Uncle, Aunt...


    Alexa''s eyes popped wide open, and for a second, she thought she must be imagining things.


    After a moment, her voice quivered, "You... you''re..."


    Selena gently helped Alexa up, brushing away the strands of hair stuck to her face, and settled her onto the couch.


    "I''m family to ine," Selena exined.


    Selena had a hunch that Alexa''s misunderstanding about her and ine was something ine might have set up himself. After all, he married Alexa as part of some revenge scheme, and making life easy for her was not on his agenda. But Selena was there to clear things up, so she took it upon herself to exin.


    Alexa needed a moment to let the news sink in.


    She still couldn''t wrap her head around it. "You''re the niece ine''s been looking for?"


    Selena nodded. "Yes."


    Alexa just stared at her, moving from shock and disbelief to finally epting it. Yet, instead of feeling relieved or happy about the misunderstanding being resolved, she broke down, tears streaming down like a ne that had snapped.


    Selena quickly grabbed some tissues from her bag to help dry Alexa''s tears. "Why are you so upset, even after finding out I''m not your husband''s lover?" Wasn''t Alexa trying to run away because she got the wrong idea about her and ine?


    Alexa let out a bitter smile. "Even so, there''s no going back for us."


    "No, right from the start, there''s been this deep-seated grudge between us. I''m a Hodge, and that means he''ll always hold it against me."


    Selena let out a sigh. "The past is in the past, right? Don''t let the issues of the previous generation hold you back. You''re both young, with your whole lives ahead..."


    "You don''t get it..." Alexa mumbled.


    No one knew better than her just how much ine loathed the Hodge family.


    ???


    As the heir to the Irwin family, his life should have been all smooth sailing, a life of privilege and prestige. But thanks to the Hodge family''s betrayal, the Irwin family fell apart. Overnight, he lost everything and had to run with his newborn niece.


    He went from being a nobleman to living in the shadows.


    Every day was a battle to survive.


    His only reason to keep going was revenge.


    He''d dealt with all the Hodge family but kept her around as an outlet for his rage.


    Years of suffering didn''t just vanish because the Hodge family was no


    more. His whole personality was twisted by revenge, his life


    emotions were a thing of the pet


    consumed by it, and normal


    He always needed somewhere to vent.


    And that was her.


    She held onto hope that one day ine would believe she never betrayed him.


    But he never did.


    Selena showing up was the final straw that broke her.


    She didn''t want to live like this anymore, so she chose to run.


    She wanted freedom for herself, and maybe ine could finally let go of his hatred.


    But it was all for nothing, as ine found her anyway, and even... cut off the fingers of her childhood friend who helped her get away, right in front of her.


    That''s what pushed her to grab the gun ine always had on him and try to end it all.


    Hearing this shook Selena to her core.


    The screams and cries she heard on the phone suddenly made sense.


    ine had never shown such a ruthless side to her. She had been too naive.


    In times like this, words felt empty.


    Selena stopped trying to talk her into


    anything and gentlyforted


    Alexa. "For now, just focus on eating


    and getting some rest. We can figure everything else out when ine wakes up."