If Eden had known her brother had died because of her, I bet she wouldn't have said such cruel things to me.

I looked at the waiver she held out. When I spoke, my throat felt dry.

"I don't have the right to sign that. You should at least look first. See who the patient actually was."

Harvey's name was on the paper, in black and white.

However, Eden's attention was fixed entirely on Curtis. She didn't even bother to lower her gaze.

Her temper flared.

"You're just trying to threaten me into marrying you! Why should I look at it? If my signature mattered, would I be here begging you?"

"It matters," I said.

Something seemed to click for her. She stood up and gave a short, mocking laugh before taking the pen.

"You're impressive. Using Curtis's waiver to force me into marrying you. Fine. I'll sign."

In the end, I couldn't bring myself to let her. I reached out and stopped her hand.

"Eden, you'll regret this."

She stared at me with pure disgust.

"The thing I regret most is saving you eight years ago."

That look was painfully familiar.

Back then, my mother was driven to jump from a building by my father's mistress. My father later kicked me out of the house.

Fifteen-year-old Eden had lunged at him like a feral cub, scratching at his face without a second thought.

She spat blood onto the ground as she hissed at him, "You ruined your own family for your mistress! You don't deserve to be a dad. You don't even deserve to be human!"

Under the sunset, she reached out to me.

"Don't be scared. From now on, I'll be your family."

And now, the one she shielded with her body had become another man.

Her figure slowly overlapped with the image of my violent father. The last bit of warmth in my chest went out.

I knew it was over.

I slowly released the pen, my voice so calm that it was frightening.

"Before you sign, go take a look in the operating room. See if I really made a big deal out of nothing."

Eden gave me a puzzled look. She was about to step forward when Curtis let out a muffled groan behind her.

She spun around and saw how pale he was.

"Ms. May… You should go inside," he said softly. "Mr. Stone just wants to spend more time with you. I'm fine."

He forced a weak smile.

"Back when I was helping out on ranch land, I got bitten by wild dogs, too. I just rinsed it with water and kept going."

He suddenly waved his hands in a panic.

"Oh, sorry. I wasn't equating Mr. Stone to a dog…"

Eden's eyes instantly filled with sympathy.

She turned on me, her voice sharp.

"So this is your plan? Stage a scene in the ER, make it look tragic, and hope I'll feel guilty? Guilt isn't love. I don't care what you went through in there. I care about the outcome. Look at you! You're standing here just fine. You're even in the mood to drag Curtis through the mud."

She pulled Curtis into her arms and signed the waiver in one clean motion.

"Don't be scared."

She shoved the document into Curtis's hands, her favoritism completely undisguised.

"Whatever you do, I'll support you."

She took Curtis by the hand. As they passed me, her gaze flicked over my phone screen, still lit.

It showed my final chat with Harvey.

She paused, then sneered, "I just agreed to marry you, and you already ran to my brother to back you up?"

Before I could answer, she spoke again, her tone almost charitable, "Fine. Since Harvey's so fond of you, I'll go through with it. I'll marry you. You've been trailing after me for years. I'll give you the title and ceremony you so desperately want."

I looked straight at her and said evenly, "No, Eden. We're done."

She raised a brow, as if she had heard a joke. "Whatever."

Then she walked away, holding Curtis's hand, without a second glance.

I was left alone in the hospital to handle Harvey's aftermath. The mortician I had scheduled still hadn't arrived.

Then, my phone rang.

It was Eden.

"Didn't you say you wanted to break up? It's barely been a minute, and you're already scheduling a makeup artist for engagement photos? A grown man getting his face done just for a wedding? You must really care about me."

I hadn't even processed her words yet when she continued to speak.

"Don't bother waiting. The makeup artist you booked? Curtis borrowed them. You were just playing the frail patient, and now you're worrying about how you look. That's pathetic! Curtis isn't like you. You destroyed the last thing he cherished in this world, and he's still worried about you."

On the other end of the line, Curtis's gentle voice came in right on cue.

"Ms. May arranged a private jet to bring over the sheepdog I'd raised since childhood. The timing's perfect, really. Back home, it's tradition for a sheepdog to help drive bad luck away from the sick."

My heart clenched as I asked, trembling, "How does it drive it away?"

"Simple," Curtis answered calmly. "The sacred dog eats the part where you're sick. That way, your body can grow fresh blood and flesh."

I froze as my throat felt crushed shut. I couldn't force out a single word.

Eden paused, then added with a sneer, "What? Too touched to speak? The makeup artist is prepping the dog right now. Curtis never bothers with things like that, but he's taken steps to make the ritual feel extra special."

"I won't let you do this!" I shouted. "I'm not sick! It's actually your…"

"I knew you'd hesitate," Eden cut me off, cold and impatient. "That's why I made sure you wouldn't have time to stop it. The ritual is starting soon."

I bolted for the door, panic ripping through me, but the guards outside raised their arms and blocked me without expression.

The next second, a massive black dog, nearly as tall as a man, lunged straight at me.

Blood sprayed. Pain tore through my body, making me shake uncontrollably.

"Eden… You'll regret this…"

When she heard the desperation in my voice, her tone softened a little.

"Stop resisting. I'll give you 10% of the company, okay?"

I bit down hard on my lip until I tasted blood. I would rather be torn apart than spend even one more second with people like this.

I took a slow breath. When I spoke again, my voice was frighteningly calm.

"Fine."

This was the second time Eden transferred shares to me.

The first time was after Curtis messed up the marriage appointment for the 98th time and booked a divorce instead.

I lost it and kicked the door open.

"Ms. May, are you so desperate to keep your personal assistant around?" Curtis had stood off to the side, eyes wet. "I'm sorry, Mr. Stone. Where I come from, love is blessed by the gods. We don't need cold paperwork. Marriage isn't meant to be a cage."

That was the first time Eden slapped me in public.

"When your heart's rotten, you think the worst of everyone. Curtis is pure and kind. He's nothing like you, someone who plots behind people's backs!"

She had forgotten something.

Without me, her company would never have been what it was today. Because she said she loved freedom, I gave up my dream of art and buried myself in dull finance work.

I quietly tapped "Accept" on the stock transfer email.

My phone rang. It was HR.

"Mr. Stone, your resignation has been fully processed."

"Alright," I replied.

Everything I gave up before, it was time to take it back myself.

The next second, Curtis's social post popped up on my screen.

In the photo, Eden was curled against his chest, smiling as she hugged a sheepdog with blood still smeared at the corner of its mouth.

The caption read:

[Mr. Stone probably stashed plenty of food in his hospital room. After the dog did the cleansing ritual, it stayed there for quite a while. This time, whatever was wrong with him should be completely taken care of. I wonder how he'll thank me later?]

Pain stabbed straight through my chest.

I staggered toward the hospital room.

Harvey's body…was gone.

I clenched my fists until my hands shook. I only hoped that when she finally learned the truth, she wouldn't regret it.

That night, I prepared the farewell venue to say a proper goodbye.

The next morning, I pushed the door open and froze.

The floor was soaked in red. Every white flower had been splashed with glaring crimson.

"Perfect timing, Mr. Stone," Curtis said, gently stroking the belly of the sheepdog. "The sacred dog finished cleansing the bad spirit yesterday, and today, we found out she's pregnant."

Smiling, he pulled me toward the main seat.

"Come sit. I’m so excited. Maybe the puppy inside her belly is the reincarnation of half the dark spirit that was in you."

I clenched my fists so tightly that they trembled.

Harvey was a decorated soldier. He didn't deserve this kind of desecration.

I looked at Eden, whose gaze never left Curtis.

I finally snapped. I grabbed her collar and forced her to face the memorial stand.

"Open your eyes and look. I wasn't throwing a tantrum. Your brother was the one who suffered a relapse! He's dead now because of your assistant!"

"If you have even a shred of conscience left, stop letting your lover trample on the dead!" I snapped.

Eden's eyes flicked toward the memorial stand.

That was when a pack of sheepdogs burst out from the corner.

Crash!

They slammed into the stand. Wood splintered. The structure collapsed, pieces scattering across the floor.

"Already a mom and still this naughty," Curtis scolded lightly as he patted one of the dogs on the head.

Eden looked on with indulgent affection.

"Enough, Matthew! So Curtis didn't give blood for you. Is that really worth all this trouble? You made a scene with me, and now you're staging some kind of farewell ritual. Do you actually think this is funny?"

She let out a short laugh.

"And you even put together a memorial setup. What is this supposed to be? Mourning your lost youth?"

My hand shook as I pointed at what remained of the memorial.

"Look carefully," I said. "Your brother is the one who died!"

Eden stiffened, her gaze locking onto the stand.

In the next second, two dogs lunged forward. Their jaws clamped down on the black memorial cloth hanging from it, yanking hard.

The fabric tore with a harsh, ugly rip. In moments, it was shredded. Scraps fluttered to the floor.

Only a narrow strip remained, the name "May" still visible before it slipped loose and landed at her feet.

Crack!

A brutal slap sent my face snapping to the side.

"Matthew," Eden said, gripping my chin, "if you still want me to marry you, behave yourself. Harvey treated you like family. How dare you say something like that about him!"

She shoved me out the door.

The next day, I rushed to the funeral home, only to be told the urn had already been collected.

Relief washed through me.

So she finally found out the truth and brought her brother's remains home.

I returned to pack my suitcase. Just as I turned to leave, Eden seized my wrist, her eyes dark and vicious.

"You think you can just walk away after what you did?"

She shoved me to the ground mercilessly.

I was about to say something when my gaze caught the corner of the living room.

My breath stopped.

Thrown there carelessly was Harvey's urn.

It was empty.

"Where are the ashes?" My voice was shaking.

The bedroom door opened. Curtis walked out lazily, his body marked with intimate red traces.

Eden saw him and smiled, amused.

"You want them? Fine. Here."

Her hand suddenly slipped downward, making Curtis gasp softly.

"Stop…"

With a strange sound, several glass beads rolled out from his pants.

One brushed past my cheek, making me feel nauseous.

"Ms. May, you're so mean," Curtis said, squirming awkwardly.

Curtis straightened his pants, pretending to be embarrassed, then looked at me.

"Ms. May heard you went to the funeral home yesterday. She knew you were still trying to make a scene, so she had everything you sent there taken straight to the crematory and turned into 18 glass beads. She even insisted on testing how many I could hold at once. She said if I dropped even one, I'd be punished. It took a lot of effort for me to stuff all of them in…"

I stared at the beads scattered on the floor, my whole body trembling.

"Eden, you make me sick!"

Smack!

My head snapped to the side again.

"I make you sick?"

She grabbed my chin.

"If Curtis hadn't gone to take a look, I would never have known how elaborate your act was. To make yourself look like the victim, you actually sent remains to the crematory! Who exactly died? Did you actually hurt innocent people just to make it look real?"

She tossed a few of the ash beads into the sink and watched them disappear down the drain.

Pointing at me, she said furiously, "You're vicious! I'm done with you. From today on, let's act like we never knew each other!"

I looked at Eden, my expression unreadable.

At that moment, her phone rang. When she saw the caller ID, her eyes lit up.

"Laurel? Is your mission over?"

There was a brief silence on the other end.

Then, a roar exploded through the speaker.

"I just got back and heard the news. You animal! You actually let your lover kill Harvey!"