Chapter 3

An hour later, I arrived at Candice's villa and rang the doorbell.

"E-Evelyn?"

Candice opened the door wrapped in a bath towel. Her wet hair was draped over her shoulders.

The moment she saw me, the towel slipped from her hand to the ground.

I glanced blankly at the hickey on her collarbone.

My gaze then passed over her shoulder and landed on Eric behind her.

He had just showered. His upper body was bare, and there was a fresh scratch across his chest.

I walked inside, and Candice instinctively stepped aside.

Traces of Eric were everywhere in the living room.

His favorite cigars were on the coffee table.

His favorite magazines were scattered on the arm of the sofa.

Their photographs together hung on the walls.

Although I already knew the truth, seeing it with my own eyes still brought a dull, lingering ache to my heart.

Eric and I stared at each other from opposite sides of the living room.

I smirked.

"Didn't you say you've never lied to me?"

Eric's lips trembled as he walked toward me.

"It's not like that, Evelyn. Let me explain."

"Stay away from me!"

The moment he came closer, I couldn't help but bend over and retch.

His scent was now exactly the same as Candice's.

Eric instinctively took several steps back, and his face turned pale.

Candice finally reacted. She clenched her jaw, ran over, grabbed my arm, and tried to drag me outside.

"This is my house! Please leave!"

Her nails dug into my forearm. I winced in pain and instinctively yanked my arm back before shoving her away.

"Ahh!"

Candice screamed as she fell backward onto the floor.

She clutched her stomach and curled up on the ground while tears streamed down her face.

"M-My stomach hurts.

"Evelyn, how could you push me? I'm carrying Eric's pup–"

Before I could say anything, Eric ran over and shoved me aside violently.

He was so strong that my head slammed hard against the corner of the table, and blood immediately began pouring out.

Eric didn't even look at me. He carefully helped Candice to her feet.

"Candice, go back to the bedroom and rest."

Candice shook her head.

"Eric, I don't want Evelyn to misunderstand you. I want to explain everything to her. Is that okay?"

When Eric didn't say anything to stop her, a flash of triumph appeared in Candice's eyes.

She walked over to me and whispered so softly that only the two of us could hear.

"Evelyn, you didn't know, did you? Eric and I have been together for a long time.

"On your birthday last year, when Eric told you he had something to take care of, he actually came to my place.

"The next morning, I could barely walk."

She glanced at Eric before continuing. "And during this year's Spring Hunt Festival, Eric was with me during those few hours he disappeared too.

"Oh! Even the rings you were originally supposed to exchange at your marking ceremony were designed by Eric with my input."

The truth was far more brutal than I had imagined.

As I listened to Candice recount one thing after another, my head began to buzz.

Eventually, I could no longer hear her voice. All I could see was her mouth opening and closing.

Then everything went black. I knew nothing of what happened after that.

When I woke up again, I was lying in an unfamiliar room.

Eric sat beside the bed while looking utterly exhausted as he kept watch over me.

As my memories came flooding back, my first thought was whether Eric and Candice had slept together in this bed.

I struggled to sit up, but Eric stopped me.

He seemed to know what I was thinking.

"This is the guest room. No one has ever slept here. You can rest easy."

He was silent for a moment before suddenly speaking again.

"Evelyn, don't you think this is actually the best possible arrangement?"

I looked at Eric in confusion.

"I did all this for your sake. I couldn't bear to see you suffer through pregnancy sickness, insomnia, and hormonal changes after becoming with pup, so I thought I'd simply give you a pup.

"Besides, the pup is biologically mine too. What difference does it make?"

I almost wondered if I had misheard him.

How could Eric say something like that with such absolute confidence?

Did he actually think he was doing this for my own good?

"Get out! Get the hell out!"

Eric left, but not long after that, the bedroom door opened again.

I angrily grabbed the bedside lamp and hurled it in the door's direction.

"I told you to get out! Didn't you hear me?"

"That's quite a temper."

It was Candice.

"I just thought there was one more thing you should know."