Chapter 791: Never Been Apart

Edith felt increasingly embarrassed under his gaze, sensing that if she didn't say something to break the oppressive silence, she would suffocate.

"Sorry," she said hoarsely, "I didn't expect to hurt you so deeply."

After breaking up, she was in excruciating pain.

But she had no choice; she couldn't selfishly abandon her parents.

Her happiness was insignificant compared to her parents' lives.

No matter how desperate she was, she had to hold on.

Colin's hand gripped the edge of the table so tightly that his fingertips turned white. After a long pause, he finally asked the question, "Why didn't you tell me?"

Hearing this, Edith's nose tingled, and a wave of grievance surged up.

At this moment, the waiter knocked on the door. Colin said in a deep voice, "Come in."

The waiter opened the door, sensed the atmosphere in the private room, immediately lowered his head, and quickly placed the food down and then left.

"Tell me, why didn't you tell me?" Colin's resentment seeped out, and his tone became more severe. "If you had told me everything, maybe I could have helped you find a solution, instead of..."

Edith's sense of grievance, which had almost subsided, surged up again upon hearing his words.

She looked up, her eyes reddening. "What good would it have done to tell you?" she said angrily, "You're just a student who spends all day researching and writing papers with your professor."

"You're in the Country M, and I'm in China. What could you have done to help me?"

At that time, Colin was a postdoctoral researcher, working on various psychology studies and publishing related academic papers with his professor. Sometimes he was so busy that he forgot about his dates with Edith.

Edith had a good temper and would just complain a little each time and let it go.

Edith wanted to smile but felt that forcing a smile would look ugly, so she lowered her head and spoke softly. "I didn't even know my boyfriend came from a prominent family."

Colin's fingers tightened.

Regarding his family background, he had told Edith that his family was in business and had immigrated to Country M during turbulent times.

Seeing his usual low-key attire, Edith mistakenly thought his family's business was modest and that it wasn't easy for them to settle in the Country M.

He thought she would eventually learn about his family's situation after they got married, so he didn't explain further.

However, they never reached the point of meeting each other's parents.

In Edith's view, even if she had told Colin about her family's situation, he wouldn't have been able to help and might have been dragged down by it.

So she chose to break up and bear it alone.

Later, the Blackwood Family moved back to their home country, and Colin represented the family at many events. Only then did she learn that Colin was the heir to the Blackwood Family.

Hearing the grievance in Edith's tone, Colin's heart ached deeply.

He was angry that she hadn't told him about these things, but hadn't he also made mistakes?

Back then, he was young and impulsive, never thinking deeply about relationships.

Colin picked up his utensils and placed a piece of salmon in her bowl.

"Eat," Colin said.

Edith quickly adjusted her emotions, picked up her utensils, and swallowed the salmon.

Colin looked at her with a complex expression.

An impulse surged within him.

"Edith," he called her name deeply.

Edith kept her head down.

The previous topic had ended too quickly, and she felt she hadn't fully vented her grievances.

"I've picked up a smoking habit."

'What does that mean?' Edith wondered.

"Help me quit smoking."

Edith's heart suddenly raced.

'Does he mean what I think?' Edith was confused.

"Can't you quit on your own? There are so many quit-smoking videos online," Edith muttered softly.

"You know, I need someone to supervise me to break some of my bad habits. Without your supervision, I can't quit." Colin's gaze grew more intense.

Edith's heart beat even faster.

"Edith, let's pretend we never broke up, okay?"

Edith bit her lower lip hard, the pain making her tears more apparent. She wanted to run away.

She hadn't expected Colin to say these things when he invited her to dinner today. She thought they would at most become friends.

She never dared to hope to be with him again.

Edith stood up, opened the door, and ran out.

Colin hurriedly chased after her and grabbed her. "Don't run, Edith. If you don't want to, I won't force you. Let's finish the meal first."

Edith said, "I want to wash my face."

She needed to calm down.

The panic on Colin's face disappeared, and he let go of her hand.

"Go ahead."

He added, "Don't run away."

Edith replied, "Got it."

As Edith was about to turn and walk towards the restroom, she caught a glimpse of a familiar figure not far away, with a ferocious expression and a menacing look, charging towards them.

Under the light, the object in the person's hand gleamed coldly.

Edith's pupils suddenly contracted.

Colin was turning back to the private room when he suddenly heard a shout.

"Watch out!" Edith shouted.

Jasper's knife plunged into Edith's abdomen. Edith, with her back to Colin, blocked him completely.

Seeing that he hadn't stabbed Edith's lover, Jasper pulled out the knife and lunged at Colin again.

Colin reacted quickly, grabbing Jasper's wrist and then kicking him in the stomach.

"Someone's been stabbed!" Guests outside screamed in panic, everyone getting up to run out. Some brave souls stood their ground, watching, while others called the police.

Jasper got up and lunged again. "You cheating scum, I'll kill you both."

Edith fell to the ground. Colin wrestled with Jasper, kicking him away again. Two bystanders rushed up, pinning Jasper to the ground and taking the knife.

Seeing Jasper subdued, Colin hurried to Edith's side.

Edith clutched her wound, blood staining her hand and pooling on the ground.

Colin's voice trembled, "I'll take you to the hospital."

He hastily picked her up, ignoring the scene, and people automatically made way for them.

Edith didn't lose consciousness, but she was in too much pain to speak. She could feel the blood flowing out and sweat pouring down.

She was afraid of dying. She wanted to talk to Colin.

She had finally escaped a hellish life. She hadn't bought a house or settled down yet. She hadn't grown the Astor Group. She hadn't told Colin that she had never forgotten him and wanted to be with him again.

There was a hospital nearby, and Colin ran there with her in his arms.

Edith was injected with a shot of anesthesia, and she lost consciousness. As she closed her eyes, two tears rolled down her cheeks.

Jasper was arrested on the spot for assault. When Gemma heard the news, she fainted in the hospital room.

Colin stayed at the hospital. An hour later, Edith was wheeled out of the emergency room.

The doctor said reassuringly, "She was brought in just in time. No vital organs were damaged. She'll need to stay in the hospital for a few days for observation."