Chapter 4

I watched Natalie caress her pregnant belly and suddenly remembered something.

Edward seemed to have forgotten that he had fertility problems due to a low sperm count. I had never brought it up because I was afraid of embarrassing him. How could he have forgotten it himself?

I picked up the bowl of soup I had diluted with toilet water and handed it to him. "It's all cooled down now. I kept it cool so that it wouldn't burn you, and I made it slightly diluted since the light flavor is better for healing your injuries."

I stood up with satisfaction once Edward finished drinking it.

Edward made a point to remind me before I left. "Larry is coming to Aveston to unwind, so make sure to spend some time with him, Maddie."

I stayed behind instead of leaving, waiting quietly outside the hospital ward.

"Get me to the bathroom now! Hurry up!"

"Ouch! Don't touch my arm or leg! They're still broken!"

"That hurts!"

I could hear the nurse, who was doing her rounds, gagging. "You can't just urinate or defecate wherever you want! You'll need to pay for cleaning!"

Natalie grumbled in annoyance. "Why can't you just hold it in? You're being such an embarrassment!"

Edward bellowed in rage. "You have no right to look down on me! You live off my dime!"

I smiled, left the hospital, and headed back to the apartment Mom and Dad bought for me before I got married.

I was fast asleep that night when the shrill ring of the phone woke me up.

Edward snapped at me over the phone. "Larry waited for you all day! Where did you go, Maddie?"

I let out a sigh and pretended to cry. "I'm scared of being with him alone. He has such a big build and acts in a totally erratic way. I won't go home unless you're by my side, Edward!"

Edward was out to end my life, so I was out to end his.

Half a month later, Edward hurriedly checked out of the hospital. Victor and Mary made an excuse about going grocery shopping and hurried out of the house.

Edward's cousin, Larry Lawson, held a fruit knife and hacked wildly at a watermelon. He kept glancing at me and slobbering greedily, muttering, "Y-You're mine… You belong to me…"

Edward used his crutches to balance himself as he handed me a glass of water.

I poured him some water using the same glass. "You should have some water. Your lips are all chapped. Your cousin is really scaring me, so please take that watermelon away from him first, Edward."

Edward didn't make a move. He stared intently at me, waiting for me to drink the glass of water he prepared for me.

I put on a cold expression and said, "I'm out of here if he keeps creeping me out."

Edward gritted his teeth and got to his feet with his crutches, while I quickly swapped the two identical glasses.

Edward took the watermelon and tossed it in the trash before limping back to me. He noticed that I had drunk half the glass of water and asked casually, "Why won't you hand over your parents' inheritance to me, Maddie?"

I held the other glass to his lips. Perhaps because he thought I was about to die, he didn't refuse my gesture. "You have no right to touch the inheritance my parents left me."

Edward muttered under his breath, "You were disobedient to begin with, and on top of that, you can't even bear me a child."

How was I supposed to get pregnant when Edward had fertility problems?

Edward got to his feet, intending to leave. "Do you remember what I told you, Larry?"

Larry stood up abruptly, gripping the knife tightly. "You got me a pretty wife and told me to teach her a lesson if she acts out!"

Edward's hand barely touched the doorknob before his legs gave out, sending him crashing to the floor. He looked horrified as he turned around, trembling as he said, Y-You—"

I took out a tissue dampened with cilantro juice and wiped it across my face, causing red splotches to break out right away. "I swapped the glasses."

I pointed toward Edward and asked Larry, whose mental state was noticeably off, "Who is the good-looking one here, Larry?"

Larry glared at my face with disgust, then dragged Edward back into the living room. "He's the good-looking one!"

Of course Edward was good-looking. Otherwise, I never would have settled for marrying beneath me.

Edward panicked, screaming and thrashing around. "I'm a goddamn man! Get your hands off me!"

Larry gripped the knife and stabbed him in the arm, muttering, "I have to teach you a lesson if you act out!"

"Save me!"

I closed the door and leaned up against it, listening to Edward's screams with satisfaction.

Suddenly, I heard other strange noises mixed in and gasped in surprise. It turned out that Larry was actually assaulting Edward!