Chapter 174 The Key to a Happy Family

Chapter 174 The Key to a Happy Family
Eden’s Point of View 

“The only thing you have done is ruin everything Grandma worked so hard for in her lifetime, with your extortionate family,” I said with a faint smirk, watching the color drain from his face as if the words had struck him physically.

He sat there, pale and motionless, for a long moment. “Do you see how that feels?” I added quietly. “Horrible, right?”

“You don’t have any right to talk about your grandmother,” he shot back, slamming his hand against the armrest of the couch.

“The same way you don’t have any right to keep ruining my mother’s memory,” I retorted sharply, my voice cutting through his. “She would be disappointed in you, too, Father. Tell me—did she give up her life to save her child just so you could spend the rest of yours treating that child like garbage?”

He paled again.

“She died and entrusted me to you, and what did you do?” I queried. “If she can see us now… she probably regrets leaving me behind with you.”

“How dare you?” Father barked as he shoved his chair back and surged to his feet. He stormed toward me, fury radiating off him, but I remained seated, unfazed by him.

His hand rose as if to strike me.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” I said calmly, and he froze midair.

With a quiet sigh, I pushed myself to my feet and met his blazing eyes. “Theron would notice if you hit me. And trust me, when he finds out, he won’t remember that you’re my father when he decides what to do to you.”

“Are you threatening me?” he asked, his voice tight with disbelief.

“No,” I replied sweetly, a polite smile curving my lips. “I’m simply looking out for you.”

A frown twisted his face, and then he turned sharply and stormed out of the study.

The door had barely closed before the strength drained from my body.

My heart pounded violently against my ribs, so hard it hurt, and I pressed a trembling hand to my chest, trying to steady my breathing.

But for the first time, the pounding in my chest wasn’t from fear or anguish.

It was excitement.

The man who had once scornfully looked down at me, like I was something filthy, something that would always remain beneath; he had finally seen something different.

The daughter he believed would forever remain small and would never amount to anything had just proven him wrong. The door opened behind me, and a familiar scent filled the room. My husband.

A small smile tugged at my lips as I rose from the couch and walked toward him, hugging him tightly.

“I did it,” I whispered against his ear, my voice trembling. “I looked him in the face… and I did it.”

“Yes, you did.” Theron’s hand slid into my hair, cradling the back of my head.

I pulled back slightly, staring into the silvery pools of his eyes that seemed so fucking proud of me in the moment. This still feels unreal.

“I think I might have bluffed a little too hard.” I pulled back some strands of my hair away from my face. “I don’t think that is considered a bluff,” Theron answered with a wide smile. “You want Evangeline fired? It’s done. You want me to nullify the agreement? Then it’s done. I will do anything you want.”

A small blush reached my cheeks at Theron’s willingness to help me, and I nodded, as much as I would hate to use this resort.

Grandma deserves better.

I will be better.



“You can’t do this to me,” Evangeline wailed over the phone. “I’m your sister—we’re family!”

“No,” I corrected, sinking into the soft cushions of the bed, a small, cold laugh rising in my chest. I hadn’t realized I could feel such pleasure in someone’s pain until today.

Theron had wasted no time putting his promises into action: Evangeline was fired, and Father’s hospital was pulled from the merger; all the favors and help they had once rendered were demanded back.

“You’re my estranged father’s daughter,” I said, my voice sharp, “You’re nothing but my step-sister… and honestly, I don’t think we’re family at all.”

“I know you’re angry—” she started, her voice trembling.

“No. I am not,” I admitted, my voice steady. “Not anymore. I was angry—angry when you took credit for everything I did, angry when I was punished for the mistakes you made, angry when I caught you in bed with my fiancé. But now? I don’t care.”

“You can fire me if you want, but you can’t just strip away the support for Grandma’s hospital,” she shot back, her voice sharp with desperation.

“Well,” I said coolly, “the hospital is dead. It’s a shame on Grandma’s memory if the only way it can survive is by breathing through someone else’s nose.” I let that hang for a moment before adding, “There are plenty of other places you can work.”

“I hate you!” she screamed, like a spoiled child throwing a tantrum, used to getting her way.

“No, you can’t say that! Give me the phone!” I heard Iris’s voice cut through the chaos.

“Hey, Eden, honey…” The fake sweetness in her tone immediately made my skin crawl, and I frowned. “I know we’ve hurt you in the past. There were things we said and did that were unfair, but that doesn’t mean we ever abandoned you.”

I stayed silent, letting the words hang.

“We are family,” she continued, her voice dripping with the same fake honeyed tone. “Your father may have been strict, trained you with an iron hand, but he made you into who you are today. You can’t do this to him. No matter how much you’re hurt, forgiveness is what keeps a family bond strong.”

“Yes,” I said softly, sitting up on the bed, my voice calm but firm. “You’re right. I have been forgiving you all my life. But this time, as my family, you need to forgive me. I need to rest now.”

Without waiting for her next sentence, I ended the phone call almost immediately.