Chapter 37 Chapter Thirty-Six

For Kate, it seemed that the wheel of time was turning faster and faster.Time flies, winter goes to spring, summer is hot and autumn is cool, until all the seasons and years are blurred.Now, she is in her eighties.Eighties?Sometimes she forgets her actual age.She can face aging step by step, but she can't stand old, she is meticulous about her appearance.When she looked in the mirror, she saw the image of a well-groomed, tall and straight woman, proud and unyielding. She still goes to the office every day, but that's just a gesture.She showed up at every board meeting, but things weren't as articulate as they used to be, and everyone around her seemed to speak very quickly.What annoyed her most was that her memory started playing tricks on her.Past and present are constantly confused.Her world became closed, getting smaller and smaller.

If there is a lifeline that Kate clings to, a driving force that drives her to live, it is her strong belief that someone in the family can take over the reins of Kruger-Brent .She didn't want to hand over to outsiders what Jamie McGregor and Margaret, herself and David had suffered and toiled for so long.Eve, whom Kate had placed high hopes on twice, turned out to be a murderer and an ugly monster.Kate didn't punish her.She had met Eve once, and what she had been through had punished her more than enough. ※※※ Eve has been trying to kill herself ever since she saw her face in the mirror that day.She once swallowed a bottle of sleeping pills, but Keith immediately washed her stomach, took her home, and kept her guard.When he had to go to the hospital, the nurses who were on duty around the clock were by her side.

"Please let me die," Eve begged her husband, "Keith! I don't want to live like this." "You belong to me now," Keith told her, "and I love you forever." The look of her own face was engraved in Eve's mind.She persuades Keith to quit her nurse.She didn't want anyone around her to see her, stare at her. Alexandra called again and again, but Eve refused to see her.All deliveries were left outside the door so no one could see her.The only one who can see her is Keith.In the end, he became the only friend she had left.He was her only connection with the outside world, so she was afraid that if he left her, everything would be lost, and only her own ugliness would be left beside her-the unbearable ugliness.

Every morning at 5:00, Keith got up to go to the hospital or clinic, and Eve always got up before him to prepare breakfast for him.Every night, she prepared supper for him and was terrified if he was late.Will he find another woman?What if he doesn't come back to see me? When she heard the sound of the key opening the door, she would rush to open the door, throw herself into his arms, and hold him tightly.She never offered sex because she was afraid he would say no.When he did sleep with her, Eve felt it was a wonderful gift from him to her. Once Eve timidly asked: "Honey, haven't you punished me enough? When will you fix my face?"

He looked at her and said proudly, "It can never be repaired." ※※※ As time went on, Keith became more and more demanding and bossy, until Eve finally became a complete slave to him, catering to his every whim.Her ugliness bound her to him more firmly than chains. ※※※ Alexandra and Peter already have a son, Robert.A smart, handsome boy.He reminds Kate of Tony as a child.Robert was almost eight now, but more mature than his years.Very mature indeed, Kate thought, a truly remarkable child. All members of the family received invitations on the same day.The invitation read: Mrs Kate Blackwell invites you to celebrate her ninetieth birthday.When: September 24, 1982, 8:00, Location: Pine Ridge, Dark Harbor, Maine.

Keith saw the invitation and said to Eve, "We're going." "Oh, no! I can't go! You go, I—" He added, "We're all going." ※※※ Tony Blackwell was painting in the garden of the asylum when his companion approached him and handed him a letter saying, "Your letter, Tony." Tony opened the envelope, a dull smile crossing his face. "Very well," he said, "I like birthday parties." ※※※ Peter Templeton looked at the invitation and said: "I can't believe the old lady is ninety years old. She's amazing." "Yes, isn't it?" Alexandra agreed.After thinking for a while, she said, "Do you know something new? Robert also received the invitation and sent it to him."