His words brought the atmosphere in the hallway plummeted to freezing, making it feel as though they had already stepped into the morgue.
Facing Avery's unabashed and shameless confession, Evadne felt nothing but repulsion.
Her gaze towards the man was icy and filled with loathing, as if she were staring at a grotesque monster.
"Well, Mr. Chambers, I'm almost embarrassed just listening to what you're saying."
Arnold, ever blunt and genuine, had no tolerate for this brute. "Time and again, you've targeted my brother-in-law to reach Evadne. Do you think your actions have gone unnoticed?"
Each mention of "brother-in-law" by Arnold caused Avery's face to darken visibly.
"Enough, young man. Keep your petty jealousies to yourself. As the gentleman my brother-in-law is, he forgives you, so we might as well leave it at that.
But what you did to my father before, don't think that we, the Ashbourne family, have forgotten!"
The more Arnold thought about it, the angrier he became. His eyes ablaze with anger, and the veins on his neck throbbed, "When my father fell ill, you brought medicine under the pretense of helping. But what the hell did you actually give him? His condition worsened after taking it. Dare you say you had no ulterior motive?
Just because my father didn’t support for your relationship with Evadne, you've held a grudge and sought revenge, exploiting his illness, haven't you? Do you see the Ashbourne family as pushovers?"
Arnold had been holding it in for too long, and now that he saw Avery himself, he didn't hold back anymore.
The Brights also glared at Avery, sharing the same resentment.
Normally, Cassius would have intervened when his younger brother caused a commotion.
But this time, he chose to remain silent.
"Arnold, let's not bring this up today," Emeric said with a soft reprimand.
"I honestly didn't know the medicine would have such severe side effects. If I had known…"
"Mr. Chambers," Emeric interjected, "I've been friends with your father for decades. He even saved my life once. Although our relationship was not that close these years, I, Emeric, always remember his kindness to me, so I won’t dwell on the medicine matter anymore." Emeric’s tone was indifferent as he stared at Avery, who looked both innocent and aggrieved.
Avery's breath caught in his throat, and his fingers curled tightly.
Emeric's unspoken message was clear: he was only tolerating him for the sake of his deceased father.
To put it more bluntly, Avery was even lower than the dead!
“Where is your father? Let me see him one last time.” Emeric said, implying that this would be the end of their conversation.
The group arrived at the morgue and stopped at the door.
"Mr. Emeric, my father’s lying in there," Avery said, his eyes red with grief, playing the part of the filial, bereaved son to perfection.
From hearing the news to arriving here, Emeric had prepared himself mentally.
Nonetheless, his tall, usually composed frame now trembled uncontrollably, his heart was heavy with a myriad of emotions.
"He lived a glorious life, always competing with me and now, he’s gone just like that," Emeric muttered hoarsely.
Cassius and Suri steadied him as they entered the morgue.
Just as Avery was about to follow them in, Evadne’s cold voice stopped him:
"Avery."
Avery's heart raced, and he turned around hurriedly, "Evadne."
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