The Lady Nun Vows Revenge - Chapter 384: Chapter 384

Matthew stared at Gabriel in shock. "Father, what do you mean by that?"
Gabriel paused for a moment. "You know exactly what I mean, Matthew."
"I don't understand!" Matthew shouted, his voice trembling with anger as he glared at Gabriel.
Gabriel let out another heavy sigh. "It's just an engagement. I know you're unwilling, but Benedict doesn't have much time left. If we don't get the medicine soon, he won't make it. Can you truly stand by and watch Benedict die?"
Matthew's voice trembled as he asked, "Are you really asking me to give up my engagement to save him? When other solutions exist, must you plead Eliza?"
"What other way is there?" Gabriel's expression darkened, his tone sharp. "Snowlotus? A century-old Purple Shroom? Or that mythical Bloodshade Blossom no one's even seen? Do you think any of those are easy to find?
"If Benedict could hold on for another week or two, I wouldn't be this desperate! But he could die at any moment now! These medicines are the only thing keeping him alive. If we don't get them, we'll be preparing for his funeral instead!"
The moment those words were uttered, a heavy silence descended between Gabriel and Matthew.
Matthew stood frozen in place, his fists clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white, his eyes bloodshot with suppressed emotion.
Gabriel looked at Matthew's pained expression, guilt flickering in his heart. But he had no choice.
He couldn't abandon Benedict.
"Matthew, break off your engagement with Diana. She already said she wanted to end it, didn't she?"
Matthew's voice cracked, his eyes brimming with tears. "No, she was just upset! She didn't mean it. I can make it right! I can make her forgive me! But if I really break it off, she'll never forgive me! Father, I'm begging you. Don't make me end things with Diana!"
Matthew dropped to his knees before Gabriel, tilting his head back as he pleaded desperately.
But Gabriel stood there, his expression as cold and unyielding as stone, unmoved by Matthew's desperation.
"Father..." Matthew's voice trembled, panic creeping into his tone as he called out again.
This time, Gabriel finally reacted. Slowly, he raised a hand and placed it gently on Matthew's head, ruffling his hair in a gesture so tender that, for a fleeting moment, Matthew thought Gabriel had relented.
But just as hope lit up Matthew's face, Gabriel's voice cut through the moment like a blade. "Matthew, it's not that I'm being cruel. But I can't turn my back on Benedict. Be a good son and listen to me."
The words struck Matthew like a thunderclap. His body froze, his face drained of all color.
Eliza set her cup down, a satisfied smile playing on her lips. "Renee, take the annulment papers and the engagement token to Lord Mowbay."
It didn't take long for Renee to present both items to Gabriel.
The engagement token for Eliza and Caleb was an emerald hairpin, while the one for Diana and Matthew was a pendant.
That pendant had been painstakingly carved by Matthew himself years ago when they were engaged.
Now, however, it was being returned to its original owner, along with the annulment papers.
Matthew's gaze locked onto the document, his eyes dark and stormy as they fixated on Diana's name and the red fingerprint sealing her decision.
His teeth sank into his lower lip, breaking the skin. Blood trickled down the corner of his mouth, but he didn't seem to notice.
"Where is Diana?" he suddenly asked. "I need to see her."
"She doesn't want to see you," Eliza replied coolly.
"I said I need to see her!" Matthew roared, his voice raw with fury as he slapped Renee's hand away.
Renee's hands hurt from the impact, and she was startled by the sudden outburst. By the time she recovered and reached out again, she only managed to grab hold of the annulment papers.
The pendant, however, slipped from her grasp and hit the ground with a sharp sound. The pendant shattered into two pieces.
Matthew, still fuming, suddenly froze when he heard the sound. His gaze dropped, and panic overtook him.
He quickly snatched up the shattered pendant. Seeing the cracks, his anger boiled over, and he exploded at Renee. "How dare you break my stuff? Are you trying to get yourself killed?"
"What? It wasn't me! You hit my hand, and that's why..."
"You wretched girl, how dare you talk back!" Matthew shot to his feet, his face twisted with fury, and raised his hand to strike Renee.
"Matthew!" Gabriel's eyes widened in alarm, but it was already too late.
Renee dodged, but not fast enough. The slap grazed past her cheek and landed on the side of her head.
In the next instant, a figure darted forward, and a louder, sharper slap rang out.
Matthew's head snapped to the side, a vivid red handprint blooming on his cheek almost immediately.
Eliza's eyes burned with fury as she glared at him, gritting her teeth. "Matthew, who do you think you are, daring to lecture my people?"
She pulled Renee behind her protectively and snatched back the annulment papers. "You don't want to sign? I've got plenty of ways to make you beg for it."
Matthew smirked, his cheek still stinging from the slap, his expression dark and venomous. "Oh, really? Go ahead, try me. Let's see if I'll ever beg you!"
"Just wait and see, Matthew." Eliza's voice was cold as ice. "You'll regret that slap."
She turned sharply and issued a command. "Tina, show them out."
Gabriel said, "Wait..."
Gabriel was completely blindsided by how quickly things had escalated.
He tried to stop Eliza, but before he could say anything, a sharp blade sliced through the air and embedded itself into the doorframe right next to his head with a deafening thud.
It was dangerously close—if Gabriel had taken even one step forward, the blade would've been lodged in his skull.
Tina landed inside the courtyard gate, her gaze icy and unyielding. She spat out a single word, "Leave."
Moments later, the courtyard door slammed shut with a resounding bang, leaving Gabriel and Matthew standing outside.
Gabriel's face turned icy as he stared at the tightly shut courtyard gate.
The air grew heavy with tension. After a long, suffocating silence, he turned to Matthew, his voice sharp and cold. "Is this what you want? To see Benedict dead?"
Matthew wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his head lowered as he spoke in a submissive tone, "I don't want Benedict to die, but I can't call off the engagement either. Father, you're a brilliant man—there must be another way. Please, think of something else."
'Diana belongs to me. In life or in death, that will never change. I will never let her go!' Matthew thought.