Eddie's POV
It became painfully clear. Stephanie didn't believe the death certificate.
I could feel the exhaustion weighing me down as I picked up the divorce agreement and walked over to the coffee table, signing my name slowly, deliberately.
After I was done, I put the death certificate away and glanced at Stephanie.
"Don't forget to sign," I reminded.
She hesitated, her mouth opening slightly as if she wanted to say something, but then her eyes caught on something, and her frustration faded away in an instant.
"You're awake?"
Landon stepped out of the master bedroom, his silk pajama collar hanging loosely, revealing a noticeable bruise on his collarbone.
What an eyesore!
"Stephanie, did you and Eddie have a fight?" Landon asked, sounding like the poor, innocent fool he was pretending to be.
He exaggeratedly grabbed the divorce papers, wide-eyed, his confusion spilling over.
"Eddie, are you getting a divorce from Stephanie?!"
Landon paused, then added with a mocking tilt to his voice, "Why? Is it because of me?"
I scoffed, disbelief flooding through me as I turned to him. "Yes, it's because of you. Because you shamelessly got a married woman pregnant, and because she's too shameless to keep another family outside her marriage."
Landon's face turned red as he instinctively tried to cover the bruise on his collarbone with his other hand.
"I'm sorry, Eddie," he stammered. "I... I didn't know that opening the door that night would cause such a big misunderstanding. I thought Stephanie came to talk about her troubles."
I found it laughable. What kind of 'trouble' would someone need to abandon their husband on their wedding anniversary to confide in an outsider?
Stephanie, showing off her pregnant belly like it was some badge, walked over to Landon and buttoned his pajama collar gently.
"Don't mind him," she said, her voice dripping with false sweetness. "He's just upset today."
I didn't want to spend any more time on them. Ignoring the challenge in Landon's eyes, I turned and headed straight to Thea's room.
When I stepped outside, Landon was alone, crushing the divorce papers in his hands. He threw them at my feet as if it were some insult.
I recognized the document immediately—it was my daughter's death certificate.
"Who gave you permission to go through my things?" I glared at him, my voice icy with anger.
Landon put on an exaggerated face of surprise, but there was a flicker of joy in his eyes.
"Eddie," he laughed, "your daughter really died from diarrhea? That's so ridiculous! Stephanie was right. Weak children are just so hard to handle."
The anger that surged through me was unlike anything I'd felt before. My whole body shook, and before I could even think, I took two quick steps and punched Landon in the face.
He cried out, stumbling backward and crashing to the floor.
Before I could even react, two sharp slaps landed on my face and head.
Stephanie had struggled to help Landon up, her eyes filled with a venomous rage.
"Edward, you've gone too far!"
Landon, clutching his bruised mouth, cowered behind her.
"I just asked about Thea's condition, and Eddie just... I just suggested that he shouldn't make the child so fragile and shouldn't lie with the child. Stephanie, did I say something wrong?"
Stephanie shook her head.
"Edward, what did Landon say wrong? How have you become like this? This is the second time you've hit him. If you do it again, we'll really get a divorce!"
Stephanie then stormed out of the room, with Landon trailing behind, looking sullen.
Not wanting to get any more tangled in their drama, I purposely waited for fifteen minutes before grabbing my packed luggage and heading downstairs.
Stephanie must have forgotten something.
I've always been a mild-tempered person. As long as nothing crosses my line, I never go out of my way to make things difficult for anyone, let alone resort to violence.
And when it comes to crossing lines, Stephanie has done that far too many times.
The precious cufflinks from the last auction were a gift that Stephanie personally arranged to have made by a famous designer abroad six years ago for our engagement.
Not only Stephanie, but probably everyone, had forgotten that the Thomas family and my family had always supported each other.
Unfortunately, the plane crash turned my family into a hollow shell.
These cufflinks symbolized a promise Stephanie made while kneeling at my parents' grave, vowing to give me everything, just as my parents had given me their love and devotion.
