Chapter 3

Yvonne had a strong need for control. I hadn't replied to her messages for several days, and with me still absent on her birthday, of course, she was unhappy.

Just then, a car pulled up at the party venue. The door opened, and Fabian stepped out. He was wearing a brand-new haute couture suit, a false smile plastered across his face.

"Yvonne, I've prepared a gift for you. I'm sure you'll love it."

Perhaps out of anger at me, Yvonne deliberately smiled at Fabian and acted rather intimate with me.

She took out her phone and sent a message to my WhatsApp.

"If you don't come back this instant, I'll run off with Fabian."

But Fabian, mistaking this for Yvonne having feelings for him, flashed a smug grin. Thinking his chance had finally come, he set about ingratiating himself with Yvonne even more eagerly.

He took Yvonne to the sea of roses I had prepared. The roses were blooming with extraordinary brilliance.

When Yvonne's gaze fell upon that splendid sea of roses, a flicker of complex emotion passed through her eyes.

"Yvonne, do you like this sea of roses?" Fabian asked, his voice carrying a hint of anticipation he could barely conceal.

Yvonne gave a faint smile and replied flatly, "Yes, very much so."

A satisfied smile spread across Fabian's lips.

"Did you prepare all of this on your own?" Yvonne asked.

There was a trace of puzzlement in her eyes as she looked at Fabian, who hadn't been back for very long.

Fabian's smile grew even brighter, yet it appeared all the more hideous and grotesque.

"Yup."

Yvonne walked closer to the sea of roses. I could tell she liked it very much, but there was something strange about her expression.

"How did the roses here grow so well?" Yvonne murmured, gently stroking the rose blossoms.

"Of course they're blooming beautifully. Yvonne, I know who you hate the most, so I turned him into fertilizer to nourish these roses."

Yvonne raised an eyebrow. "Oh, him? He deserved to die."

I knew Yvonne had mistakenly thought Fabian was talking about Jordan Cooley, heir of the Cooley family. He was infatuated with Yvonne, so he had been constantly undermining, both openly and behind my back, in business.

Yvonne had tried to have him killed more than once. But he was obsessed with staying alive, so he had a dozen bodyguards around him at all times.

"But something as beautiful as roses shouldn't be contaminated by something so filthy. Get someone to clear out the soil and replace it with fresh soil. I don't want anything of him left here. It's making me sick."

Yvonne's words made Fabian's smile freeze instantly. He stood rooted to the spot, clearly having never anticipated Yvonne would make such a request.

However, he quickly recovered and smirked coldly.

"Yvonne, are you worried I'll get found out someday?" he asked somewhat teasingly.

Yvonne cast him an icy glance and replied, "I'm just worried about my sea of roses being contaminated."

A flicker of darkness passed through Fabian's eyes, but he quickly masked his emotions and nodded.

"Alright, I'll do as you say. I'll have all the soil here placed with fresh ones."

Yvonne turned and walked away without saying anything more, leaving Fabian standing alone amidst the sea of roses.

And I, existing as a soul, watched all of this unfold with pain and helplessness.

I wanted to tell Yvonne the truth. I wanted her to know that this sea of roses had been nourished by my flesh and blood. But I knew I couldn't.

All I could do was watch as Yvonne turned and walked away, her figure growing more and more distant, my heart filled with endless regret and sorrow.

Days passed, and true to his word, Fabian had people clear out all the soil from the rose garden and replace it with fresh earth, just as Yvonne had requested.

He did it so thoroughly that he even had a new fence put up around the garden, making it look all the more beautiful.

Yet, despite all he had done, Yvonne's attitude never changed. She remained cold and indifferent toward him. If anything, she grew more distant.

Fabian began to panic and started to doubt whether his plan had gone wrong. He tried to figure out the reason, but his efforts proved fruitless time and again.

Yvonne sat in her office, irritably calling Bryce Nolan and me repeatedly. She had planted Bryce by my side to keep track of my every move.

However, I had already told Bryce in advance to use my being at a social engagement as an excuse. Yet, the appointed time had long since passed, so he was growing panicked too.

"Mrs. Madden, there's something I have to tell you. The truth is, Mr. Madden came back a while ago. He said he wanted to prepare a surprise for you before your birthday—something about roses—so I kept it from you the whole time.

"By all accounts, he should have shown up by now, but I can't get in touch with him either."

Upon hearing this, Yvonne froze on the spot, her expression darkening. Suddenly, as if something had just occurred to her, she shot to her feet.

Yvonne pressed her lips together, her hands trembling slightly. The air around her was oppressively heavy, as if she were deeply unsettled.

Just then, a partnership proposal from the Cooley Group came through, signed with Jordan's name.

Yvonne's expression instantly stiffened.

"Go pull up the airport surveillance footage from the time Nathaniel came back that day," she said, her voice quivering slightly.

She then fumbled anxiously to unlock her phone but inadvertently tapped on a trending news headline. It was a photo of Fabian at a press conference.

She had been about to swipe it away, but when she spotted the watch on Fabian's wrist, her gaze instantly turned sharp and icy. She seemed to have seen something she couldn't believe.

Her hand started shaking as she held the phone, the light from the screen casting an eerie glow on her pale face.

Not long after, Bryce hurried back. His face was equally ashen, and he spoke with visible difficulty.

"Mrs. Madden, after Mr. Madden left the airport that day, Fabian picked him up and drove him out to the countryside. After that, there was no more word from him."

Yvonne's phone instantly dropped to the floor.