Revenge Against My Ex-husband
Chapter 169 I Hate Him

"Irene, there's no reason for you to be mad. Let me tell you, your best choice now is to marry Edric. You already have two children together anyways. I'm sure it'll be easier for you to stay with their father than replaceing a stepfather for them."

"Mom!" A childish, nasally voice suddenly came out of nowhere. Looking around, they saw Eden standing at the door with his eyes peered wide open. "Aren't you going to marry Nathan? Why is it Edric now?" Shocked, Irene stared at Eden. Since when was Eden awake? Shouldn't he be taking his nap? Judging by the look on his face, he must've heard their entire conversation. Joanne should be d*mned! "Because Edric is your biological father," Joanne answered Eden with a measure of spite.

"Joanne White!" Irene raised her voice. At this moment, she really wanted to rip Joanne's mouth apart.

"Edric is my father? Is that true?" Eden's eyes searched for Irene's face, seeking confirmation. He only believed in Irene's words, so he wanted her to testify to it.

"Of course it's true. The little baby in your mother's belly is also Edric's... Edric is your father," Joanne said.

"Joanne, you, leave right now! Otherwise, I won't play nice any longer." Irene reached out and shoved Joanne. Seeing that Irene was enraged, Joanne didn't dare to stay any longer and left obligingly. Eden stood at the door of the house, crying with his mouth puckered up.

Irene rushed over to hug him, while coaxing, "Eden, fret not. I'm here. Don't cry."

"Mom, is Edric really my father?" Eden insisted on knowing the answer. Irene was left with no choice; she sighed and nodded as a reply. "Why doesn't Dad want us? I saw on the TV that he got engaged to another woman. Why doesn't he want us?"

"It's not that he doesn't want us; it's just that his hands are tied," Irene explained. But obviously, this made no sense to a child.

Eden had seen with his own eyes when the news channels had announced the engagement between Edric and Lily. He had been disappointed, but back then Edric was just another man to him, so he had not been a great deal bothered by it.

Now that he knew Edric was his father, Eden's innocent mind couldn't comprehend the entire situation. He couldn't understand why Edric didn't want Irene and him when they were so nice?

Refusing to accept the fact that Edric didn't want them, Eden was positively upset. "Mom, Dad is a bad guy. He's a bad guy!"

"No... Dad isn't," Irene explained.

"He is! He is the big, bad guy! I hate him!" This was the first time Irene heard Eden express hatred, and the subject of his wrath was Edric, his biological father. She didn't know what to say; she could only console him in her arms.

And, right on the dot, Edric chose to show up at this moment. Normally, Edric would take this time off work to visit Eden and play with him. It wasn't any different this day as he came bearing many of Eden's favorite snacks and toys, looking forward to their playtime. Stepping into the yard, he immediately spotted Irene carrying a very upset Eden. Naturally, he rushed forward and asked in a very concerned manner, "What happened?"

At the sight of Edric, Eden freed herself from Irene and ran to him. Edric spread his arms, anticipating a hug, but Eden clawed at Edric's hand and shouted fiercely, "Bad guy, you're a bad guy! I don't want to see you again!"

Edric grimaced in pain as Eden turned around and ran back into the house. After a while, he rushed out with a toy gun in his hand. He pointed the gun at Edric with a face brimming with anger. "Liar, get out of my house, or I'll beat you to death!"

Staring at a very emotional Eden, Edric could sense his palpable anger. Children were straightforward creatures who had yet to learn how to hide their feelings. He knew that if that were a real gun in Eden's hands, there would've been a bullet right through his chest already.

"What happened?" Edric looked at Irene again, who was smiling bitterly. "Joanne was here a while ago. She just made a scene. She spilled everything about me, you, and Eden, and he heard all of it." Edric was rooted to the ground. He recalled the countless times he had met Eden, all the good times they had spent together. Little did he know that it would lead up to such animosity.

He could see through Eden's beautiful and clear eyes that the trust they had shared before was long gone. Instead, they were replaced by anger. No matter how Irene tried to persuade Eden, he refused to put down his gun.

He pointed the toy gun straight at Edric and shouted, "Liar, you big liar, get out of here! We don't want to see you! Forever!"

As Edric caught the despiteful look in Eden's eyes accompanied by his hurtful words, he felt as if his heart was being sliced apart with a knife. After all, this was his very own son.

Half of his blood flowed in Eden's vein. If life wasn't so cruel with them, they would've lived happily together. Eden would've looked up to him as a proud father, and they would've had a close father-son bond, but now everything was shattered. They would never be the happy father and son they were supposed to be. Right now, he was nothing but a liar to Eden. A big, fat, liar!

"Edric, I think you should leave." Seeing that Eden remained inconsolable, Irene could only plead with Edric to leave. Surprisingly, Edric stood his ground and stared at Eden. He really wanted to apologize to Eden and beg for his forgiveness, but at this moment, he just couldn't fumble for the words.

How was he ever going to make up for all the pain he had caused Eden? How was he going to get Eden to forgive him? "God, help me! Please!" he screamed in his heart. At that moment, Edric was washed over by a sense of helplessness he had never experienced before.

When Edric returned home trudging under the weight of his distraught heart, Margaret was enjoying the nutritious soup Loraine had made for her. She was happy to see him and quickly urged Loraine to also get a bowl of soup for Edric.

But how could Edric be in the mood to drink anything at that time? He had just been thrown out of Jordan's villa by Eden himself. Even the snacks and food he had brought along were rejected. Although Eden was still young, it was clear that he could grasp the line between good and evil. Edric knew that in Eden's little heart, he was the devil itself. Anything associated with him was to be condemned.

After the incident at the villa, Edric sat in the car, languishing in a daze for a long time. The only thing teeming in his mind was the look of anger from Eden. He had no idea what to do to redeem himself. Seeing that his mind had not churned up any helpful solutions, he went home. At the dining table, he didn't even touch the soup Loraine had placed in front of him. It wasn't until Margaret had finished her soup and called a few times for him that he snapped back to his senses.

"Edric, what has gone amiss with you today?" Margaret was bemused. Hearing this, Edric pushed Margaret into the study and closed the door behind him. Sighing, he explained, "Mom, Eden knows that I'm his father."

"Well, isn't that a fact to be celebrated?" Margaret was very happy to hear that. "When will you bring him home?"

"Bring him home? Mom, why on earth would you think it is going to be a simple feat?" A bitter smile crossed Edric's face. "Eden hates me now, he hates me for abandoning them. He used a toy gun to point at me and chased me out. He even called me a liar..." Edric couldn't go on. Eden's angry face once again crept back into his mind. No words could describe how he felt at this instance.

"Irene is to be blamed for this. If she had told him the truth earlier, would he hate you now?" Margaret pinned all the blame onto Irene when she saw how much agony Edric was in. "Mom, this has nothing to do with Irene. I finally get why Irene didn't want Eden to know about me. She wasn't selfish, she knew that Eden would come to hate me." Edric shook his head. "What do you mean?" Margaret couldn't put two and two together.

"Because Eden saw the news of my engagement with Lily on TV. Although he was young, he understood the gist of it. He thinks that I'm abandoning him and Irene, and he refuses to forgive me for that," explained Edric.

Margaret couldn't formulate a response to that. She had been the one responsible for the press conference of his engagement. Her intention was to force Irene to give in, but she didn't expect Eden to stumble upon it.

The air in the study hung quietness. After a while, Margaret broke the silence, "He is still young, so he doesn't understand it right now. He'll get it when he grows up. Just put on your apologetic face and coax him for now. I'm sure he'll change his perception of you."

"I can coax him, but him accepting it is another matter." Edric sighed heavily. "Mom, look. The only reason I'm telling you this is because I don't want you bothering Irene and Eden anymore. Eden is sick, he can't stand all of this. And Irene, she's been through a lot for the past few years because of Eden's condition. I don't want you causing her more anguish and putting her through more than she needs to." Margaret kept quiet. She had already made up her mind to fight against Irene for Eden's custody. If she agreed to Edric's request, it would mean that she had to give this up. Seeing that she was hesitant, Edric knelt down in front of her and pleaded, "Mom, I'm begging you!"

With Edric looking like this, Margaret's discomfort gnawed at her. Everything she did, she did for him. Yet it seemed like he didn't appreciate it at all. Looking at his solemn face, she sighed. "Fine, I can promise you that I won't disturb Irene, but you must also agree to my request."

"What is it?"

"Don't pine for something that has long gone. There are plenty of women in the world, you should live your own life."

Edric was not in the mood to think about this, but hearing that Margaret would leave Irene and Eden alone lifted his spirits. He nodded and said, "Let's talk about it when Eden gets better."

In fact, Margaret had her own objectives for agreeing to his request. First, Eden was sick, so it was better to let Irene care for him. The second reason being that Lily was already pregnant with Edric's child, so Margaret's desire to get her hands on Eden had been blunted. Her backing off at that moment would serve to help her scoot closer to her true goal.

The next day, Edric bought some food and toys to see Eden, but Eden threw a ball at him as soon as he entered. Eden cursed, "Liar, bad guy, you are not allowed to come here. Go away!"

Edric's heart ached as he tried to comfort Eden. "Eden, Dad brought you your favorite toy..."

"You're not my dad! I don't want to see you here! I don't want anything! Go away!"

Hearing the commotion, Thomas walked out, shaking his head at the spectacle. "Mr. Myers, you'd better not come back. Eden won't forgive you that easily."

Edric looked at Eden's irritated gaze and sighed. "Where's Irene?"

"She has gone out for groceries," Thomas replied.

"Uncle Thomas, don't talk to him. He's a big liar, a bad guy. Hurry up and kick him out!" Eden pointed at Edric, his face fuming with anger.

"Look, you'd better hurry up and leave. Don't get Eden any angrier. He can't stand all these raw emotions!"

Edric couldn't bring himself to rattle Eden any further; hence, he turned around and walked out of the living room. Standing at the yard, he waited patiently for Irene to return. Suddenly, he heard a rustling noise coming from behind. Turning back, he saw Eden coming out holding the things that he had brought for him.

Setting it down on the ground, Eden smashed the toys right before Edric. As he was still a frail, young child, he couldn't carry all the toys and food in one go. Eden had to go back and forth for a good 3 rounds before he managed to destroy all the stuff Edric had brought, right in front of Edric.