Before Eden managed to close the door, she heard the muffled moan of a woman.

“Keep it down!” Cedric hissed while covering her mouth.

“What's there to be scared of? Everyone's asleep, it’s more exciting like this.

“Besides, don't you like it when I scream?”

This seemed to be good enough to convince Cedric, who no longer protested.

Eden stole a glance down the hallway and realized that Cedric, in his haste, hadn’t even properly closed the door in Amelie's room.

She effortlessly spotted Cedric.

Cedric’s face was flushed red. It was a complete departure from his usual cold demeanor.

Then, she looked at Amelie, who was pinned under him. There was a mix of tenderness and passion in her eyes.

The look in Cedric’s eyes was exactly the same as the one he used to reserve for Eden.

It had been ages since Cedric looked at her so longingly and intently.

It was at this point that Eden had to accept that Cedric still had the capacity for love in him, only it was no longer for her.

She was convinced her heart had completely expired, but now it started to beat and twitch again.

A terrible, throbbing pain shot through her chest. She had forgotten how suffocating this pain could be; it was choking the breath out of her.

All along, she thought she was immune. However, witnessing his infidelity in person was another degree of pain.

Finally, she blinked away the tears and looked away before closing the door and burrowing under the covers.

Despite her best attempts, she could still hear faint sounds slipping through the cracks underneath the door. She was not sure whether to attribute it to her sensitive hearing or if it was simply because the couple was getting too loud.

Each sound they made pierced into her ears.

The next morning, she went downstairs with an extremely ashen face.

Cedric approached her and asked cautiously, “Did you sleep well last night? Was the fireworks too loud?”

She was in no mood to go through the song and dance with him. All she did was shake her head and comment disinterestedly, “No, I went to bed early and had a nightmare.”

Cedric was relieved by how nonchalant she sounded.

Suddenly, the guilt and unease of his unscrupulous actions from the previous night caught up to him. He did not want to stick around any longer and immediately announced he was taking Eden and Mateo home.

Eden did not object since staying any longer would likely make her lose more sleep. Her scalp was tingling, and all she wanted was to get some rest.

Before they left, Amelie suddenly put a hand over her mouth and then alertly clutched her stomach.

All the color drained out of her face while she cried out, “Agh! My stomach hurts, it hurts so bad…

“It's coming in waves… Oh my god! I… I’m bleeding…”

Cedric frowned. A thought suddenly came to him and stirred up a mix of emotion in his eyes. Then, he shoved a set of keys into Eden's hand before rushing forward to carry Amelie in his arms.

“Eden, why don’t you drive home first? Be careful.

“I’ll take Amelie to the hospital and be right back.”

With that, he carried Amelie straight to the garage. Meanwhile, Mateo trailed behind them without needing to be told to follow.

Eden gripped the car keys tightly with a cynical glint in her eyes. She deemed that if she drove home in this state, she was more likely to get into an accident than not.

With that, she set the keys aside and hailed a taxi home to catch up on sleep.

Then, she was rudely awakened by Mateo screaming at her. Her body felt sore all over as well.

“Did you know Amelie is pregnant?!

“She’s having twins! I won't be Daddy's only child anymore! Then I’ll have nothing left!

“Can't you just divorce Daddy and leave already? If you leave, Daddy will come home! Amelie told me she'll treat me like her own son. That way, I’ll be the eldest son and still get to keep everything for myself!

“Stop being so selfish, Mom! You know nobody likes you, so why do you keep clinging to Daddy anyway? Leave for my sake, won’t you?!”

Mateo's voice was sharp and piercing. He made his point very quickly and decisively to Eden.

It was not difficult for her to connect the dots and understand what Amelie’s stomachache was about.

Twins.

“You’re going to be the death of me, Mom!

“I’m going to throw myself off the building if you don’t leave. You want to try me? Daddy is going to hate you, and Granny is going to chase you out!”

Eden was stunned into silence for several seconds. Then, Mateo dropped his toy hammer and ran to the balcony, where he hovered one leg over the ledge with only one hand gripping the railing. His face was contorted with rage and hate.

Eden suddenly lost the strength to speak. She stared at Mateo, who was threatening to end his life just to get rid of her, and felt swept over by a wave of exhaustion and lethargy.

After a long silence, she finally spoke, “Fine, I'll go.”

It was bound to happen sooner or later.

She never planned to stay anyway.

Thereafter, Cedric wore a smile on his face everywhere he went. His usual menacing aura had melted away due to sheer joy.

It was no surprise that any man would be glad to have a few more children.

He was home less often than before, but whenever he did come home, he would bear countless gifts. He would prattle on and on about the things he would do for Eden, even though he never intended to fulfill them, all just to make up for his guilt.

Eden neither exposed him nor played into it.

After a long wait, she finally received a call from a staff member at the orphanage.

“The paperwork for the handover of the orphanage is sorted out. You can start working any time now. When would you like to come in?”

Eden sat on the couch and thought for a moment before answering, “Tomorrow.”

Suddenly, Cedric’s voice came out of nowhere, “What’s tomorrow, Eden? Are you going to be busy?”

He approached and habitually pulled her into his arms.

“Nothing important, just meeting a friend.”

Cedric noted with a nod and was just about to speak when his phone rang. After he answered the call, the look in his eyes shifted dramatically.

After hanging up, he hastily left behind instructions while preparing to leave.

“Eden, there’s something I need to attend to at the office tonight. Make sure you get some rest.

“I’ll be back as soon as I’m done. Once I come back, I’ll take you on a trip, alright? It’ll be just the two of us.”

With that, he turned and left.

He was home for less than five minutes before being called away by Amelie. It went to show how possessive she was.

Eden kept a calm composure until Cedric was out of the house. Then, she slowly got up and started to pack her luggage.

The same night, a package arrived.

She opened it, which contained two divorce certificates.

When she held them in her hands, she felt a heavy, sinking feeling. A month ago, when she first decided to file for divorce, the fact still stung her. Now that it had been finalized and while looking at the certificates, she felt nothing but relief.

The past month had been incredibly tiring. At last, she could get away from all this chaos, leave everything behind quietly, and do something meaningful for once.

Then, she called over Mateo, who had been sulking and ignoring her the entire time. She proceeded to show him the divorce certificates with what seemed like sweet relief.

“Mateo, this is what you wanted.

“Your father and I are divorced, and your father has full custody of you. Amelie will be your new mother soon.”

Mateo had been spewing curses and insults at her for so long. He must be glad to finally get what he wanted.

However, he seemed completely taken aback.

Eden smiled faintly and interpreted his reaction as him being struck silly with joy.

Then, she handed him the divorce certificate and said, “Why don’t you hand this present to your father?

“From now on, you two are free from me.”

With that, she saw no reason to stick around. After carefully putting away her divorce certificate, she dragged her already packed luggage and left the house.

She got into the car and drove away.