After staying up all night and getting up early, Eva went to see Ryan.
Eva didn't tell Ryan about the fight between Paul and Jayden last night. She just made up a random excuse.
Ryan didn't think much of it and accompanied Eva to the mall after hearing the news that Stella was going to get their marriage certificate. He even picked out a gift for Eva to take home.
Eva carried the three purchased gifts and watched Ryan get into his car and return home before heading back to the hotel to find Jayden.
But as she turned around and looked up, she saw Rebecca, who was elegant and composed, walking towards her with a slight smile.
"Eva, do you have a moment to chat?"
Seeing that it was Rebecca who had come to find her, Eva knew why she was there.
"Yes."
Rebecca looked towards the upscale cafe next to the mall.
"Shall we go in and sit down?"
Eva made a sound of agreement and followed behind Rebecca, walking into the café.
After they sat down, Rebecca ordered two cups of coffee and then looked at Eva.
"Eva, I came to talk to you about two things."
Eva glanced at Rebecca, who was straightforward and was attracted by her aura.
Her speech was concise, but her tone was soft and there was no air of superiority.
She was also very beautiful, with a delicate and soft face, a mature and fluffy hairstyle, and a simple, professional outfit.
At first glance, she was clean and elegant, but not lacking in intellectual and graceful beauty. She exuded the demeanor of a wealthy and noble lady.
Rebecca was not an ordinary socialite who could be easily compared to. She was a true heiress of a wealthy family.
Eva had a good impression of both Rebecca and Edith, so she put aside her prejudice and became more composed in their presence.
"Rebecca, please speak."
Rebecca was very polite and waited for Eva to respond before continuing.
"First of all, I'm here to apologize to you on behalf of Paul."
After speaking, Rebecca lowered her head and sincerely said "I'm sorry" to Eva.
Paul made a mistake and sent his sister to apologize on his behalf, which Eva naturally couldn't accept, so she waved her hand in refusal.
However, Rebecca continued, "This apology is also due to my improper upbringing when Paul was younger."
After speaking, she paused for a moment and a hint of embarrassment appeared on her beautiful face.
"The second thing is to ask you about your thoughts on Paul..."
"What thoughts?" Eva asked in confusion.
"Your thoughts on Paul."
Eva understood what Rebecca was asking and, after a brief moment of silence, answered her question openly.
"I have had feelings for Paul before."
Eva had feelings for Paul, so even after they broke up, she didn't return the things he gave her. Perhaps she still had some feelings for him at that time.
Eva has liked Paul, it means that Paul himself did not grasp the heart of Eva, which has become a past thing, it seems that he deserved it.
However, this answer left Rebecca not knowing how to respond.
"And what about now?"
"I have a boyfriend now," Eva replied firmly, interrupting Rebecca.
"If possible, could you please help me persuade Paul not to bother me and Jayden anymore?"
Eva had made up her mind and would stick to it, unless Jayden didn't want her. No matter what happened, she would be resolute.
Rebecca understood that Eva didn't want Paul anymore, and that she had chosen her current boyfriend. So there was nothing left to say.
"Alright, I will take care of him," Rebecca promised.
The conversation ended there, and the waiter finally brought their coffee.
Eva took a few sips and then began to feel a bit awkward, so she got up to say goodbye.
Rebecca didn't stop her and just politely nodded in farewell.
After Eva left the coffee shop, Rebecca stood up and walked over to the adjacent table. With her fair hand resting on the railing, she tapped it lightly.
"Did you hear clearly?" she asked.
Rebecca advised Paul to go back, but he refused and insisted on following them. Now that he had heard Eva's thoughts firsthand, shouldn't he retreat?
Paul leaned against the sofa chair, looking down at the photos of himself and Eva while they were in love, on his phone album.
In the photos, Eva's sunny face was filled with happy smiles, and even her eyes and brows showed some affection.
At that time, he didn't have much emotional response to the camera, but the look in his eyes revealed some happiness.
He didn't know why he was so relaxed and happy with Eva before.
Now he realized that was what it was like to like someone, and that it was mutual...
After staring at the photos for a while, Pauol lifted his gaze from his phone and looked up at Rebecca.
"Sister, if she used to like me, does that mean... she doesn't like me anymore now?"
Rebecca saw that Paul seemed a little upset, but nodded her head anyway.
She had to make her little brother recognize this reality, otherwise he would persist and harm himself and Eva.
His big sister nodded, indicating that Eva truly didn't like him.
Actually, he knew in his heart, but he didn't want to believe it, so he didn't admit it.
He leaned his head back on the sofa cushion, with red eyes, and asked Rebecca, "Sis, I seem to realize that I like her now, but it's too late, what should I do?"
It was his first time seeking help from Rebecca for this kind of emotional problem, especially like a child who had been wronged seeking help from an elder.
But as his cousin, Rebecca didn't know what to do for a moment. She couldn't force Eva to like him, right?
Seeing that Rebecca didn't speak, Paul found the answer himself.
"I know, as long as I apologize to Jayden, she will fall in love with me again."
It must be because he hit Jayden that she stopped liking him.
Thinking of this, Paul picked up his suit jacket and rushed out of the coffee shop.
"Hey..."
Rebecca chased after him shouting, but it seemed like he didn't hear anything and drove to the hotel where Eva was staying.
Rebecca was so angry that she rolled her eyes.
This fool, even if he apologized, it didn't mean that she would like him again.
Watching Paul's car disappear into the dust, Rebecca couldn't help shaking her head.
Forget it, her little brother clearly couldn't think of a way to salvage the situation, which was why he repeatedly lost his composure.
Eva and Jayden had just checked out of their room and were planning to return to Arcadia when Paul rushed over to them in a panic.
Paul's thick, messy hair was blowing in the wind and his shirt's tie was crooked, making him look a bit disheveled.
Jayden thought he was going to do something to Eva, so he stepped forward and used his tall body to block E.
"If you dare to mess around again, don't blame me for continuing to call the police."
This kind of threatening had no effect on Paul.
He stared tightly at Eva, who was blocked behind Jayden.
"I heard what you said to my sister. I can take it as a belated confession from you."
"Since you confessed to me, I also want to tell you, Eva, I like you, or maybe it's love, but I still don't really understand it."
He spoke incoherently and was still filled with alcohol, like a drunken person talking nonsense.
Eva was very confused. Even if she understood, she didn't dare to believe the words of a playboy who said he liked or loved her.
Jayden could see through Paul's thoughts at a glance...
The love that awakened in the young man was late, but it was deep.
In this world, who can resist the crazy pursuit of love from a wealthy man like Paul?
Jayden was a bit worried and leaned to the side, blocking Eva behind him.
"Paul, Eva is my girlfriend now. It's not appropriate for you to say things like that to her."
Paul glanced at him, and the deep black eyes revealed a disdainful expression.
"She's just your girlfriend, not your wife. I have the right to express my feelings freely."
After he finished speaking, he pushed Jayden aside, took a step forward, grabbed Eva's shoulder, and said to her:
"If I apologize to Jayden. Will you like me again?"
Paul's sudden compromise made Eva a bit dazed.
Could it be that Paul was willing to apologize to Jayden?
Wasn't he still the arrogant and domineering Paul?
While Eva was stunned, Paul had already let her go, turned around to face Jayden.
"I'm sorry."
The three short words were said very decisively, but he still maintained his arrogance.
It didn't seem like a sincere apology, but rather a compromise to win back the girl he wanted.
After he apologized, he withdrew his gaze from Jayden, turned his body to face Eva, and asked sincerely: "I've never apologized to anyone before. But for you, I'm willing to do it. So, can you like me again?"
Before Eva could speak, Jayden immediately reached out and pulled Eva to his side.
"She is my girlfriend now."
Jayden grabbed Eva's hand tightly in front of Paul, and intertwined their fingers.
"We still need to catch our flight. Let's go."
Jayden pulled Eva and wanted to leave the hotel, but Paul grabbed her other hand.
Paul lowered his gaze and looked at Eva, who was a head shorter than him, with a tinge of red in his eyes.
"Eva, give me an answer."
"I..."
"Eva, we don't have time."
Jayden's reminder interrupted Eva once again.
He wanted to pull Eva away, but she turned to look at Paul, who was holding onto her and refusing to let go.
"I'm sorry, I used to like you..."
The words "used to like" slowly faded away every time he looked for her and left with harsh words.
Even if Paul were to say that he liked her now and even love, it's too late. She had a boyfriend already.
Eva, please give me an answer She believed that Jayden would give her a warm and worry-free home, while Paul had already said that he would never marry her in this lifetime.
Eva simply didn't have the time or energy to continue playing emotional games with a playboy like Paul.
Who knows, after giving him a chance, he might quickly get bored and move on to like another woman. Eva can't afford to take that risk.
Jayden breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing Eva's answer, and then quickly pulled her out of the hotel.
After the two got into the car, Eva sat by the window and glanced at Paul.
Paul, who was 1.89 meters tall, looked thin and seemed like he would fall over if a gust of wind blew.
However, Paul seemed to have no fear of falling over and gazed at her.
As the car quickly drove away, the figure gradually shrank into a small dot in the rearview mirror and disappeared.
Rebecca, who had witnessed everything, came forward and patted Paul's shoulder after the two left.
"Accept the reality, Eva doesn't have feelings for you and she already has a boyfriend."
Rebecca thought Paul would at least argue back, but he unexpectedly nodded obediently.
"Okay!"
The one-word response made she feel a bit sorry for her youngest brother.
She had a feeling that she couldn't tell, she always felt that the previous Paul was quite happy, but now...
She glanced at Paul and saw him hanging his head, concealing his emotions. Rebecca felt a pang of sympathy and patted his arm.
"Don't be sad, life is long and you'll eventually find someone who's right for you."
"Really?"
When Paul lifted his eyes, the casual expression returned to his eyes.
"Sis, I did my best, right?"
Rebecca nodded. He had indeed done his best.
She remembered when Paul was young, he was too thin and weak, and was often bullied by his classmates.
He couldn't bear it and fought back, beating his classmates until the boy was bruised and swollen.
The school principal called the parents and asked the two children to apologize to each other.
Who knew that while the other boy apologized, Paul refused to apologize.
Such a stubborn person like Paul, who cared about his face so much, but compromised with his love rival in order to win back Eva.
It's really rare.
"If she doesn't want me, then forget it, right?"
Paul casually asked this question, making Rebecca unsure of how to answer him.
"Since she doesn't want me, then I don't want her either."
Rebecca looked at Paul, who was talking to himself, with surprise.
It seems that every time he encountered something, he knew how to comfort himself, just like when he rushed over to apologize like crazy, he relied solely on his current thoughts.
Paul and James were two different personalities, one was good at controlling emotions, and the other was driven by emotions, and Paul was the latter.
Those who were led by emotions were destined to suffer a great loss compared to those who were led by reasons.
It seemed that Paul, a Game Player, had stumbled upon love this time.
Rebecca knew that Paul was feeling worse but pretending not to care. After some thought, she asked him: "I remember when you first fell in love, you said you wanted to marry Elsie. Is that still true?"
"If you really want to marry her, I can help you convince James and your parents. What do you think?"
Paul met Elsie when he was around 17 or 18, but Rebecca didn't like her.
At that time, Paul simply took her home, and she took a liking to James and even had some ulterior motives.
For example, she tried to seduce James several times.
The whole family knew about this, but they didn't tell Paul to protect his beautiful memory of his first love.
Later, Elsie insisted that Paul marry her.
Paul, who didn't understand the importance of marriage, agreed to marry her.
James disagreed, saying that Paul was only 17 and not yet an adult.
Paul's parents also disagreed, saying that if he dared to marry Elsie, they would break his legs.
The two of them were forced to break up by the whole family.
At that time, Paul didn't have much emotional reaction, at least not like he does now, constantly pestering Eva.
Rebecca thought that Paul had had so many girlfriends, but there was only one person he mentioned marrying, which was Elsie. So maybe it should be her.
If he married a woman, he wouldn't think about bothering Eva all the time.
Once married, people tend to settle down, right?
However, these two people together might just be a case of "life is too short to drink bad wine."
Paul glanced at nonchalantly after hearing her words.
"She seduced James back then, I know," he said.
Do you want to marry Elsie? Rebecca widened her eyes in surprise upon hearing this.
"How do you know that?" she asked.
The whole family protected Paul as if he were a national. treasure. To make him only remember the beauty of his first love, everyone kept this secret deep in their hearts, But they never expected that he already knew?
He didn't answer, just raised his hand and held onto the glass. door of the hotel lobby, looking in the direction Eva had left.
"If you already knew, then why did you get back together with Elsie?" Rebecca asked.
Why?
Why would he?
Because of his own foolishness.
He wanted to make Eva jealous, but it turned out to have no effect.
Well, Eva had already stopped liking him a long time ago, no matter how he acted it would be useless.
With that in mind, Paul let go of the door handle and said to Rebecca expressionlessly: "I'm going abroad."
After saying that, Paul pressed his chest, and walked out of the hotel without any expression.
Jayden sat down beside her and after glancing at her a few times, plucked up the courage to ask her.
"I stopped you from answering Paul's question twice just now. You don't blame me, do you?"
She shook her head and didn't say much.
He felt a little guilty and apologized to her.
"I'm sorry. I was just afraid he might take you away and got nervous for a moment..."
"I understand. It's okay..."
She smiled at Jayden, showing a carefree expression.
Upon seeing her smile, Jayden finally relaxed. In order to keep her, he had played some tricks.
Eva could naturally see through his little schemes, but standing in his shoes, she would have been nervous too.
As current boyfriend and girlfriend, the term "ex" was already a sensitive one, let alone the fact that Paul had just confessed in front of Jayden.
"Senior, don't worry, he won't come looking for me again."
Eva knew Paul's personality to some extent, and this time he should be thoroughly disappointed in her.
It's better this way. He's with Elsie and she's with Jayden. Everyone had chose the right person for themselves, and that's how marriages could become happy.
After experiencing a betrayal in her previous marriage, Eva's heart had become hardened. Rather than loving someone with all her heart, she preferred to love herself.
Protecting herself and avoiding harm was the best choice.
"Alright."
Jayden nodded and held Eva's hand tightly.
As Paul apologized to Jayden and no longer bothered Eva, this matter came to an end.
Eva and Jayden returned to Arcadia on the same day. As soon as they got off the plane, they received a call from Henry.
"Eva, do you know where is Stella?"
As soon as Eva clicked the answer button, she heard Henry's panicked voice.
"I arranged to meet her at the office of the city clerk at 2 pm today, but I have been waiting and she hasn't shown up."
"I went to the hospital to look for her, and no one was at home. I don't know where is she!"
Hearing that Stella was missing, Eva's heart skipped a beat, but she quickly calmed herself down and comforted Henry.
"Don't worry, I'll give her a call..."
"Her phone is off, and even Grace didn't know where is she..."
Henry thought of the reason why Stella suddenly changed the date of the wedding registration, and was frightened.
"Eva, originally Stella and I planned to wait for Amelia to come back before registering and have a simple wedding."
"Do you know why she was in a hurry to change the date? It was because her aunt called and told her that Erin was back..."
"I didn't know before. She only told me after seeing my Facebook post."
That post, he only allowed Stella, Amelia, and Eva to see it.
He just wanted to record his experience with Stella from dating to marriage, without any other thoughts.
Now that Stella had disappeared, he even suspected whether was the post that attracted Erin.
When Eva heard the reason for Stella's sudden change in the registeration date, her heart sank.
Stella was determined to marry Henry and could not be a deserter on the day of the marriage. It must be Erin who took Stella away!
The sky was turning bright, and Stella was lying on the bed, she opened her eyes in a daze and saw seagulls flying outside the window.
A cool sea breeze blew in from the windows on both sides, and incense was lit in the room. When the wind came in, it brought a faint fragrance.
It was the incense and sea view that she liked, and even the decoration and embellishment of the room were the wedding house she had once dreamed of.
But that was in the past, not now. Stella has always been disdainful of the missing things, but some people lived in the past.
The door was pushed open and Erin, wearing a blue shirt, walked in carrying milk and bread.
He had been locked up for some time and had lost weight. His once handsome face now had deep set eyes with a dull and lifeless look.
He bent down to place the breakfast on the bedside table, then looked up at Stella lying on the bed with her eyes closed.
"Wake up and eat."
He took Stella away from the office of the city clerk without saying a word. He blindfolded her and took her to the island by boat.
He then threw her into a closed room and ignored her cries and pleas for the whole night without entering the room.
He didn't even ask her why she married Henry as if these things no longer mattered to him.
Stella didn't know what Erin was thinking and ignored him. Her eyes were fixed on her bound hands.
Her hands and feet were tied with ropes. She struggled all night, exhausted herself and eventually fell asleep.
"If you don't get up, I'll feed you myself."
He rolled up his shirt sleeves, took off his wristwatch, tossed it aside, and half knelt on the bed, lifting Stella up.
He didn't even look at her and poured the milk into her mouth.
She refused to drink and tightly closed her lips. The milk spilled from the corner of her mouth and wet Erin's clothes.
He looked at his dirty clothes and then raised his deep, cold, and sinister eyes and glared at her.
"You won't eat, is that it?"
He slowly put down the cup and then suddenly grabbed her clothes hard with his fingers.
The thin top easily tore apart.
Without saying a word, he pressed her.
"Don't touch me!"
She's about to get married to Henry, how could she have Sex with Erin again?!
Erin just sneered and reached into her pants.
"You want to keep your body for him, don't you?"
He leaned down to her ear and said in a low voice, "No way."
She struggled to push him away, but the man held her waist and entered her.
The pain made her tears fall, her angry eyes staring at him.
The man holding her grabbed her bound hands and placed them on the left side of his waist, which had been sewn with over ten stitches.
"Guess how I got injured here?"
She curled her fingers and refused to touch his waist, but he slowly opened her fist and pressed it on the stitches.
"I heard from the surveillance that you and Henry plan to get married, and I had to come and stop you..."
Surveillance?
Erin actually installed camera in her house?!
No wonder he knew when she was getting married!
He had been secretly monitoring her all this time!
Seeing Stella's surprised expression, Erin smirked without explaining the origin of the camera and continued: "You know, those old-fashioned old guys in the Simpson family would never let me go. So I cut myself, and when they saw it, they felt sorry for me and let me go."
"Take a look."
He grabbed her hand and touched the place where the needle had sewn.
"If it had been a little deeper, it would have cut my kidney."
Stella, who wanted to break free, touched the place where the needle had sewn and subconsciously opened her fingers, pressing down hard.
The wound was pressed by her, and the blood suddenly surged out.
She was startled by the sight of the blood, but also felt that he deserved it, so she gritted her teeth and continued pressing down...
"It hurts so much..."
The man pressing on her suddenly lowered his voice, with a slight tremor.
"Let me go if it hurts!"
"It's not hurting here."
He grabbed her hands again and put them on his heart.
"It hurts here."
When his deeply sunken eyes stared at her face, a hint of sorrow slowly emerged.
"I didn't eat anything for many days just to be able to marry you. I almost died."
"But you hid it from me and went to register with other men. Do you know how much it hurts me here?"
He raised his other hand, which was covered in blood, and touched her face.
"If I hadn't come to stop it, would you have become someone else's wife by now?"
Stella turned her head away from his touch, her eyes filled with disgust and hatred.
The man's slender and weak fingers stiffened in mid-air for a few seconds before suddenly gripping her cheeks.
"We agreed that once I convinced the Simpson family, you would marry me. Why did you suddenly decide to marry Henry?"
Although he spoke in a relaxed tone, he used full force to pinch her cheeks, causing them to sink deeply.
She remained silent, seemingly unaffected by his actions.
Erin was not angry either. He slowly moved his hand down her cheeks.
The warm fingertips passed over her neck, bringing a dense and chilly feeling as they moved down.
It was as if a revengeful snake had slithered past, leaving behind a coldness that could freeze someone to death in an instant.
Stella endured the humiliation, raised her chin and stared at him coldly. She saw a hint of hatred in his eyes, even more so than her own.
She sneered at the sight of his expression.
Erin has no right to hate her. Everything was caused by him in the first place.
Erin's fingers paused at Stella's lower back position as he looked up at her angry gaze...
"Say it to me again, like you used to. I love you, okay?"
She gave a cold laugh.
"I will never love you for the rest of my life."
He had sent people to rape her, removed her uterus, and still expected her to love him. She hadn't killed him, which was a sign of her kindness!
Erin, however, paid no attention to her words and instead was patient. He lowered his head and gently kissed the corner of her lips.
"Lie to me again..."
He would feel satisfied even if it was a lie.
"I've made it clear to you. Everything I said and did to you those years ago was only to get revenge. I could never love you in this lifetime..."
"I know."
He held up his index finger to her lips, gesturing for her to be quiet. He smiled and said, "That's why I let you lie to me..."
She sneered again. "Dream on!"
The smile on his face froze at the corner of his lips. "If you misbehave, you will be punished..."
She simply closed her eyes and ignored this madman.
Suddenly, her entire body was lifted up and then flipped over.
The man's strength was so great that it made her teary-eyed with pain...
However, all she could think of was Henry.
It was raining lightly when she walked towards Henry with a transparent umbrella.
Before she could cross the road, Erin picked her up from behind.
She was gagged and forced into a car, where she saw Henry checking his watch from time to time.
They agreed to meet at the office of the city clerk at 2 o'clock, hold hands and go in to get their marriage certificate. When they come out, they will be a married couple.
Now... they may not be able to be a married couple anymore.
But she still hoped for a warm love to take her out of the darkness.
While Erin was punishing her severely, her phone suddenly rang.
Stella's phone, which was taken away by Erin yesterday, was found in the food tray. She wondered why.
The phone kept ringing, and he glanced at the name on it, with a smirk on his face.
His slender fingers moved away from her waist and reached for the phone, tapping to the answer button.
Henry's voice came through the phone, sounding anxious and trembling.
"Stella, where are you? Are you okay? I..."
"Stella, after you finish this, let's do it again, okay?"
"Erin!"
Stella, who realized what was happening, roared in anger with a heart-wrenching voice, wishing she could kill him.
"Shh."
Erin placed his slender fingers above his lips and gestured to "be quiet", then slowly curved his lips.
"Are you shouting so loudly because I made you feel too comfortable..."
"You're insane!!!"
He laughed, removed his fingers from his lips, and stroked her back from top to bottom, gliding over her pure white skin.
"You used to like to call me insane in bed, and it seems like you haven't changed at all..."
"Shut up!"
He didn't hang up the phone, it was still connected, although Stella couldn't hear anything from the other end, she knew that Henry was still listening.
"Erin, please hang up the phone."
Bound and unable to move her hands and feet, she could only turn her head and plead with him.
Humiliating her was one thing, but she didn't want Henry to be hurt, he was innocent.
Erin wanted to punish her, so how could he possibly hang up the phone?
His handsome face still had a gentle smile, but his actions were worse than a beast's.
With one hand holding her waist and the other holding the phone, he placed it where they were intertwined, deliberately letting Henry hear the sound of their lovemaking.
Stella, who realized what Erin was doing, suddenly had red eyes and lowered her gaze, tears rolling down her face and hitting the sheets.
"Henry, please...hang up..."
This freak won't stop. So, Henry, please just fail already. Don't listen any further.
She has no dignity and is so embarrassing that she doesn't even deserve to live in this world. How can she pollute Henry's ears?
On the other end of the phone, Henry could hear the ferocious and rough voice. He wanted to speak up several times, but couldn't make a sound.
He stood at the door of Stella's mansion, holding his phone, staring blankly, with only his lonely figure reflected under the night sky.
"Henry..."
She called him softly again, her tone full of pleading.
Henry clenched his phone tightly, then slowly loosened his grip.
"Okay."
Hearing his response, she cried and laughed at the same time.
She tightened her grip on her hand bit by bit until her knuckles turned white.
She gritted her teeth, turned her head, raised her eyes, and stared at Erin fiercely.
"One day, I will tear you into pieces!"
He raised an eyebrow, looking indifferent.
"Whatever."
He pressed against Stella's back, lightly touching her back with his cold lips.
"Admit it, you still love me. Otherwise, your body wouldn't react that way."
"You wish!"
Two words came out of the gap between the teeth with a fierce look.
Stella's hatred towards Erin had already grown in his heart and had now grown into a big tree.
The dense leaves of those emotional trees are embedded in the body along with the blood, and cannot be removed.
Between her and Erin, only one person can die to stop the killing, otherwise they will not find peace in this life.
She was naive before, thinking that designing to make Erin fall in love with herself and then abandoning him would be the greatest punishment for him. She didn't realize that she was feeding the wolf herself.
Since he wants to keep her imprisoned in this place, let her give Erin some slow-acting poison in the coming days.
If the "poison" cannot kill him, then let the two of them go to hell together!
Otherwise, how can she relieve all the hatred in her heart and how can she relieve the shame of today?