Chapter 69

“Eddie! No...Eddie!” Eliana couldn’t help but scream in agony. Eddie struggled to escape the clutches of the bodyguards apprehending him but to no avail - he couldn’t break free from their grasp no matter how hard he tried. All he could do was to look at his sister powerlessly and helplessly as he murmured, “Ellie...my dear sister…” Eliana instantly leapt out of her bed and tried to shove aside the two bodyguards who were apprehending Eddie. “Let go of him, you monsters!” she yelled, “Let go of him this instant!” The two bodyguards looked up at Aidan for further instructions - upon seeing him gesture for them to let go of Eddie, they instantly let go of Aidan and retreated to the side. As soon as they let go of him, Eddie lurched forward to hug Eliana, “Ellie, oh, Ellie - you’re alright. That’s great. That’s wonderful…” Instead of returning the hug, however, Eliana cried, “Who asked you to come back, huh? Didn’t you say that you wouldn’t come back no matter what? Why didn’t you listen?” Eliana couldn’t help but break down in tears, “Eddie, oh, Eddie...why didn’t you listen to me?!” Eliana had never raised her voice towards Eddie like this - this was the first time that she’d ever yelled at him like this. Eddie was momentarily startled by his sister and let go of her friend. “I...I was deceived,” he muttered quietly, “They were holding a funeral for you - I thought that you’d really…” Eliana couldn’t hold back her tears any longer as soon as she saw just how frantic and concerned Eddie looked - she took her brother by the hand and said sadly, “Didn’t I say that I would go and find you, hmm? Why couldn’t you have just stay put? Eddie, oh, Eddie - what am I going to do with you? What am I going to do now?” Eliana couldn’t help but bury her face in her brother’s shoulder as she sobbed. Eddie felt extremely guilty upon seeing his sister cry so hard - had he persisted and not turned back, they would probably have managed to finally escape the vicious clutches of the Nelson Family. Eddie knew that he shouldn’t have come back - that he shouldn’t have fallen for Aidan’s trap. He glared at the latter, “Aidan, you liar.” Aidan scoffed, “Me? A liar? Eddie, oh, Eddie - shouldn’t you be thanking me for saving your dear sister’s life? She would’ve been dead by now had it not been for me…” “Stop it, Aidan.” Eliana glared at Aidan warningly. “Aidan, did you actually try to kill my sister?” Eddie scowled, “What kind of man are you, huh? How could you take your anger out on a woman just like that? If you’re actually a man, don’t come for my sister - come for me instead. You’ll have to get through me before you can get to her.” Aidan frowned, “Calm down, little boy - didn’t you know that Eliana told me that she would die as long as you and your father are safe? I actually saved her life in a sense, you know - it’s alright if you can’t appreciate my efforts, but how dare you raise your voice at me!” Eddie snorted, “It’s impossible that you would ever do something like that.” Aidan huffed, “Did you actually think that your sister would escape under my watch, hmm?” This time, Eddie turned to Eliana, disbelief written all over his face as he exclaimed, “You said that you would never lie to me, right?” Instead of saying something in reply, Eliana gaped at her brother as tears cascaded down her cheeks. Eddie held Eliana’s hand tightly and prompted, “Ellie, please, speak to me - did you actually want to die? What do you think Dad and I would do if you’d actually died? How could we live with the fact that you’d died on behalf of us? Ellie, please, promise me - promise me that you won’t do anything stupid. Ellie, oh, Ellie, please - say something…” Eliana was so distraught that she couldn’t help but cover her mouth as she crumbled onto the ground - she didn’t think that Aidan would reveal her secret to her brother just like that… Is it really selfish of me to want an end to this misery? I’ve never done anything which crosses the line in my entire life - why is it that I have to continue to bear with this painful and excruciating life? How could I lie to my own brother?