Chapter 245 Funeral
Chapter 245 Funeral
"Hush now, it's all in the past!" Irene patted her shoulder and comforted her gently, "Perhaps she has NôvelDrama.Org owns © this.
gone mad to escape from her guilt!"
"Yes. If there is only pain left in a person's life, it is better to just die. Since she didn't want to die, going
mad is the best way for her to get rid of the pain," Edric chipped in to comfort her.
Nathan watched Irene and Rowane hugging and crying together as he stood by the side. He felt a mix
of emotions. Irene was someone who emphasized a lot on relationships and affection. It would be
impossible for him to be with Irene. He heaved a heavy sigh and thought, "How ill-fated we are!"
Rowane overheard Nathan's sigh and glanced at him with eyes full of tears, "Nathan, I won't pester you
anymore. Don't worry, I won't let this child affect you."
"What nonsense are you spouting?" Irene glared at Rowane. The estrangement between her and
Rowane vanished completely after the hug. She spat, "Nathan isn't that kind of person! You are my one
and only younger sister. This child is his only child. He'll definitely allow you to give birth to the child."
Nathan smiled bitterly and walked towards them upon hearing Irene's words, "Don't think too much
about it. You're pregnant. Take care of yourself!"
"Nathan, I..." Rowane was speechless. She knew that Nathan was saying those affectionate words
because of Irene. However, she was already satisfied. As long as Irene did not hate her and Nathan
was willing to accept her, she had nothing else to be dissatisfied about.
The hospital called Irene to inform her that Steven was dying and they needed her to head over as
soon as possible. Irene and Rowane hurried to see Steven.
Steven was on the brink of death. When he saw Irene and Rowane entering the ward, a glimmer of
hope sparkled in his lifeless eyes. He struggled to speak, "Irene!"
"Dad," Irene was devastated to see Steven looking so exhausted. She pointed at Rowane and told
Steven, "This is Rowane. She's also your daughter. Edric must've told you about her before this, right?"
Steven nodded. Edric had told him earlier about Rowane being his daughter, so Steven had been
looking forward to meeting Rowane. When he saw the similarities between Rowane and Irene, he felt
excited and cheered, "Daughter! My daughter!"
"Dad!" Rowane could not help crying.
Tears rolled down from Steven's glassy eyes as he held Rowane's hand. He had been a respected
figure in his field, but his family matters were a mess. He had two daughters who he had never taken
proper care of, but he had kept an illegitimate daughter by his side instead for so many years.
"I'm sorry!" He apologized to Irene and Rowane with difficulty.
"I don't blame you for anything!" Rowane reached out to wipe away Steven's tears. She had now
known that he was her biological father until now, and they had to meet each other during a moment
like this. How could she not feel sad?
"You are a good child. You and Irene should support each other and live a good life together!" Steven
reminded her.
"I will. Dad, don't worry. I'll listen to Irene," Rowane promised.
"Irene." Steven took Irene's hand, "The thing I regret the most in my life is me not treating you and your
mother well. I'll be meeting your mother soon. I hope that she can forgive me!"
Tears welled up in Irene's eyes. It was said that when a person was on the brink of death, they would
speak kindly. She did not know if Myra would forgive Steven, but she herself had forgiven Steven a
long time ago.
Steven struggled to pull both Rowane and Irene's hands together. His eyes were filled with pleas as he
said, "Both of you must live a united and happy life together. Rowane, you must listen to Irene. Irene,
take good care of her. Take care of her on my behalf."
Irene nodded while looking at Rowane. Then, Steven spoke to Edric, "I've made plenty of mistakes in
this lifetime. I've betrayed my wife and have owed my daughters. I hope you won't become like me. I'm
handing Irene over to you. If you dare to hurt her, I will come back to haunt you!"
"Dad, don't worry, I will never let you down!" Edric swore.
"Irene, you are a good child. Dad knows that you love Edric deep down in your heart, and Edric also
loves you back. Everything that has happened between you two is Dad's fault. For Eden's and the
baby's sake, you should forgive Edric!"
"I've already forgiven him!" Irene answered.
"I still have one last request. After I die, I beg you to bury me by Myra's side..." Steven panted with
difficulty.
Irene nodded, "Don't worry about that, Dad!"
Steven smiled in relief after hearing Irene's reply. His wish was fulfilled, and there were no more strings
attached. He could finally die in peace as he whispered his last words, "Myra, I'm coming!" With that,
Steven's eyes closed slowly.
"Dad!" Irene and Rowane cried out in unison, but Steven could no longer hear them.
Edric had to handle Steven's funeral all by himself as Irene was pregnant. Steven was a reputable
man. However, he did not pass away as gracefully because he had been framed by two people in the
organization and had been punished for his crimes. So, only a few people came to mourn him.
For that reason, Edric did not organize a grand funeral for Steven despite the funds he had.
He simply invited a few of his friends to bury Steven. Irene followed Steven's last wish by burying him
next to Myra.
Lily came on the day of the burial too. No one noticed her arrival until Lily began to cause trouble at the
cemetery. It was only then did everyone notice her existence.
Lily had come to the funeral with an agenda. She spouted insults at Irene in the cemetery and accused
Irene of harshly kicking her out from the house and punishing her by not permitting her to visit Steven
for the final time.
She even accused Irene of taking all of Steven's assets and embezzling plenty of Steven's famous
paintings. She also screamed on the top of her lungs that Deborah had been Steven's official wife, so
there was no reason for Steven to be buried beside Myra. She wanted to move Deborah's tomb here
as well.
No one had expected Lily to come and make a fuss so shamelessly. Although Edric sent his men to
escort Lily away, Irene still felt uneasy with what had happened.
If she had known that this would happen, she would not have agreed to Steven's request to bury him
next to her mother. That way, there would not be any unnecessary trouble.
Her face was dark the entire trip home, and she did not utter a single word.
She initially thought that Lily had just been causing a fuss. However, she did not expect that she would
go around spreading rumors about Irene paying her hush money to prevent her from raising the
inspection committee's suspicion about Steven's famous paintings. She wanted Irene to surrender all
the paintings.
Irene became even more frustrated upon hearing that. The paintings had been brought up by Steven to
Lily. Steven's soft-heartedness towards Lily, in the end, only caused more significant troubles to her.
She had never expected that such a ridiculous thing would happen.
Lily's unreasonable behavior pissed Jordan off. He wanted to shut her up and see if she dared to
continue her bratty actions.
Nathan shook his head and explained, "We cannot do such things. Lily must have prepared for this
since she dared to make such a scene. We are all not gangsters. It will be an eye for an eye if we do
that."
"Are you really going to pay Lily to let this matter go?" Kinsey retorted.
Edric sneered, "Why should I give her money? I'll just let Lily report it."
"Do you really want her to report it?" Everyone knew about the famous paintings, and if they got
exposed, Steven's reputation would be at stake.
"Lily was leveraging on everyone's precaution to threaten us. If we feared her, then she would push her
luck. So, it's better to let her report it," Edric explained, "I'll arrange for my contacts to teach her a
lesson."
"It's true that we can't let Lily do anything she wants. Actions have consequences. Just let her report it!"
Irene also had the same thing in mind. Wicked people like Lily were often driven by evil. If they kept
giving in to her, she would continue to cross the lines.
Lily had initially wanted to cause a scene to get some cash to improve her current living conditions.
However, she did not expect that Irene would not give her money and even chose to be ignorant of her
threats.
Lily was furious. Since she had already taken the first step, she might as well do it without hesitation.
As she was fuming, a fierce man knocked on her door at night. The person glared at Lily angrily and
asked, "Are you Sugar's daughter?"
"Who are you?"
"I'm Jackson Skinner. That b*tch, Sugar, killed my sister and son. So, I have to kill you!"
"That has nothing to do with me. You can't put the blame on me," Lily was so frightened that she turned
pale.
Jackson did not care about that fact much. He gave Lily a few harsh slaps on the face and carried her
away. Lily found herself in the suburbs when she woke up. It was dark all around while Jackson was
pouring gasoline on her and preparing to burn her to death. She was scared of her wits and hurriedly
got up and ran. She shouted for help while running. Soon, the firefighters came to save her when they
heard the noise, but Jackson had taken the opportunity to escape.
After she was rescued, Lily immediately reported the case to the police. The police answered her that
they would arrest the man. However, they warned her that she had better pay attention to her safety.
Since Jackson was a ruthless murderer, it would be dangerous if he came to her again.
Lily was horrified and immediately moved to another place. She no longer dared to spread nonsense,
let alone find troubles with Irene.
Of course, Lily would never have thought that Jackson was the one who had arranged everything. He
heard that Lily was threatening Edric's woman, so Jackson offered to help Edric as a way to repay his
kindness. The firefighters were hired by Sam, and the police were in John's favor.
Although Lily was not causing a ruckus anymore, Irene still felt disturbed about the matter. Dave
advised her, "Irene, you don't have to feel sad since it has already happened. Cheer up. Doing so
would be good for you and your child."
"Uncle Thomas, I've made you worry. I'm fine. I'll recover in a few days," said Irene with a sigh.
"Irene, what do you think about Edric? The child is about to be born. Why don't you settle the matter
with Edric?"
"Uncle Thomas, I don't want to think about that now." It was not that the matter had not crossed her
mind before, but she just did not know what to do. Edric and Margaret had come to visit her every day
during that period, and they had spoken to her about getting back together many times.
Irene's heart wavered as she observed how Eden got along well with Edric and Margaret. However,
when she turned around and saw Nathan's worrisome eyes and how he treated Rowane in a relatively
neutral way, she felt uncomfortable.