Chapter 193 Someone Will Pay the Price for This
Caroline's hand shot out—from where, no one could say—clutching a pair of sharp scissors. She lunged toward the crib, the blades aimed at the tiny child sleeping inside.
"No... this baby should never have been born..."
The words tumbled out, broken and senseless, as she raised the scissors high.
"Ma'am! What are you doing? Put those down!" Kenna's scream tore through the room.
She sprinted forward and threw her arms around Caroline's waist from behind, dragging her back with every ounce of strength she had.
"That's your daughter! Your own flesh and blood! Look at her—she's beautiful! Please, snap out of it!"
Caroline didn't respond. She thrashed violently, fighting to get closer to the crib.
"I should never have had a child... I don't deserve this... Edith never wanted me to have children... this is punishment..."
Tears streamed down her face, blurring her vision.
"I killed her... how can I have happiness? How can I have a baby? This child should never have been born..."
"That's not true! Even if Edith were alive, she would never have stopped you from having this baby! Caroline, look at me—this is our child, the proof of our love!"
Alexander burst into the room and wrapped his arms around Caroline, trying to wrestle the scissors from her grip.
But she fought like someone possessed. His injuries made it nearly impossible to restrain her without hurting her, and the struggle reached a stalemate.
"Let go of me! Let go!" Caroline sobbed.
"I have no right to be with you! You were supposed to be with Edith! I stole you from her! I killed her! What right do I have to love you? What right do I have to bear your child? This is wrong! This baby should never have been born! Let me end this mistake!"
"No! That is not how it is! Caroline, listen to me!"
Tears rolled down Alexander's face.
He locked her tightly in his arms, burying his face against her sweat-dampened neck.
"Edith didn't love me... she never loved me! She hated me! She wanted me dead! You heard it yourself, didn't you? At the Neville Family estate—Damon told me! She said she'd rather see me dead than marry me! That night at the docks... it might have been a trap all along! She—or Linus—set it up to kill me!"
"You didn't kill her! Caroline, you never did! It was me! I was the fool! I was blinded by hate! I trusted the wrong people, blamed you for everything, dragged you into hell, and tortured you for years! I am the one who deserves to die! I am the one who is guilty! Not you!"
Caroline went rigid in his arms.
Alexander seized the moment and hauled her away from the crib. The movement tore at his abdominal wound. His vision went black. He let out a strangled groan and collapsed to his knees.
"Sir! Your wound!" Kenna cried out.
"Get out... Kenna, leave us..."
"Close the door... no one comes in without my permission..."
"But—"
"Get out!" Alexander's voice cracked into a roar. The coughing fit that followed brought blood to his lips.
Kenna trembled, tears streaming down her face as she backed out of the room.
Alexander looked up at Caroline.
She stood frozen, staring at him in shock, as if trying to process what he'd just said.
"No... that is impossible..."
It took her a long time to find her voice.
"You're lying... how could Edith not love you? Everyone said you loved her so much. I saw you together... after she died, you hated me so much..."
"I hated the wrong person."
Alexander knelt on the floor, his face twisted with regret.
"I only understand my own heart now. Caroline, the woman I loved—it was always the one who saved me from death in that rainy alley. The woman I loved was the one who, even after I misunderstood her, hurt her, tortured her, still cared for me in some hidden corner of her heart. The woman I loved was the one who smiled at me on that island, who tried so hard to learn how to cook, who lit up when I read her stories... and that woman, from beginning to end, was you, Caroline."
With every word he spoke, Caroline's body shook harder. The confusion and pain in her eyes deepened.
She shook her head wildly.
"No... you are just trying to comfort me... lying to me... so I will not hurt the baby..."
She murmured the words, her grip tightening on the scissors.
"This baby should never have been born! Edith is dead—what right do I have to be happy? What right do I have to be a mother? I am a sinner! I belong in hell! This child can go to hell with me!"
With that, a vicious determination flashed in her eyes. She lunged toward the crib again.
"Caroline!"
Alexander threw himself forward and seized her wrist—the one holding the scissors. In her stunned gaze, he forced the cold metal tip against his own chest.
The sharp blade pierced his skin. Blood welled up instantly.
"Ugh..."
Alexander's body jerked. A suppressed groan escaped him as the blood spread across his shirt.
"What are you doing? Let go! Are you insane?" Caroline's voice broke with terror.
"I am insane..."
Alexander looked into her suddenly lucid eyes, forcing his lips into a faint smile.
"I heard a legend once... that parents can take their child's place... one time..."
He gazed at her deeply, his eyes filled with tenderness.
"If you need someone to pay for the past..."
"Then kill me."
"Let me trade my life for our child's."
"Let my blood wash away your sins."
"And then... forgive yourself, Caroline. Please... let our child go. Let yourself go."
"Live. Take our daughter... and live."
He closed his eyes, waiting for her judgment.
Caroline stared at him for a long time. Then, quietly, she laughed.
"Take her place... I have no sins..."
Her words were still incoherent.
Her hand trembled. The scissors clattered to the floor.
Alexander looked up. "Caroline..."
Caroline suddenly coughed up blood and collapsed heavily to the ground, unconscious.