaddeus nodded heavily, too choked up to speak.


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    “How could you be so careless, so foolish?!”


    Hamilton mmed his hand on the coffee table, wishing he could smack some sense into his


    disappointing grandson, “na is your wife! You didn’t even know she was pregnant? When did you


    be so inattentive?!”


    “Dad, please don’t me Thaddeus. What’s done is done, and your scolding isn’t helping.” Frederic’s


    eyelids were lowered, his face the picture of indifference, “Besides, you knew Thaddeus didn’t love


    Evadne back then, yet you insisted on matchmaking, driving him away from home. How could he have


    cared about anything else? Evadne got pregnant and didn’t say a word, and she kept the miscarriage a


    secret too. I bet she didn’t even know about the pregnancy herself back then. We shouldn’t take the


    me for this. It’s her ownck of experience and carelessness that led to this mess, embarrassing


    both families.”


    A surge of fury zed through Thaddeus, his muscles tensed under his damp suit, his veins popping


    with rage.


    Pale lips moving, he was about to speak, but Hamilton, in a sudden burst of anger, grabbed a teacup


    from the table and hurled it at Frederic!


    “Ugh!”


    Frederic felt a sharp pain on his forehead, his vision went dark, and he stumbled backward. The teacup


    hit him squarely in the forehead, instantly raising a lump the size of its rim, red and bleeding.


    “Dad!”


    “Damn you, you cold–hearted bastard! na’s baby is gone, and you couldn’t care less, but to try and


    pin the me on her, a woman already down on her luck. Are you even a man?!”


    Hamilton was livid, his face drained of color, “Before, I thought maybe you were just led astray by


    Elspeth, that venomous witch, that she had you under some kind of spell! But now, it’s clear as day.


    Birds of a feather flock together, don’t they? You’re both cut from the same rotten cloth! Not a decent


    bone between you!”