Chapter 5 A Frozen Heart

“Please don’t say that, Fay.” Lucian began his bitter explanation, “I’ve been in the army all these years thinking that I’d be able to make a name for myself and come back to officially ask for your hand in marriage. I was suffering too.” “Things have already come to this. What else is there to say?” The entire situation was laughable. Her words were indifferent and there was not a trace of life in her eyes. He felt despair crash over him. The tension was palpable in the room. Lucian had never been good with his words. The onslaught of guilt only further put him at a loss. He didn’t know what to say to appease Freya and was aware that whatever he said would only fall on deaf ears. “If you loved me, stay and take care of Minnie.” Freya made a request that shocked him. “I’ll do it.” He couldn’t wish for a better opportunity. “You have nothing to worry about, Fay. I’ll take care of both you and Minnie. No one will ever torment you again. I promise.” “Hah.” Her smile was apathetic when she heard his promise. “I don’t need you to take care of me. All I want is for you to take care of Minnie. I’m not ashamed of any of my decisions. My only regret is having made Minnie suffer. My only hope is for you to raise her into adulthood and you’ll be free to do as you please. She’ll be able to take good care of herself once she’s an adult.” She was acting as if she were passing on a will to a world that thoroughly disgusted her. It also sounded to him as if she was ready to leave the world behind her. Despair ate him. He understood that no amount of reassurance would have any effect on her. Perhaps being by her side would help her out of the darkness. “I’ll take care of her,” he said after a moment of silence. “Minnie does not need you…” Frank Harrison and Annie Watson rushed into the room in a furious flurry. Anger was palpable the moment they laid eyes on Lucian. Their family fell into such a state all because of him. They had such a brilliant daughter but a single moment of weakness ruined her. They hated him as much as Freya and Minnie did. “Ma’am, I…” He had no idea how to respond and could only stand in silence. “What?” Annie yanked him by his collar and snarled, “My daughter loved you so much she gave everything up for you and how do you repay her? You went off the grid for seven years. Do you have any idea what my daughter had to go through?” “Enough, Mom, Dad. I don’t want to talk about it anymore. I’ve decided to keep him around. Stop trying to convince me otherwise!” Freya no longer wanted to discuss the past. Neither Frank nor Annie could convince her otherwise. They had no choice but to reluctantly back off. It was true that Freya and Minnie needed to be taken care of. The recently retired trash, Lucian, could stay as the caretaker. It was a weight off their shoulders when they went to work too. Annie glared at Lucian and then sat down next to Freya. “Oh, Fay. You shouldn’t have been so foolish. You know what Calvin is like. Just put up with it when he comes by. Why did you get Lucian to put him in the hospital?” “I…” Freya didn’t know what to say. It was true that Calvin was seriously injured because Lucian had beat him up for them. “Your grandparents and uncle were furious to hear about it. They want us to have you return to the Harrison residence to apologize or they’ll kick your father and me out of the family too. You know your father’s income isn’t very high at the Harrison Group. We’re barely scraping by to support the family. What are we going to do if we’re expelled from the family?” Annie said helplessly to her daughter. These words made Freya feel extremely guilty. Her father had been demoted from his position as a high-rank executive after she had given birth to Minnie. What kind of horrible person would she be if they were expelled from the family too? They were in debt because they had to treat her. Even the house had been sold. They continued to help her regardless. She wouldn’t be here otherwise. She had to bow her head for her parents’ sake. “I’ll go.” Freya nodded. “I’ll come too,” Lucian said. “I was the one who beat Calvin up. This is all happening because of me. I should be the one to apologize.” “No.” Frank scoffed. “You have nothing to do with Fay. We don’t need you playing pretend here. This is a family matter that is none of your business. Leave.” “Let him go, Dad.” Freya had allowed him to stay by her side not because she forgave him. She simply wanted to give Minnie a better life. She was going to leave him once her daughter was old enough. They’ll never speak again. She was never going to forgive him. All the warmth in her heart had bled out a long time ago. There was no way to recover what was already lost. Lucian was the one to wheel her out of the village and into the city alongside Frank and Annie. The furious Minnie was left behind. She hated Lucian with a passion but had no power to veto her mother’s decision. … Dax Harrison, the head of the Harrison family, was seated in the Harrison residence’s parlor. Fury was clear on his face. The walnuts in his hand clicked against one another as he rolled them in his palm. The rest of the family was no less indignant. No one expected the nerve of the crippled Freya to call up the outcast of the Gray family to put Calvin in the hospital. She’s got guts! Dax had three sons. The eldest was named Aaron, the second in line was Hugo and the third was Frank. Aaron Harrison was Calvin’s father. He was the one present who was the most furious. He turned to Dax and Eleanor Reeves. “That little b*tch put your dearest grandson in the hospital. I want justice.” “That wh*re is going too far. How could she have done this? This is clearly an act of rebellion,” Elsa Miller cried for her son. “Nothing to worry about. I’ve contacted Frank and Annie. They’ll bring Freya here.” Dax waved his hand to signal for the group to calm down. “Ah, yes. How is the project with the Infernal Group progressing? We have to be the ones to nab that project. It’ll propel the family to even greater heights. This is very important.” “We almost have the project bagged, Dad. My daughter is in a relationship with a manager at the Infernal Group. You can rest assured that we’ll have it,” Hugo Harrison declared with full confidence. “Hahahaha.” Dax threw his head back and laughed. “Good job, Nadine. You’ll be the project director as long as we get it. The Infernal Group’s project will be under your family.” Nadine Harrison was excited. She had been eyeing the position for a long time and thanked her grandfather profusely. “You’re welcome.” Dax waved her off. “I did say whoever gets us the project will be the one in charge of it. I’m a man of my word.” “Grandpa, Freya and her family are here…” Nadine suddenly pointed to the four people at the door. The group tacitly agreed to stop discussing the topic. To them, Freya had long ceased to be a part of the Harrison family. She was not qualified to listen in on such an important matter. “You brought that piece of trash with you?” Dax’s wife, Eleanor, was enraged.