A Lifetime With You Chapter 81
Chapter 81
Beth’s funeral was scheduled to take ce two dayster over the weekend. She had died in a
disgraceful fashion, and her body was immediately cremated after retrieving it from the morgue. Her
funeral was ted to be a low-key event. Other than rtives from the Nagel family and their close
associates, almost no one else attended the funeral.
Cecelia was a sobbing heap, and she fainted in the memorial hall twice. She had to be carried off via
ambnce and leaving her heartbroken husband, Keenan Nagel, to preside over the funeral on his
own.
Keenan seemed uneasy with the arrival of Ava. “What else do you want from us?” Keenan rapped his
cane on the ground and showed no hospitality to his eldest daughter. Ava paused at the entrance to
the memorial hall with a bouquet before she decided to go in. In the center of the hall, stood an altar
with Beth’s monochrome portrait. By judging from her portrait, any unknowing bystander would have
thought Beth a sweet and innocent girl. “Get out Ava, you’re not wee here!” Keenan said
brusquely. She looked her father in the eye. They had not seen each other face to face for a long time
now. Keenan’s hair had been greying thest time she met him, but there were more now. His skin was
sallow and he had lost a lot of weight. Also, his eyes seemed sunken and his jawline seemed sharper.
Ava felt sorry for him as it must be agonizing to lose his beloved daughter. She ced the flowers at
the altar and turned to say, “Take care of yourself, dad.” Keenan snorted loudly and rebuked her,
“Funny you should say that since you’ve been waiting for me to throw in the towel for a long time now!”
“What do you mean?” “I am á luckless man, who was having only begotten two daughters in my
lifetime, and now one of them is dead. I bet you and your mother are circling the Nagel family fortune
like vultures now, aren’t
you?”
Ava looked at her father incredulously. She had anticipated some hostility from the Nagel family when
she made the decision toe and pay herst respects to Beth. But hearing her own father said such
things still wounded her grievously. “Is that what you think of my mother and me?” “Back then, when
your mother used up all her shrewd tactics to get you into the Nagel family, was it not all in anticipation
of this day?” Keenan’s tone was no different from herte stepsister’s scathing remarks. She chuckled
darkly and said, “People can say what they want about me and mom, but you are especially unqualified
to criticize us.”
If he had not deceived her mom back then and given her false hope before running off to marry another
woman, all of this would have never happened. But, even up to this point, Keenan had never repented
for his deeds. Keenan only said bluntly, “You wouldn’t even be here if I had controlled myself back
then…” In fact, it was all his fault for tricking Ava’s mother, and Beth’s downfall was her own doing. But
still, he chose to me it all on Ava and her mother.
It was d*mn ridiculous!
Ava took a deep breath and steeled herself as she was trying hard not to cry.
“Dad, if it was me who died and not Beth, would you feel just as sad?” Keenan muttered something
under his breath but he did not reply to her directly. Ava somehow guessed the answer and she sighed.
“Alright, I get it.” She turned to take onest look at Beth’s portrait, then paced out of the hall quickly. At
this point, she swore never to return. At the porch, Cecelia had just returned from treatment at the
hospital and hade home in time to participate in the funeral procession. The two women ran into
each other. Cecelia who was limping weakly was suddenly enraged and she grabbed Ava’s throat to
choke her. “How dare you step foot here? What gives you the right to show your face here? Go to hell!”
She cursed and felt an intense urge to rip Ava, who had killed her daughter indirectly into shreds. Ava
struggled but failed to shake her off. They rolled on the ground while the servants of the Nagel
residence watched listlessly. “It was you that killed her! I’m going to avenge her by killing you today,
b*tch!” “You lunatic, let me go!”
Ava gasped for air and nearly fainted, but then she grabbed a rock nearby just in time and bashed it
onto Cecelia’s back. However, it did not deter Cecelia at all as she was still holding her tightly. The
ruckus in the courtyard had alerted Keenan and the other guests. Keenan walked out and yelled, “Stop
it, you two!” On his orders, the servants finally gathered the courage to advance together and peel their
Madam off Ava.
She heaved and coughed as she caught her breath. Her neck was ringed with marks from the
strangling. Ava would have probably gone to join Beth in another world if it was dyed a little longer.
“Kill her, hubby! Avenge our poor daughter!” Cecelia had gone insane and held onto Keenan as she
begged. He frowned, and then turned sullen when he noticed the bruises on his wife’s back, which was
caused by Ava.
“Ava, is this how you treat your stepmother? Do you intend to kill us all!” Keenan scolded harshly. “…”
She was still gasping for breath on all fours and unable to find the words to argue with her father.
In fact, she was the one who almost lost her life. But her father had never taken her side. Not even
once. She smiled bitterly and balled her fists. Keenan was furious and raised his cane as though to hit
her. Ava had no intention of evading it, and she was prepared to endure the abuse. Ever since she was
a child, she had been beaten countless times until she became numb. Suddenly a thick jacket pped
onto her shoulders and covered her body with warmth. – And the cane nevernded on her. She raised
her head in astonishment and saw Damien’s face. “What are you doing here?” Damien helped her get
up and irritated when he saw the strangtion marks around her neck. “I told you not toe but
you’re too stubborn to listen. But since you’re here already, I won’t stand by while you get bullied.” He
spoke tenderly to her and her heart melted instantly. The tears that she had held back so hard, had
finally broken through and they were streaming down her cheeks now. She chastised herself for her
cowardice and her reliance on others for protection. It turned out she had her own guardian angel after
all…. Damien pulled her behind him and called out at Keenan, “Looks like the Nagel family has some
exination to do, after what happened today.”N?velDrama.Org is the owner.