Chapter 234: Long Years Of Love (part one)

"Annie, nice to meet you. I hope we can keep in touch in the future." Belinda glanced around, but Daisy was nowhere to be seen. She was disappointed and wondered whether the wound on Daisy's arm had healed.

"I will, Belinda." Annie sounded tender. At this moment, she was elegant and quiet. She was more mature than her age might indicate, and she was as graceful in body and manner alike. "Edward, where's Daisy?" Belinda asked after she had chatted with Annie. She had thought that Daisy would be here.

All the eyes were on Edward now, because everyone else was also curious why Daisy didn't come. Rain knew that Jessica had kissed Edward and not the other way around -- Daisy should have been willing to hear Edward's explanation. Rain considered Daisy to be a rational woman, who wouldn't take accidents as deliberate mistakes. Hence, Rain didn't understand why Edward kept drinking like a fish.

"She has gone to attend the war games." Edward replied indifferently in a vexed tone, ignoring other people's gaze. His mood was unfathomable.

"War games? How come I have never heard of it? This one must be being conducted in secret. A closed one again?" As Belinda could recall, Daisy had attended a training recently. How was it that war games had come so soon? Belinda was worried about Daisy when she couldn't reach her.

"I don't know either, because she told me nothing." Edward was sipping wine, with a melancholy look in his deep eyes.

"Is Daisy still mad about what happened between you and Jessica? Did you explain it to her?" Rain asked, doubting if that was the reason for all this. Edward never kissed women on the lips, because he was a compulsive germ freak. Everyone in his social class knew that. If Daisy knew about it too, it wouldn't be hard for her to believe Edward.

"I think so. Since I didn't get to see her before she left, how could I explain anything to her?" Edward said in a resentful tone and drained another glass.

"What? Does Daisy know that Jessica is pregnant?" Duke cut in, unaware of the whole situation. He thought the only thing that Daisy would mind was that Jessica was pregnant, because to him, nothing was more serious than this.

"What are you talking about? Jessica is pregnant? And Daisy knows about it? If that's true, maybe she hasn't gone to the war games but is hiding somewhere to heal her broken heart!" Belinda said, glaring at Edward, eyes blazing fire. 'Edward, it had better not be like what I think. Otherwise, I'll harangue you so much so that you'd wish you have never been born, no matter whether you're the man Daisy loves or not, ' she thought.

"We were talking about the kiss Jessica forced on Edward this afternoon." Rain rolled his eyes at Duke and scolded him secretly, 'This guy is anxious to stir up trouble. Doesn't he know his wife and Daisy are best friends? Edward will be in huge trouble when Belinda knows everything. Duke should know how hot-tempered Belinda is.'

"You mean really Jessica is pregnant and Daisy is the only one that doesn't know about it?" Belinda asked. That was the only thing that she cared about.

"Um, well..." Rain peeped at Edward, who was drinking silently, eyelids drooping, as if nothing they were talking about concerned him.

"Edward, explain this to me! What's going on between you and that slut Jessica?" Belinda flew into a rage. She cared about all things that involved Daisy. Whoever angered Daisy angered her.

"Honey, calm down. It's not what you think, " Duke said. He held Belinda and thought, 'Damn! Doesn't she see Edward's grim face? He's going to explode in fury soon. What does she think she is doing?'

"Duke, go away! I want Edward to answer my question. You're no better than him, by the way. Don' t forget your lovely Rachel Qin!" Once Belinda was mad, she was mad at everyone.

Duke twitched his mouth, but said nothing, because the thing between him and Rachel Qin did exist. He couldn't erase his past, but he could exclude her from his future life. That much he could promise.

"If I say nothing is going on between Jessica and me, will you believe me?" Edward laughed. Daisy turned around and left at the sight of a kissing scene. If she knew that Jessica was pregnant, he couldn't predict how she would treat him. Would she read all the reports about him every day like before? Would she stop loving him?

"No, I won't. You've always had a dubious relationship with that woman. How would you expect people to believe that you are innocent?" Belinda sneered, looking at Edward contemptuously. She had thought that he was devoted to Daisy. It turned out to be a mere masquerade.

"Just as I thought. Even you won't believe me. I can understand why she didn't even give me a chance to explain. She turned off her phone too." Mark had told Edward that Daisy's phone had died, but Edward didn't believe it. She was avoiding him.

"Edward, you're despicable. Do you know what Daisy has sacrificed for you? Do you know how long she has loved you? No, you don't. Because you have never cared about her. You have been caring, loving, and spoiling other women. You never even looked at her once." Belinda was so sad that she couldn't go on. She closed her eyes, which had reddened from excitement. Only she knew how tired loving Edward had made her and how much she had suffered. The others only saw how successful she was, and no one knew what she had gone through to gain her achievements.

"Yes, I do." Edward answered. It was acceptable to say no if he had known nothing about the newspapers. But if he still couldn't feel her love after having seen the stack of newspapers in her study, he didn't deserve her love.

"You know? Edward, are you sure you really know? Just because you said that you didn't love weak women, she chose to go to a foreign military school, which she loathed most, and for which the Ouyangs threw her out of the house. No, you don't know how much time she has wasted on you. She has loved you since the minute you two met. She was forced to get married at first, but when she heard that you were the groom, she was so happy to marry you. But God! You treated her like trash!

Tears welled up in Belinda's eyes and streamed down her cheeks. Her accusations shocked everyone present, because the woman Belinda was talking about didn't sound like the Daisy they knew at all, who was successful and heroic. They had never imagined that she had had a hard life.

"I'm sorry, " Edward said, uncertain whether it was to Belinda or to Daisy. He had never known Daisy went to a military school because of him. The documents Luke had given him mentioned no reason. Maybe Luke had failed to find one. However, when did Edward say that he didn't like weak women? He didn't recall saying that at all.