Chapter 4
The roses in the garden had all been planted by Callan himself–hundreds of acres, thousands of roses, each one representing his love letter to Lila.
“Lila, roses symbolize love, but store–bought roses are too cheap to represent how I feel about you,” Callan had once said. “So I built this rose garden for you. Every day, I’ll give you roses I planted with my own hands.”
Now the rose garden was mysteriously ablaze, and Lila’s heart involuntarily tightened.
She put on a robe and walked unsteadily to see what was happening.
But as soon as she stepped out, she was knocked down by a servant rushing to fight the fire, and she tumbled down
the stairs.
When she regained consciousness, Lila found herself in a hospital bed.
Callan was sitting beside her, his dark eyes bloodshot, his expression terrifying.
“Lila, you’re awake?” Seeing her stir, his expression softened slightly. He grabbed her hand and said with deep concern, “You hit your head when you fell down the stairs… How do you feel? Are you dizzy?”
Lila shook her head, then whispered, “I remember the rose garden caught fire…”
Callan’s face darkened again. He embraced Lila and kissed her forehead. “It doesn’t matter. If it burned, it burned. If you like, I’ll build you a new one.”
Just as he finished speaking, a nurse rushed in urgently. “Mr. Thorne, Miss Carson says her belly hurts. You should come quickly!”
Callan’s expression froze. He released Lila and tried to sound casual: “See what I mean, Lila? Her parents have completely spoiled Zara. Making such a fuss over period cramps.”
“I’ll go check on her so she doesn’t harass the nurses. You rest, and I’ll be back soon to keep you company.”
With that, he hurried away.
Lila felt a bit
che in her heart: Callan, was it really her parents who spoiled Zara, or was it you?
r misery, her phone buzzed. -Zara had sent her a video.
was curled up in Callan’s arms, crying dramatically. “Cal, I’m so sorry. It’s all my fault. I’m so
more careful yesterday when searching for gifts and hadn’t cut my hand on those rose thorns, you t have set fire to the rose garden to avenge me, and Aunt Lila wouldn’t have gotten hurt…”
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Chapter 4
At these words, Callan affectionately stroked Zara’s head. His tone was languid and arrogant: “Just a rose garden. Who cares if it burned.”
“Zara, you’re my woman. I won’t let anything hurt you–even inanimate objects. If they harm you, I’ll reduce them
to ashes.”
The video abruptly ended, and Lila’s heart shattered completely.
Callan had once said each rose in the garden was his declaration of love for Lila. But now, just because the thorns
had scratched Zara’s hand, he’d ordered the entire garden burned…
Thousands of roses, thousands of “I love you,” all worth less than a single thorn that had pricked Zara’s finger.
In the following days, Callan constantly moved between Lila’s and Zara’s hospital rooms.
He tried to attend to both, unwilling to neglect either one.
Lila felt only coldness in her heart and no longer wanted any interaction with Callan.
But just as she was nearly recovered and ready to be discharged, Zara suddenly appeared in her hospital room.
“Well, Aunt Lila, you’re quite the cool customer, aren’t you?” Zara’s innocent facade had vanished, replaced by a venomous smile. “You actually attended my wedding to Cal without confronting us. What a coward.”
“I understand, though. You’re getting older, naturally you can’t compete with someone young and beautiful like me. You’re afraid that if you called us out, Cal would leave you, so you pretend everything’s fine. That way you can fool yourself into thinking he still loves you.”
With that, she let out a mocking laugh. “You older women just love your self–deception. Since you refuse to face reality, let your dear niece help you out.”
As she spoke, Zara pulled out a bundle of explosives from her bag, her smile turning malicious!
My Husband’s Second Wife Was My Niece?!
