CHAPTER 104: PRIDE!!

The Crimson Island—its very name carried a weight of mystery, a place whispered in stories but rarely confirmed. A land outside the reach of governments, untouched by foreign laws, its soil soaked in both blood and wealth. The island lived by its own rules, its prosperity built on trades never traced, on secrets never spoken.

Four families had carried the island’s fate for generations. Among them, the Carter family stood supreme, rulers since the founding year. Their bloodline defined power.

Edwin Carter—the man once feared, the ruler of Crimson Island in his ruthless youth. He had commanded obedience, built the foundations of their dominance, and crushed opposition with an iron hand. But even the most unyielding rulers carried secrets. His was a daughter. A daughter who left the island for the mainland to study, who was abandoned the moment she bore a child, because at that time Edwin Carter cared more for the Carter image than for the beating heart of his own child.

He never saw her again. Until now.

...

The door stood open, the weight of silence pressing on everyone in the villa.

Elena’s voice broke the air, raw and trembling. "D... Dad."

The single word echoed like a storm in the room. It reached Miles and Daniel instantly, pulling them to the entryway.

Edwin’s sharp, aged eyes softened, glistening. His lips quivered as he answered in a voice hoarse with years of regret. "Elena... my daughter."

Elena’s tears fell, her face trembling with the shock of seeing a ghost she thought had vanished forever. But then something inside her hardened. Her chest rose and fell, anger igniting through the sorrow. Her trembling became fury.

Her voice rose, sharp as glass. "What are you doing here? I don’t have anything to do with you!"

The words struck deep, filled with decades of abandonment and pain.

Miles stepped forward quickly, his body protective, his heart sinking at the sight of his mother’s tears. He had seen her frightened, he had seen her strong, but seeing her break because of a man she once called father tore into him like a blade.

"Mom, what happened?" Miles asked, his voice careful, steady, though inside he already felt the storm rising.

Elena turned to him, her voice strained, wounded. "Miles... tell this man to leave this place. I don’t want to see his face."

Her plea pierced him. Miles’s chest tightened. This was the last thing he wanted—to see his mother hurt, and worse, to know it came because he allowed him to come. Guilt spread through him. He regretted it instantly.

He turned to Monica, his jaw set. "Take her inside."

Monica nodded softly, placing a hand on Elena’s shoulder, whispering comfort as she guided her back in.

The villa grew quieter. Miles exhaled deeply, his gaze falling on the old man who remained standing, alone, eyes heavy with both pride and regret.

Miles’s tone was cold, almost cutting. "Old man... What have you done? She called you ’dad.’ I heard it with my own ears. Now I need an explanation."

Edwin’s lips tightened, his face unreadable.

Miles turned and walked out to the lawn, his movements deliberate. The morning air hung still, the tension almost suffocating. He chose a table beneath the shade of the trees, his sharp gaze fixed ahead.

The staff hurried forward, placing refreshments on the table. But neither man touched them.

The stage was set for a conversation that would shake the roots of two families.

The breeze shifted in the garden as Edwin Carter lowered himself slowly into the chair across from Miles. His hands trembled faintly when he reached for the cup before him but left it untouched. The old man’s eyes, once sharp as steel in his youth, now carried the weight of something heavier than age—guilt.

Miles leaned back in his chair, his arms folded, his expression carved in stone. His gaze was piercing, cold, and unyielding. Every fiber of his being wanted answers, but more than that, he wanted justice for his mother’s tears.

Edwin broke the silence first, his voice low and cracked. " Mona... she told me everything. She told me what Elena endured all these years. The hunger. The loneliness. The nights she thought no one in this world stood for her. And I... I was the one who put her through it."

Miles’s jaw tightened, but he said nothing. His silence demanded the truth.

Edwin’s gaze dropped to his hands. "I abandoned her. I abandoned my only daughter... out of selfishness. Out of pride. Because I was not a father then. I was the ruler of Crimson Island. A ruler who cared more about his image than the beating heart of his child." His words cracked, each one heavier than the last.

"When she went to the mainland... I should have been proud. She was bright, brave, and different. But when I heard she had fallen in love, when I heard she bore a child outside the approval of our family... I thought of my name, not her happiness. I thought of how the families would mock me, how my enemies would seize the chance to call the Carter line weak. So I cut her off. I erased her from my world. I told myself it was necessary for the Island... when in truth it was necessary only for my pride."

Miles’s hands curled into fists on the table. His chest burned with anger. "You left her to rot," he said coldly. "You left her alone, there was no one to protect her when she needed, just because you were afraid of a few whispers against your name."

Edwin’s eyes closed tightly, tears threatening. His voice shook. "Yes. I did. I was a coward. A selfish, ruthless coward. I had power, wealth, men who bowed to my command... and still, I failed the one person I should have stood for."

Miles leaned forward, his glare sharp enough to cut. His voice was ice. "Do you have any idea what she went through? Do you know how many nights she cried alone helplessly? Do you know what it’s like to raise a son with no father and then losing him , to bury the man she loved, to live in constant struggle? And you... you sat on your throne, clinging to your image, while she suffered."

Edwin’s face collapsed, his lips quivering, his voice nothing more than a whisper. "I know... and I regret it every day. Every night. I see her face in my dreams. The choices I made for power took away my daughter. Nothing I can do now will ever give back what I stole from her. I am not asking for forgiveness, Miles. I don’t deserve it. I only came... because I wanted to look into her eyes once more before I die. To at least tell her the truth. That I was wrong. That I was weak. That I was never the father she deserved."

Miles rose to his feet, his chair scraping against the stone. His shadow fell across the old man, his presence heavy, suffocating. His voice was laced with rage, controlled only by the steel in his discipline.

"You’re right," Miles said. "You don’t deserve forgiveness. Not from her. Not from me. You abandoned her when she needed you most. And nothing you say will erase that. Nothing."

Edwin’s eyes welled, but he did not defend himself.

Miles stood there, his heart pounding. He wanted to strike him, to shout, to demand more. But when he remembered his mother’s tears, all he could feel was cold fury.

"Stay away from her," Miles said finally, his voice quiet but lethal. "You’ve done enough damage to last a lifetime. If she never wants to see you again, you’ll respect that. Because if you hurt her again, even by a single word, Edwin Carter or not, my grandfather or not—I’ll end you."

The air turned heavy, Edwin’s shoulders sagged. He looked smaller than he ever had before.

Elena stood a little behind with Mona, listening to every word that was spoken at the garden table. Her heart was heavy, but when she saw Miles’s voice rise in anger, she stepped forward.

"We should not talk to anyone like that," Elena said, her tone calm but firm. "Where are your manners?"

Miles realized at once that he had been too harsh in front of her. He stood straight, lowering his head, the steel in his voice softening. "I am sorry, Mom. I was out of line just now. Please forgive me."

Elena’s lips curved into a faint, pained smile. "Thank you for being angry on my behalf. But I need to talk with him privately."

Miles hesitated, his eyes darting toward Edwin, but at last he nodded. "Okay, Mom. I will leave you two here. I’m nearby... just call me if you need me."

Mona touched his arm lightly, and together they walked back toward the house, leaving Elena and Edwin seated under the quiet shade of the garden trees.

Elena folded her hands in her lap, her eyes wet but unwavering. "I heard everything. But it doesn’t change the fact that you left me for good. I can never forgive you for that. Big brother tried to contact me a few times back then, but you even silenced him."

Her voice trembled as the memories resurfaced, but she held steady. "Now just tell me what you want."

Edwin’s chest rose and fell with a shaky breath. His voice broke as he spoke. "I know you will never forgive me. I didn’t come expecting that. I came here to see you before I die... and because I have a request."

Elena’s face stiffened. "What is it?"

Edwin’s eyes glistened as he spoke of his blood. "Mona already lost her mother while giving birth to her little brother. And a few years back, when our family was struck with turmoil, when enemies clawed at us from every side... your big brother also lost his life. We almost lost everything."

Elena’s eyes widened. Tears slid down her cheek. "Big brother... is gone?"

Edwin nodded slowly. His voice lowered, heavy with grief. "He is gone. But in that crisis, your son Miles came—unknowingly, unknowingly he saved us. When I first looked at him, I felt something familiar. He is a good man, Elena... a good son."

Elena’s tears flowed freely now. The name of her elder brother had reopened a wound she never knew was still raw.

Edwin continued, his tone weak, each word trembling. "I am old now. I don’t have much time left. I only wish... that Mona and her little brother can have a family. I don’t want them to be completely orphaned when I am gone."

His tears fell at last, speaking more than his words ever could.

Elena’s heart tightened. Her voice wavered as she answered. "They are my nephew and niece. I will always care for them."

Edwin inhaled deeply, as though her words had released a burden from his chest. "Thank you... thank you for saying that. Now I can die quietly."

He rose slowly to his feet, his body trembling with age and emotion. "I should leave now. I will not disturb your happy family any longer. I wish you all the happiness I never gave you."

He turned to walk away.

But Elena’s voice stopped him. "Did you ever miss me all these years?"

Edwin froze. His shoulders hunched as his reply came in a broken whisper. "I always missed you... but I never had the courage to face you."

He turned back, his eyes red, his face hollow. "I have one more request before I go. Can I... see my grandchildren? Just once."

Elena stood caught between anger and tears, her chest heaving. She clenched her hands tightly. Finally, she spoke, her voice sharp with pain but soft with hidden love. "You can meet them. They are inside. But it does not mean I have forgiven you."

Edwin smiled faintly, a sad and weary smile. "Thank you."