Chapter 21

If Margaret finds out about this, she definitely won’t show any mercy. Whether or not this matter was instigated by Willow, she would still face punishment according to the family rules.

In the end, Eloise had no choice but to ask.

She fought back her tears, looking as if Athena were forcing her to do something truly unspeakable.

Seeing this, Athena felt nothing but disdain. She coldly glanced at Eloise and walked into the room.

The scent of medicine was thick in the air. Willow lay on the bed, her face as pale as paper, her eyes tightly shut.

Athena curled her lips into a mocking smile. Despite the chaos outside, Willow remained so calm. Truly, she had impressive self-control.

Eloise looked at Willow lying there, and her eyes welled up with tears once more.

She stepped forward and gently called, “My good daughter, wake up.”

Willow slowly opened her eyes and gave Eloise a weak smile. “Mother, I just had a beautiful dream. You made me my favorite chestnut cake…”

Eloise’s heart broke even more. Ever since Willow had been poisoned, her health had been poor. She had to drink bitter, unpleasant herbal medicine every day.

And every time Willow drank it, Eloise would make chestnut cakes for her.

Seeing Willow so frail, Eloise couldn’t bring herself to ask her the question. She thought, ‘Is there really any difference between this and stabbing a knife into my heart?’

Suddenly, Willow noticed Athena standing by the bed, and fear flashed in her eyes.

She weakly called, “Athena, it’s all my fault. Please don’t blame Mother; if there’s anything, you can take it out on me…”

Willow’s obedient, pitiful demeanor tore at Eloise’s heart. She tried several times to ask, but her throat tightened, and the words wouldn’t come out.

Willow struggled to sit up, but her strength failed her, and she collapsed back onto the bed. Eloise’s heart ached as she wiped away her tears. “Don’t get up. You’ve only just started to recover.”

She glanced at Athena, who showed no sign of relenting, and, swallowing her pain, finally asked, “Willow, tell me the truth. Did your running away have anything to do with Athena?”

“Mother,” Willow’s face paled with panic, and she quickly waved her hand, “it’s not Athena’s fault. It’s all my doing; it has nothing to do with her.”

She spoke while casting a frightened glance at Athena, then quickly lowered her head again.

Eloise frowned. It was clear that Willow was terrified of Athena.

Athena’s eyes flashed coldly. “If you really wanted to leave, why did you specifically tell the doorman not to inform Mother? If you were serious about running away, you could’ve slipped out the back door quietly. So now, what’s with this act of playing the victim?”

Tears immediately welled up in Willow’s eyes and slid down her cheeks. She shook her head frantically. “Athena, it’s not like that.”

“Then what is it? Haven’t you been pretending to be weak and pitiful this whole time?" Athena sneered coldly, stepping forward to grab Willow’s wrist.

At that moment, Eloise rushed forward, positioning herself protectively in front of Willow. “Athena, what do you think you’re doing?”

Her sudden defensive stance stabbed right into Athena’s heart.

If Eloise had been so determined to protect Athena when Athena was punished to bow, maybe her old illness wouldn’t have flared up again.

Seeing the tight embrace of mother and daughter, Athena suddenly smiled. “Why so tense, Lady Eloise? I’m only trying to clear my name and get to the truth."

"No need to keep putting on this mother-daughter drama in front of me. If you have something important to say, you can wait until this whole matter is cleared."

"Now, here’s what I want to know: that day you came to my room to deliver medicine, and Lord Osborne was there too. Afterward, it was you who followed him out, and then you left the manor. Tell me, what does that have to do with me?”

Willow’s eyes were filled with panic and confusion. As Athena’s relentless questioning continued, tears poured down her face.

Eloise, heart aching for her daughter, gently tried to calm Athena. “Whatever the issue is, there’s no need for violence. Let go of Willow.”

Willow suddenly broke into a violent coughing fit, her frail body looking as though it could give way at any moment.

Athena finally released her grip, but her eyes grew even colder. “I didn’t realize oleander was so potent. Three years have passed, and the poison still hasn’t cleared…”

Eloise, full of concern, began patting Willow’s back and gently coaxing her. “She’s always been frail, and ever since that incident, her health has only gotten worse. Athena, why must you be so harsh? Willow has never held anything against you. If anything, it’s you who…”

She quickly stopped herself, realizing she had spoken too much. Some thoughts, when bottled up for so long, just slip out before she could stop them.

Although Athena was her biological daughter, she hadn’t grown up by her side, and having been raised in such a harsh environment, some of her bad habits couldn’t be changed overnight.

Still, Eloise couldn’t help but feel wronged. She had tried so hard to be fair to both of them. She wondered, “Why can’t they just get along?”

Athena had long become immune to Eloise’s words. She never expected anything from Eloise, so there was no disappointment to feel.

Moreover, from examining Willow’s pulse, Athena could tell that she didn’t look like someone who had been bedridden for long. The recurring illness seemed strange.

But now wasn’t the time to focus on that. Athena turned the conversation back to the matter at hand. “Willow, don’t you think you owe me an explanation? After all, I didn’t deserve to be punished for nothing.”

Willow looked utterly surprised. “Why would you be punished?”

Then, as if belatedly realizing something, she continued, “Mother, is it because I left home that Athena was punished?”

Eloise, feeling a bit embarrassed, turned her face away and nodded. “Nicolas thought it was she who drove you away, so he punished her by making her bow in the rain all night. Her old illness flared up again.”

Inside the room, Willow’s sobs grew louder and more desperate. Her cries soon drew the attention of Nicolas and Henry, who hurried inside.

Both men looked alarmed when they saw Willow’s condition, their brows furrowing with concern.

Nicolas glared at Athena, displeased. “We agreed that Mother would handle this. What have you done?”

Henry, clearly angered, added, “Willow is in this state because of you. You’re to blame.”

Athena had long since grown immune to their favoritism. She ignored their anger and focused on Willow instead. “So now everyone’s on your side. Are you happy? How long do you plan to keep crying before you tell the truth?”

Willow broke into another violent coughing fit before finally managing to say, “I didn’t mean for things to turn out this way. I didn’t know Athena would be punished. My leaving had nothing to do with her.”

She then collapsed onto the bed, crying out to Athena, “Athena, if you’re angry or upset, take it out on me. It’s only because Nicolas cares so much for me that he lost control.”

But her words didn’t ease Nicolas’s suspicions. If anything, they only strengthened his belief that Athena was the one who had driven Willow away.

Willow’s desperate plea only seemed like an attempt to shift blame.

Just as everyone was focused on blaming Athena, they heard Gwen’s voice from outside the door. “If it’s clear that Lady Athena was wronged, then you should speak the truth, not cry and confuse the situation."

Everyone turned in surprise as Gwen entered, followed by Siena.

Siena, clearly unaware of what had happened, was so startled that she immediately bowed upon entering.