"Can you at least try to be decent?" Ella mumbled shyly

How could he say something like that?

Maybe he threw those words around carelessly. She did overhear him call someone 'baby' on the phone. Maybe he meant nothing by those sorts of pet names. Satisfied with that logic, she pushed the thought out of her mind.

In any case, both of them seemed to have their own interests at heart!

"Define decent." Eden's smirk was audible, and the timbre of his voice was so delicious that it sent a shiver down her spine.

Ella frowned while Eden continued to laugh, "I'll try again next time."

"Eden," she said before he could hang up.

"Hmm?"

"Don't forget our appointment tomorrow."

"I've never missed an appointment. Just worry about getting yourself there on time, Miss Ford," he replied. His tone carried an unspoken promise, but Ella didn't stop to think much of it.

She nodded to herself and said, "See you tomorrow then."

"See you."

As soon as she hung up, the cell phone rang again. Ella's face fell as she picked up, recognizing Lucien's voice on the other end.

"Lydia just told me you hit her?!" Lucien's tone was infuriated.

From the background, Lydia's voice could still be heard, "It was her and Cendy! They both ganged up on me out of nowhere, and everything hurts! You can't let them get away with it!"

Ella responded coldly, "Lucien, we've been together for so many years. Do you really think I'd do something like that? Have you ever seen me hit someone?"

Lucien was dumbfounded. The idea did seem far-fetched…

"I've always treated your sister well, Lucien. I've always gone along with what she told me and helped her when I could. I even protected Lydia when we were younger– Do you know how many times I had to convince Cendy to leave her alone? And now you're accusing me of hurting her myself? How am I supposed to react to that?! Ella's tone was heavy with anger.

Lucien felt confused, unsure of how to respond to the situation.

"If you trust her more than me, it doesn't matter what I say. If you believe I really did something that awful, there's nothing I can do about it," Ella said, ready to hang up right then and there.

"Ella, wait!" Lucien hurriedly called out, "I didn't mean to blame you. It's just that Lydia came back with a face full of bruises, and I was so angry that I lashed out at you. I'm sorry. You're the sweetest, most kind-hearted person in the world. I know you'd never do something like this."

"But Lucien!" Lydia whines, "She really did beat me! She was with Cendy! Do you think I would've been beaten so badly if there was only one of them?! She's lying!"

"Shut up, Lydia!" Lucien lectured her. "I know Ella. She wouldn't hurt a fly."

"She's lying! She hurt me! It was her!" Lydia started to cry with frustration.

Ella maintained a cold expression as she spoke, "I didn't even provoke the fight.

Lucien started to get annoyed with Lydia's hysterics. He moved away from her screaming and asked Ella, "Why didn't you at least try to stop them? You know my sister can't handle any agitation out there."

Ella couldn't help but sneer at his dissatisfied tone. How sheltered was Lydia if she couldn't handle a little "agitation"?

She replied, "Because your sister said that you don't like me and that you're going to break up with me before our wedding!"

Lucien's frustration was evident as he responded, "She was probably just spewing nonsense because she was angry! Don't listen to her!"

"Lucien, marriage is a matter involving two families. I really don't want to create tension between our families because of me. I know you've always favored your sister, and I've genuinely treated her with all my heart. But it's clear that she doesn't like me at all. Maybe we should just forget about our wedding..." Ella's voice was filled with concern and hesitancy.

"What gives you that idea? My sister loves you," Lucien hurriedly explained, trying to reassure her. "She must've been angry at Cendy today and said things in the heat of the moment. She's always told me how much she loves you and that she's excited to be your sister-in-law."

"Maybe she said that to you, but Lydia gave me a really hard time today..."

"Hey… My sister was genuinely upset today. That's why she acted that way. I don't blame you, so don't overthink it, okay?" Lucien tried to comfort her.

"But she blames me, and she'll probably do something like this again," Ella insisted, not willing to let Lydia off the hook just yet.

Lucien thought for a moment, then asked, "Isn't it Auntie's birthday tomorrow?"

"Yes, why?"

"Tomorrow, I'll have my sister come and apologize to you in person. How does that sound?"

"Wouldn't that make Lydia hate me even more…?" Ella said worriedly, though she didn't outright refuse.

"Silly girl… Why would you think that? Lydia doesn't want you to get the wrong idea, that's all. Look, consider it settled, okay? You don't need to worry about it anymore. Our wedding's in a month, so don't let anything bring you down. I heard that stress can give you wrinkles, and I know you want to look your best for our special day," Lucien's voice was so sweet, desperate to placate her.

All those years she had wasted believing in his sweet nothings, only to realize he never truly cared about her feelings. All the times she had been kind to him, he had taken it all for granted.

The memories made her blood boil, and she hated her past self for ever falling for his tricks.

But now, she was determined. One day, she would break him down piece by piece, and he would regret ever crossing her.

After their brief exchange of goodbyes, both of them hung up. Lucien's face transformed into one of bitter anger as he put down the phone. He returned to the hall, seething with rage.

At that moment, Lydia was being attended to by the family doctor. As soon as she saw her brother coming back, she quickly pleaded, ''Lucien, you need to teach that stupid bitch a lesson! She actually helped Cendy beat me up! You need to make her apologize to my face and show her why she should never even think about hurting me again, otherwise, I will never forgive her–''

"Enough!" Lucien roared.

Lillian arrived, standing beside Lucien.

She was also distressed at the injuries on her daughter's body.

Hearing her son's sudden outburst startled her.

"What's wrong?" Lillian asked.

"What's wrong?!" Lucien scowled. "Lydia blew up at Ella and told her I was going to break off the engagement. Now Ella's mad and says she won't marry me."

"So what?! You're too good for her anyway, and she knows it. She'll come crawling back…" Lydia gritted her teeth.

"Do you even know what situation our family is facing right now? The $2 billion was given by the Ford family, and we can't do anything without it! The company's stocks have been dropping, and if they keep dropping, we'll go bankrupt. Right now, we are relying on my marriage with Ella to stabilize our stock prices. If you ruin this, our family will lose everything!" Lucien's fury was evident.

Lucien's scolding pushed her to the point of tears. Throughout her childhood, her family had always spoiled her, and she had never been spoken to like this before.

"I told Ella that tomorrow you'll go and apologize to her. Don't let her think that you're upset with her," Lucien stated bluntly.

"I have to apologize to her?!" Lydia's eyes almost bugged out of her head in disbelief.

Throughout her life, she had been the one who bullied Ella. Now she needed to be the one begging for forgiveness?

She'd rather die!