CHAPTER 518: CHAPTER 518: THIS IS WHAT YOU CALL LOVE

"Don’t run."

The shadow growled.

Nicole had already run outside. Hearing the roar from inside, she stopped in her tracks. The voice sounded so familiar, like her daddy’s.

Nicole shook her head. He wasn’t daddy, he was a bad guy, because daddy wouldn’t scare her and mommy at night, let alone hurt mommy.

Only bad people would hurt mommy.

She needed to find Uncle Howard to save mommy.

Nicole started running again.

The shadow heard the child’s footsteps running away and reached out to choke Ivy Linden’s neck, angrily shouting, "You slut, I’m not dead yet! And you’re out there finding another man? Letting my daughter run to a wild man for help?"

Ivy Linden’s neck was getting tighter and tighter, feeling extremely uncomfortable. Tears flowed from the corners of her eyes. She reached out to beat the shadow, her heart aching, Samuel Lockwood... it turned out to be him.

He had snuck into her room.

Anyone encountering this situation at night would have a natural reaction. Her instinct was to tell Nicole to run to a safe place, and Howard Yeats’ place was undoubtedly the safest. Was that wrong?

The one in the wrong was Samuel Lockwood, breaking into her room at night, covering her mouth, and accusing her of being with a wild man without distinguishing right from wrong.

Ivy Linden was thoroughly disappointed in Samuel Lockwood.

Samuel Lockwood’s eyes were red with rage, and his grip on Ivy Linden’s neck got tighter and tighter, until she was too weak to beat his chest anymore. Samuel suddenly realized and let go of Ivy Linden’s neck.

Ivy Linden collapsed onto the bed.

Samuel Lockwood couldn’t see Ivy Linden’s face clearly; he only saw her falling onto the bed, and suddenly felt panicked. He picked up the woman from the bed, trembling in his voice, "Ivy, Ivy, how are you? Wake up, wake up, I... I didn’t mean to choke you, I was just too angry just now."

The woman in his arms made no sound.

Samuel Lockwood felt deep regret, fearing that Ivy Linden might die, and began to cry, "Ivy, don’t scare me, please wake up! You can hit me, you can scold me, as long as you wake up, sob, sob..."

Ivy Linden was not dead; she could clearly hear Samuel Lockwood’s words. She kept her eyes closed, pretending she heard nothing, but her heart felt heavy. She had been in a relationship with Samuel Lockwood before marriage, and Samuel had truly loved her, and she had wholeheartedly loved this man. If not for what happened later, they would have been a very happy couple.

Unfortunately, Samuel’s mother couldn’t accept her, and Samuel Lockwood also strayed.

She and he could never return to the past.

Ivy Linden held back the tears in her eyes, not letting them fall, afraid that Samuel Lockwood would notice.

Now she only wished that Samuel Lockwood would leave quickly and stop disturbing her and Nicole’s life.

"Ivy..."

Samuel Lockwood kept crying and suddenly thought of the idea of mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

He took a breath and kissed Ivy Linden’s soft lips.

Ivy Linden suddenly opened her eyes, forcefully pushing Samuel Lockwood away, and raised her hand to wipe away the uncomfortable breath from her lips.

She couldn’t keep pretending.

Just thinking about Samuel Lockwood and Wendy Quinn being together, their lips and tongues intertwined, made her feel sick.

Samuel Lockwood was momentarily stunned, quickly realizing, "Ivy Linden, you tricked me?"

Thinking about Ivy Linden’s action of wiping her lips just now, Samuel Lockwood’s face turned ashen, confirming she was involved with Howard Yeats; she couldn’t even accept him kissing her. Those adulterers.

"You already have Wendy Quinn. Please don’t disturb me anymore, okay?"

"Don’t disturb you? Ha... You want to be with that dog Howard Yeats forever? Dream on, Ivy Linden. You’re my woman; even if I dump you, you can never be with another man. Even if you die, your corpse should be buried next to my grave."

"Do you think Howard Yeats is a man like you?"

Her relationship with Howard Yeats wasn’t as indecent as Samuel Lockwood imagined. Howard Yeats might be roguish, and sometimes made intimate gestures towards her, but he never forced anything between them.

Howard Yeats was a man, much stronger than her. If he forced it, she wouldn’t be a match for him.

Ivy Linden knew her place well; she was married and had Nicole. Howard Yeats was an unmarried man; even if he liked her, she could never accept him.

Because Howard Yeats deserved a better woman.

Ivy Linden looked at Samuel Lockwood in disappointment. After so many years together, Samuel Lockwood truly didn’t understand her at all. If he did, how could he say such things?

Samuel Lockwood’s love was too selfish, too obsessive, and too frightening.

He himself cheated, even had a child with Wendy Quinn, yet still wanted to keep her tied to him, even in death, with her grave marked as Samuel Lockwood’s woman.

"What did you say?" Samuel Lockwood’s jealousy burned upon hearing Ivy Linden’s words. He grabbed Ivy Linden’s hair, not caring about her pain, and pulled her over, "Explain to me, what kind of man am I? What kind of man is Howard Yeats? I’ve spoiled you for so many years, and you’ve only been with him for a few months. How is he better than me? Is he better in bed? Did he satisfy you, you slut?"

Ivy Linden’s scalp was being pulled off; it hurt so much her tears flowed freely. Samuel Lockwood’s vile words once again pierced her heart.

"Let me go, let me go."

"Let you go? Keep dreaming. Explain yourself."

Samuel Lockwood pulled hard, and Ivy Linden screamed in pain, her tearful face forced upwards.

In the darkness.

Samuel Lockwood was close at hand, his fierce and angry eyes clearly visible.

He couldn’t see the pain on Ivy Linden’s face, his heart trembling with rage. This woman, whom he had given all his love to, betrayed him so.

It was truly a misplaced love.

"Howard Yeats is a gentleman; he never forces people against their will, nor would he, like you, hit women like a madman. You... Samuel Lockwood, you’re selfish and self-serving. Spoiling me was just because I suited your taste, I was your type. Now I realize your spoiling was just that, like treating a little pet, a canary. As long as I obeyed you, you’d hold me dear, but once I defied you, you’d exact frenzied revenge, breaking my wings, leaving nothing of me."

"Samuel Lockwood, that’s what you call love."

Samuel Lockwood laughed, his face contorted.

"Love is selfish by nature. I did so much for you because I hoped to be with you forever, not for you to sleep with another man. If I had known you’d sleep with another man, why would I have loved you? I’d only find you dirty, disgusting, unworthy of my love."

"Since I disgust you so much, why won’t you let me go? Samuel Lockwood, I’d rather you give me a knife than have any entanglement with you in the future."

Samuel Lockwood pinched her face hard.

"A knife? No, how could I bear to give you a knife? I want to take you back, clean your filthy body. Come with me, don’t think about stalling for time until Howard Yeats comes to save you."