---- Chapter 28 Eve looked down at Vickie and said, "Considering what my mother went through, I've been merciful to Alina." Samuel silently positioned himself beside Eve, and his gun subtly aimed at Vickie. Meanwhile, Lucas leaned against the wall and watched with a smirk. He seemed to be enjoying an interesting drama. Vickie trembled uncontrollably. "You-you can't kill me!" she stammered, "I'm your father's woman. Robert, Robert wouldn't allow..." Eve chuckled lightly and raised her hand to reveal the signet ting of the Costa family. "My father has a message for you." Vickie's last hope was shattered. She collapsed to the floor and pleaded desperately. "Please spare me. | can tell you a secret. It's about you..." "It's too late," Eve interrupted coldly. She stood up and winked at Samuel. "Take her to the place where my mother had the accident." Vickie was dragged away. Her heartbreaking cries echoed through the corridor. ---- Only then did Lucas step forward. He thoughtfully looked at Eve. "You've changed a lot." Without looking at Lucas, Eve took Samuel's arm and left. Lucas watched Eve's departing figure, and his eyes were filled with interest. At the intersection on the other side of the city, a car doused in gasoline burned fiercely, and the flames lit up the night sky. Vickie's screams pierced the darkness but gradually faded into silence. Eve hadn't seen Lucas for a long time. But he had begun appearing frequently before Eve after they had briefly met at the wedding. Eve stood by the large window and helplessly gazed at the familiar car parked downstairs. Lucas leaned against the car and played with a red rose in his hand. "Shall | have someone drive him away?" Samuel asked possessively as he wrapped his arms around Eve's waist from behind. Eve shook her head lightly and gave a cold smile. "Let me see what tricks he has up his sleeve." She descended the stairs in her robe and paused in the ---- doorway. Lucas's eyes lit up when he saw her, but he was quickly stopped by two bodyguards. "Eve, this is your favorite rose. | give it to you." Eve frowned and refused to take it. "Why are you here again?" Lucas's smile froze. But he soon returned to his usual nonchalant demeanor. "| miss you, Eve," he said, deliberately using his previous tone to call her. "After all, we once..." "Shut up." Eve cut him off, and her fingers tapped lightly on the doorframe. "You'd better remember that | am Samuel's wife now." The window suddenly opened, and Samuel looked down at them. He said nothing, but Lucas felt an overwhelming pressure. Eve glanced back and gave Samuel a reassuring look. "| just..." Lucas's voice faltered. "| want to apologize for my past mistakes." Eve suddenly laughed, which sent a chill down Lucas's spine. "Do you want to apologize?" She stepped down the stairs, and the bodyguards immediately followed her. "Do you mean cheating on me with Alina, nearly sending me to my death on the cliff, or conspiring with her to frame me and send me to ---- jail? You and Alina even did it on my birthday on the bed we chose for our wedding!" The rose fell from Lucas's hand, and its petals scattered on the ground. He wanted to say something, but he couldn't utter a word. The memories he had tried to forget suddenly replayed in his mind. He remembered Eve's desperate eyes behind the bars, her body covered in tubes on the hospital bed, and her heart- wrenching cries. "|..." Lucas's Adam's apple moved. "| was manipulated into it." "Really?" Eve's voice rose sharply. "Did Alina hold a gun to your head, or were you threatened with your life?" Eve slightly loosened her collar and revealed her skin covered in scars from the inhumane torture she suffered in jail. They were all due to Lucas. "Lucas, these are all your gifts!" In the window, Samuel was like a lurking beast. His hand clenched the wine glass, but he remained silent and respected Eve's choices. Lucas suddenly got down on one knee. The once proud man was humbled like a stray dog. "| know | deserve death." When he looked up, his eyes were ---- filled with tears. "But | ask for a chance to make it up to you." Eve simply smiled. "| don't need you to make up to me. I've moved on, and | ask you to do the same. From now on, don't ever appear before me again." Eve..." Lucas reached out with a trembling hand. "Don't touch me!" She recoiled sharply and fell into a comforting embrace. Samuel had silently appeared behind her, and his strong hands steadied her shoulder. Lucas watched them, and he looked painful in his eyes. Once upon a time, Lucas had stood behind Eve. They would sneak sips of freshly brewed wine in the vineyard, hide in the attic during storms listening to old records, and... "Leave." Eve's voice pulled him back to reality. "You'd better leave before | change my mind." Lucas staggered to his feet and turned away. He suddenly took out a dagger from his pocket. Samuel instantly drew his gun but was stopped by Eve's hand on his wrist. "Do what you will." Lucas offered the dagger handle to Eve and said, "This is what | owe you." ---- Eve stared at the familiar weapon. It was the gift she gave Lucas, with their names engraved on the handle. Eve laughed. "Do you think it will redeem you?" Lucas smiled bitterly. "| know it won't." He suddenly reversed the dagger towards his heart and said, "But at least... it can give you some relief." Just as the dagger was about to pierce, Eve swiftly knocked it aside. "You don't deserve it. | want you alive, to remember every day and night what you've done to me." Lucas stared at the face so close to his. He had kissed her countless times. But she was spitting words like daggers. Her eyes were once full of love for him, but they were now only filled with deep-seated hatred. "Leave," Samuel finally said coldly. "Don't ever appear before my wife again." Lucas stumbled away. Eve..." He suddenly paused, and his expression was complex as he turned back. "After you fell off the cliff, | actually went to look for you..."