My body trembled violently, a breath stuck in my throat as I stared at Elliott without blinking.
“Elliott, do you actually believe what you are saying?”
For the sake of protecting his lover, this man was truly a master of acting.
I had long known that Nicole was not dead, and I also knew they had been scheming behind my back.
“I heard A Ting was swept onto a beach and was luckily rescued by fishermen.”
“Do not overthink it, Brenda. He has already died once in a sense. Let the past be buried. I will protect you from now on.”
Protect me?
If I had not overheard his conversation with the lawyer, I might truly have believed him.
Elliott choked slightly, then continued, “I know this is hard for you to accept. Grandpa pitied Nicole for being an orphan. He even entrusted me to take good care of you. From now on, I will make sure you lack nothing in life.”
I could not listen any longer. I pushed past him and ran to the morgue, collapsing over my grandfather’s body and sobbing uncontrollably.
I had treated Elliott well throughout our marriage. Why did he have to treat me like this?
Elliott’s mother had died early, and his father never knew how to care for others, so he grew up being rough and boyish.
Back in high school, Nicole mocked his short hair for being unfashionable and even led others in bullying him.
It was I who kept comforting him, telling him that girls with short hair were beautiful, often bringing him home with me, helping him regain his confidence.
Because of me, Grandpa had always been kind to Elliott as well, giving him lucky money every year.
Only later did I learn that he had always been deeply in love with Nicole, to the point of colluding with him to alter Grandpa’s will.
Grandpa had never even known Nicole. All he knew was that Nicole was the man who had once betrayed me and ruined my marriage. How could he possibly leave his inheritance to him?
Legally, such a forged will would never be recognized. What they did was a crime.
I held Grandpa’s funeral without informing Elliott.
Yet he came uninvited, bringing Nicole with him.
I blocked their way. “What are you doing here?”
Nicole put on a wronged expression. “Brenda, Grandpa left his inheritance to me. I should at least come and fulfill my filial duty.”
The relatives who had come to pay their respects immediately began to question the situation.
“What is going on? Shouldn’t the old man’s inheritance go to his own grandson?”
I let out a cold laugh and looked straight into Elliott’s eyes.
“Do not believe him. Grandpa said clearly while he was alive that the will would only be left to me.”
“Elliott, Grandpa once showed you great kindness. Do you dare swear in front of his portrait that you never altered his will?”
Elliott’s expression shifted slightly, yet his voice rang loud and firm.
“Brenda, I am your wife and a soldier. How can you doubt me like this?”
“And if we are talking about favors, have I not shown you kindness as well? Do not forget who saved you from that island back then.”
I clenched my fists tightly and shot back,
“Then who was it that caused me to be stranded on that island in the first place?”
He knew full well that I had nearly been murdered, yet now he stood on the side of the killer against me.
Elliott fell silent, and the surrounding relatives began to criticize him one after another.
Just then, Nicole suddenly burst into tears.
“I know Brenda hates me, but I was forced into all of this. Now that Grandpa is gone, maybe I should just follow him into death.”
