Taken By My Fiancé's Uncle - Chapter 157: Chapter 157

The night was drawing to a close. Lorraine finally succumbed to sleep, too exhausted to even lift an eyelid. Eugene waited until Lorraine had quietly fallen asleep before slipping out of bed.
His phone showed over a hundred missed calls, so many that the battery was nearly drained. They were all from the same person: Norah.
Eugene clenched his phone, then turned back to tuck Lorraine in gently. The phone buzzed again. Eugene stepped out into the courtyard and answered it.
Though Norah was up in the mountains, the Pedler family's intelligence network kept her fully informed, leaving no detail of tonight's party unknown to her.
Behind her, Briana and the bodyguards stood in a line, watching anxiously. They didn't dare to approach as she stood barefoot in the cold, wet mountain mud.
Her hair disheveled like a madwoman, and she kept dialing Eugene's number again and again. Undeterred by repeated failures, she stubbornly persisted. Finally, he picked up.
"Eugene, those news reports are all fake, right? The reporters are just making things up, aren't they?" she blurted out, terrified that if she waited even a second longer, he really would marry Lorraine.
Eugene replied coolly, "Aren't your family's lackeys gathering information for you? Didn't they tell you?"
Norah's breath hitched, her blood running cold. She stammered, "So you two... went to register your marriage tonight?" Every word clawed its way out of her throat, each syllable tearing at her with fresh pain.
One of the Pedler family's subordinates told her that Eugene had someone go to the City Hall tonight to get a marriage license, but Norah refused to believe it.
'Who would get a marriage license in the middle of the night? What kind of ridiculous joke is this?' she thought.
But beneath her disbelief, she feared that it was true. She wondered, 'Has he ever felt even a fraction of this torment I'm going through?'
"It's true," Eugene said without hesitation. Those words instantly thrust her into the abyss. Norah felt as if she'd been crushed into pieces before she could even utter a sound.
She felt as if a gaping wound had been torn open in her chest, blood pouring out as icy wind howled through the hollow. She bellowed inwardly, 'I don't believe it!'
"Norah," Eugene called out to her.
Norah's lips parted, her fingers clenching the phone, yet no sound came out of her throat. She could no longer respond with that same fake cheerfulness whenever Eugene called her.
Eugene didn't need her response. He said to her, "Do you remember what I told you? The harm you've caused her will be repaid. Even if I can't take revenge on you, I'll take revenge on myself."
Norah bit her lip so hard. She wanted to scream, to question him. She screeched in her mind, 'Getting married? What kind of revenge is it? How dare he! How dare he really choose Lorraine over me!'
"You schemed to expose Lorraine, making everyone condemn her and pushing her life to the brink of collapse. So tell me, Norah." Eugene paused, his voice icy as he glanced at the still-dark sky. "Now, between you and her, who's really the homewrecker?"
This question was the last straw. 'He's giving me back every bit of humiliation I threw at Lorraine. If I keep clinging to him, I will be the other woman. Eugene, you're truly heartless,' she thought.
Clutching her chest, Norah swayed unsteadily, barely able to stand. After what felt like an eternity of struggle, she finally mustered just enough strength to speak. But all she heard was the abrupt dial tone. Eugene had hung up on her.
'So he didn't answer the phone to explain, nor to comfort me. He picked up just to show he's in control, to start a fight. Does he really not care about anything? Does Queenie's life or her wishes mean nothing to him now?
'After everything he owes Queenie, does none of it matter anymore? Is he really going to become an ingrate for Lorraine? I don't believe it!' Norah thought.
Her face grew paler by the second, and her heart clenched as if an invisible fist were wringing the very blood from it. Her breathing became more and more labored.
She opened her mouth wide, gasping desperately for air, like a fish out of water. But it was no use at all.
Norah staggered forward a few unsteady steps, struggling to keep her balance, when suddenly her vision went black and she collapsed to the ground.
"Ms. Pedler!" Briana cried out in panic. Her face gradually twisted in Norah's vision.
Norah clutched desperately at Briana's hand. "Tell the staff to hush this up. The elders mustn't find out."
In her mind, she was thinking, 'If they find out, there'll never be any hope for Eugene and me, and I can't even be sure if Eugene would continue to exist in this world.'
Briana burst into tears. "Ms. Pedler, after everything he's done to you, why torture yourself like this?"
'Yeah. Why am I torturing myself after the way he treated me? But I just can't let him go,' Norah thought, forcing a wry smile. Darkness closed in on her once more. She shut her eyes and completely lost consciousness.
Eugene ended the call and made his way back through the living room to the bedroom.
He used to need complete darkness to fall asleep. Even the slightest bit of light would keep him awake.
But after Lorraine started sleeping next to him, she insisted on leaving a little nightlight on, because she was afraid of the dark. She was not exactly the bravest soul. Oddly enough, he gradually got used to it.
That little nightlight now served as a beacon in the mist, helping him effortlessly avoid every obstacle in the darkness and bringing him to her side. Stepping into the bedroom, Eugene was surprised to find Lorraine already sitting up in bed.
With a hint of surprise, he asked, "Why are you awake?"
Lorraine sat there in a daze, looking lost and disoriented as she clutched the sheets where Eugene had just slept.
Her eyes were red-rimmed, and her hair was slightly tousled. She looked like a mess. Her fingers clenched tightly on the fabric. "I thought I was still in the mountains," Lorraine murmured.
Eugene sat down beside her and gently brushed away the strands of hair from Lorraine's cheek. "Did you have a nightmare?" he asked softly.
Lorraine gave a slight, silent nod. That whole Henry incident was a complete nightmare. Woody plastered it all over Twitter. She thought she had moved on, but in her dreams, that twisted, shattered face still haunted her like a vengeful demon coming for her soul.
Upon waking, Lorraine reached out for Eugene, only to find empty sheets beside her. That was when a wave of panic washed over her.
Eugene reached out and gently pulled Lorraine into his embrace, pressing her ear against his heart. "Sleep a little more," he murmured softly.
Slowly, Lorraine nestled closer, listening to the steady, reassuring beat of his heart. She wrapped her arms around his waist, tightening her hold. Quietly curled up in his embrace, she said nothing more.
Eugene leaned against the headboard, patiently stroking her back in gentle, soothing motions.
The night was hushed and serene.
Meanwhile, at the hospital, the timer Queenie had been clutching tightly in her palm suddenly buzzed, jolting her awake. It was 5 a.m., the exact time she'd arranged with Ian.
Maria had fallen asleep on the hospital cot. Days of emotional and physical strain had left her utterly exhausted. This was her first truly restful sleep in days.
She was sleeping so soundly that she didn't even notice when Queenie got up. Queenie didn't call for a nurse. Gritting her teeth, she resolutely yanked the IV needle from her hand. Blood gushed out instantly, but she had no time to press on the wound.
She didn't even stop for her shoes. She yanked her phone from the bedside drawer and rushed into the bathroom.
Queenie turned on her phone and found the number she'd just learned but already knew by heart. As she dialed, she stared intently at the screen, terrified she might press a single wrong digit.
The phone rang three times, each tone stretching into eternity as Queenie waited. The call finally connected. Queenie clutched the phone tightly, and before she could say a word, tears were already streaming down her face. "I-Is that Kye?" she choked out.
It had been over a decade since she last heard his voice. Ian had given her this number earlier, telling her to call at this exact time so she could reach Kye.
'My Kye...' Queenie thought.
There was a brief pause on the other end before someone said, "I'm not Kye. You've got the wrong person."
Queenie froze, her heart lurching as if punched in the gut. Waves of indescribable pain and despair crashed over her.
Queenie panicked and blurted out, "No, this isn't right. Mr. Pedler gave this number to me. He said if I called, Kye would answer. I'm Queenie. Ian gave me this number!"
She knew that in Jonalesburg, Ian practically spoke for the entire Pedler family. Arranging a prison line like this would be a piece of cake for him.
'It can't be wrong. It just can't! I didn't misdial. I have to find Kye. I need to talk to him,' she thought.
She didn't have much to say, and she was not asking for much. She just wanted to ask him whether he missed her. She missed him so much. He was the only thing giving her the courage to go on.
The man on the other end sneered gruffly, "You want to talk to Kye?"
"Yes, please," Queenie blurted out desperately, "make an exception, or just give me an account number. Name your price. I'm begging you. Just let Kye come to the phone."
"You dared to offend Mr. Pedler and still want to talk to Kye? Don't worry; we'll 'take good care' of your husband."
"What?" Queenie was bewildered. "I didn't offend Mr. Pedler, I swear."
"Maybe you didn't, but do you know what your brother did today?" The man on the other end finished speaking and slammed down the phone.
Queenie frantically redialed, but the line was dead. She dialed Eugene next, only to find his phone off. Ian's was just the same.
Queenie felt like an abandoned soul trapped in a black hole, with every path leading to a dead end. In desperation, she grabbed her phone and frantically searched online.
Then she saw the hashtags: [Eugene's wife exposed! PDA overload has netizens swooning], [Moore Group CEO's Secret Marriage. Who Is the Mysterious Mrs. Moore?] and [Mr. Pedler falls in love with...].