Chapter 6

”I must have been blind.”

Alvina tasted the irony in those words and let out a soft laugh.

Her gaze was cold as she walked up to Eden.

She did not accuse him of saying exactly what she was thinking.

Instead, she said calmly, “Then it’s not too late for you to regret it. Do you want a divorce? I’m ready whenever you are.”

Eden froze in stunned disbelief.

Alvina turned and instructed the housekeeper beside her, “Go get the wedding dress from my closet.”

The housekeeper did not understand why, but she could only obey.

A moment later, the housekeeper carefully carried the expensive couture wedding dress, custom-made overseas, into the living room.

She held it cautiously in her arms, protecting it the same way Alvina once had.

Everyone knew how much Alvina treasured that wedding dress, Eden included.

To her, it had once been proof of all the years they loved each other.

But now, it would also bear witness to how completely their past turned to ash.

With none of her former tenderness, Alvina took the wedding dress from the housekeeper as if it were nothing more than trash, then turned and walked toward the backyard.

She raised her hand and threw the white wedding dress into the ashes that had not yet fully died out. The scattered embers instantly flared into roaring flames.

In the blink of an eye, their entire youth was swallowed by fire.

When Eden followed her outside, his eyes widened in shock.

The moment he came back to himself, he shouted, “Alvina, have you lost your mind?”

If the wedding dress had not already burned to ash, he would have rushed forward to save it.

Alvina remained unmoved, her calm eyes showing not the slightest trace of reluctance.

“You already said you were blind. What’s the point of keeping something so ridiculous?”

With that, she walked away as if nothing had happened.

Eden stood frozen in place, the dying flames staining his eyes red.

For one brief moment, he suddenly felt a suffocating pain in his chest.

Wendy followed them outside as well.

She walked up to Eden and held his clenched fist.

“Eden, don’t be angry. I never imagined Alvina would be this impulsive and unreasonable.”

She slowly rose onto her toes, trying to soothe him with a kiss.

Her red lips brushed near his ear as she murmured, “She’s so sure you won’t divorce her, so why don’t you divorce her and see what happens?

“Whatever Alvina can give you, I can give you too. And what she can’t give you, I can give even more…”

Before Wendy could finish, Eden grabbed her by the collar.

His eyes were filled with a ruthless fury, as if a wildfire burned through them.

“Know your place. You’re nothing more than the doctor who can treat my condition. Don’t even think about challenging Alvina’s position.”

After leaving that warning behind, he turned and walked away.

When Eden returned to the upstairs bedroom, Alvina was standing by the window, admiring the moonlight.

He walked straight toward her and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have spoken to you like that. It’s just that I’ve been in a terrible mood.

“The company’s stock crashed out of nowhere, the board has been pressuring me nonstop, and I spent the whole day buried in work.

“I was overwhelmed and took my frustration out on you. I’m sorry.”

Eden kept apologizing, his arms tightening around her.

It almost felt as if he was terrified of losing her.

That made sense.

When Alvina fell in love with Eden, he had just lost his father.

His father died in an accident, and Eden was drowning in grief.

She was the one who stayed with him through those unbearable days, comforting him, keeping him company, warming and healing him.

A man who met such a gentle, devoted girl during the darkest period of his life could not have felt nothing.

So perhaps Eden’s love for her was real.

But so had his inability to keep himself faithful.

She already tricked him into signing the divorce agreement.

In one month, the two of them would have nothing to do with each other anymore.

For now, in order to get through the cooling-off period peacefully and avoid affecting the perfumery competition next month, Alvina had no desire to argue with him.

“It’s fine. I understand.”

“You’re not angry anymore?”

“No.”

Eden let out a breath of relief and pulled her tightly into his arms again. “Then nothing between us has changed, right?”

For some reason, Alvina’s behavior tonight left him deeply unsettled.

Right now, he desperately needed a firm answer to calm himself.

“Of course.”

Eden finally relaxed completely.

Alvina pulled herself out of his arms. “You’ve had a long day too. Go rest early.”

Most of the time, they slept in separate rooms.

Because of Eden’s condition, he often woke in the middle of the night in a panic.

Whenever he opened his eyes and saw Alvina lying beside him, the fear inside him would only deepen.

Alvina had once felt regretful about that.

Now, she could not have been more grateful.

Never having truly been husband and wife with that scumbag was already the greatest mercy in this unfortunate marriage.

…

The next day.

Alvina was sitting at the dining table eating breakfast when Wendy came over with her daughter.

Lily did not greet her.

After sitting down at the table, she acted as if no one else was there and asked, “Mommy, why isn’t Daddy coming down for breakfast?”

Wendy lightly tapped her daughter on the mouth and scolded her. “Don’t say nonsense. Eden isn’t your daddy.”

Wendy immediately smiled apologetically and explained to Alvina, “Alvina, Lily grew up without a father, so she’s started seeing Eden as one. Please don’t mind.”

Alvina curled her lips. “It’s fine. A child raised without manners naturally wouldn’t know any better.”

Wendy’s expression darkened at once, but before she could say anything, Eden walked over.

His face was clearly marked by exhaustion, his brows tightly furrowed as if something were weighing on him.

Alvina naturally knew exactly what it was.

After Eden sat down, he looked toward Wendy. “Dr. Warren, when exactly are you going to introduce me to AJ?”

Wendy immediately put on a smile.

“Eden, I’ve already spoken to her. It’s just that she’s been keeping to herself recently and doesn’t want to get involved in the stock market for now. Once she’s done, I’ll introduce you to her right away.”

“Dr. Warren knows AJ?” Alvina asked, pretending to be curious.

A smug look rose in Wendy’s eyes. “Of course. I’m a well-known psychologist. I have plenty of connections. AJ is my best friend. With our relationship, she’ll help me with anything I ask.”

Hope sparked in Eden’s eyes.

“Then can you talk to her and ask her to come over sooner? I’ve run into some serious trouble and urgently need to work with her.”

“Of course. I’ll do my best to talk to her.”

Wendy agreed without hesitation.

Then her gaze shifted to Alvina.

“Alvina, if you ask me, you shouldn’t spend all day fussing over those tiny bottles of yours. You should go out and socialize more. Build some connections.

“Otherwise, when Eden’s career runs into trouble, you won’t be of any use at all.”

“I certainly can’t compare to you, Dr. Warren. You even know someone as powerful as AJ. Other people have never even met her and only know she’s a woman, yet you’re close enough to call her your best friend. How enviable.”

Wendy let out a soft scoff.

“I envy you too. You get to spend every day as an idle rich wife, with no worries about food or clothing. You have no ambition or burden. What an easy life. Unlike me, raising a child alone and relying on no one but myself.”

“Enough. Eat.”

Eden interrupted them in a low voice. “Everyone has different abilities. Alvina is ordinary and not particularly capable. I don’t expect anything from her.”

Alvina had no appetite to sit at the same table as that shameless pair.

She set down her fork and left the dining room.

Eden’s expression immediately darkened, and he glared at Wendy.

“Don’t forget what I told you last night. The position of Mrs. Gray will always belong to Alvina.”

Did she really think he could not hear the provocation in her words?

Wendy was neither anxious nor angry.

Wendy only smiled and reminded him casually, “Eden, instead of worrying about whether I want Alvina’s place, you should be thinking about how to keep our relationship hidden. You may call it ‘treatment,’ but Alvina may not see it that way.

“Judging from how she burned her wedding dress last night, you shouldn’t overestimate how much she loves you.”

After Wendy finished speaking, she gave her daughter a look.

Lily immediately jumped down from her chair, walked over to Eden, and took his hand. “Eden, I lost one of my toy cars in your study. Can you come help me look for it?”

Eden could not resist the child’s pleading and went with her to the study.

“What toy car? Has your mom helped you look for it?”

As Eden searched the study, his mind was elsewhere.

Evercrest Group’s stock would definitely hit its limit down again this morning.

Where exactly had things gone wrong?

Suddenly, his gaze locked onto something hidden in the corner of the bookshelf, a black object that looked like a button.

He reached out and pulled it free.

The moment he saw it clearly, his eyes widened sharply.

That thing was actually a miniature camera.