A Lifetime With You

Chapter 81

Beth’s funeral was scheduled to take place two days later over the weekend. She had died in a disgraceful fashion, and her body was immediately cremated after retrieving it from the morgue. Her funeral was slated to be a low-key event. Other than relatives from the Nagel family and their close associates, almost no one else attended the funeral.

Cecelia was a sobbing heap, and she fainted in the memorial hall twice. She had to be carried off via ambulance and leaving her heartbroken husband, Keenan Nagel, to preside over the funeral on his own.

Keenan seemed uneasy with the arrival of Ava. “What else do you want from us?” Keenan rapped his cane on the ground and showed no hospitality to his eldest daughter. Ava paused at the entrance to the memorial hall with a bouquet before she decided to go in. In the center of the hall, stood an altar with Beth’s monochrome portrait. By judging from her portrait, any unknowing bystander would have thought Beth a sweet and innocent girl. “Get out Ava, you’re not welcome here!” Keenan said brusquely. She looked her father in the eye. They had not seen each other face to face for a long time now. Keenan’s hair had been greying the last time she met him, but there were more now. His skin was sallow and he had lost a lot of weight. Also, his eyes seemed sunken and his jawline seemed sharper. Ava felt sorry for him as it must be agonizing to lose his beloved daughter. She placed the flowers at the altar and turned to say, “Take care of yourself, dad.” Keenan snorted loudly and rebuked her, “Funny you should say that since you’ve been waiting for me to throw in the towel for a long time now!” “What do you mean?” “I am á luckless man, who was having only begotten two daughters in my lifetime, and now one of them is dead. I bet you and your mother are circling the Nagel family fortune like vultures now, aren’t

you?”

Ava looked at her father incredulously. She had anticipated some hostility from the Nagel family when she made the decision to come and pay her last respects to Beth. But hearing her own father said such things still wounded her grievously. “Is that what you think of my mother and me?” “Back then, when your mother used up all her shrewd tactics to get you into the Nagel family, was it not all in anticipation of this day?” Keenan’s tone was no different from her late stepsister’s scathing remarks. She chuckled darkly and said, “People can say what they want about me and mom, but you are especially unqualified to criticize us.”

If he had not deceived her mom back then and given her false hope before running off to marry another woman, all of this would have never happened. But, even up to this point, Keenan had never repented for his deeds. Keenan only said bluntly, “You wouldn’t even be here if I had controlled myself back then…” In fact, it was all his fault for tricking Ava’s mother, and Beth’s downfall was her own doing. But still, he chose to blame it all on Ava and her mother.

It was d*mn ridiculous!

Ava took a deep breath and steeled herself as she was trying hard not to cry.

“Dad, if it was me who died and not Beth, would you feel just as sad?” Keenan muttered something under his breath but he did not reply to her directly. Ava somehow guessed the answer and she sighed. “Alright, I get it.” She turned to take one last look at Beth’s portrait, then paced out of the hall quickly. At this point, she swore never to return. At the porch, Cecelia had just returned from treatment at the hospital and had come home in time to participate in the funeral procession. The two women ran into each other. Cecelia who was limping weakly was suddenly enraged and she grabbed Ava’s throat to choke her. “How dare you step foot here? What gives you the right to show your face here? Go to hell!”

She cursed and felt an intense urge to rip Ava, who had killed her daughter indirectly into shreds. Ava struggled but failed to shake her off. They rolled on the ground while the servants of the Nagel

residence watched listlessly. “It was you that killed her! I’m going to avenge her by killing you today, b*tch!” “You lunatic, let me go!”

Ava gasped for air and nearly fainted, but then she grabbed a rock nearby just in time and bashed it onto Cecelia’s back. However, it did not deter Cecelia at all as she was still holding her tightly. The ruckus in the courtyard had alerted Keenan and the other guests. Keenan walked out and yelled, “Stop it, you two!” On his orders, the servants finally gathered the courage to advance together and peel their Madam off Ava.

She heaved and coughed as she caught her breath. Her neck was ringed with marks from the strangling. Ava would have probably gone to join Beth in another world if it was delayed a little longer. “Kill her, hubby! Avenge our poor daughter!” Cecelia had gone insane and held onto Keenan as she begged. He frowned, and then turned sullen when he noticed the bruises on his wife’s back, which was caused by Ava.

“Ava, is this how you treat your stepmother? Do you intend to kill us all!” Keenan scolded harshly. “…” She was still gasping for breath on all fours and unable to find the words to argue with her father.

In fact, she was the one who almost lost her life. But her father had never taken her side. Not even once. She smiled bitterly and balled her fists. Keenan was furious and raised his cane as though to hit her. Ava had no intention of evading it, and she was prepared to endure the abuse. Ever since she was a child, she had been beaten countless times until she became numb. Suddenly a thick jacket flapped onto her shoulders and covered her body with warmth. – And the cane never landed on her. She raised her head in astonishment and saw Damien’s face. “What are you doing here?” Damien helped her get up and irritated when he saw the strangulation marks around her neck. “I told you not to come but you’re too stubborn to listen. But since you’re here already, I won’t stand by while you get bullied.” He spoke tenderly to her and her heart melted instantly. The tears that she had held back so hard, had finally broken through and they were streaming down her cheeks now. She chastised herself for her

cowardice and her reliance on others for protection. It turned out she had her own guardian angel after all…. Damien pulled her behind him and called out at Keenan, “Looks like the Nagel family has some explaination to do, after what happened today.”