My First Love Died, Now My Step Uncle Wants Me-Chapter 85: Dare Not Steal Uncle

The moment Crystal Rhodes stepped through the door, the elegant, pearlescent gleam of the expensive furniture made her eyes burn with envy.

The places Caleb Rhodes lived were always decorated with understated luxury and impeccable style.

For instance, the pure, handcrafted white cashmere carpet underfoot stretched from the doorway all the way to the bedside. The thick, soft, dense texture was a testament to its exorbitant price.

It was a handmade Persian carpet, worth a fortune per meter. Even her own room wasn’t graced with such an exquisite item.

And the person she despised most, Nina Wynn, was currently sitting on the bed at the end of the carpet, the soft light casting a halo on her slightly pale face.

Even from this distance, Crystal could see Nina’s long, thick eyelashes fluttering gently.

Delicate and exquisite. Utterly alluring.

’Is this how she seduced Uncle?’

She had never even stayed in this house before, and now this bitch had moved in!

’On what grounds?’

’She doesn’t deserve it!’

Crystal was nearly insane with jealousy.

She charged forward and slapped Nina viciously across the face, her teeth clenched. "Nina Wynn, how dare you set your sights on my uncle? Are you fucking looking to die?"

The moment she entered, Nina sensed it wasn’t the butler, but she hadn’t expected it to be Crystal.

She had thought it was Lana Shaw.

There was a flicker of disappointment, but she quickly realized that Crystal would not let her off easy.

However, this wasn’t the Rhodes family estate. She wasn’t quite as afraid.

She touched the spot where she’d been hit, feeling it swell with a fiery sting. She prodded the broken skin on the inside of her cheek with her tongue, her unfocused eyes turning cold.

She let out a soft laugh. "Crystal, how does it feel to have something stolen from you?"

Crystal’s body trembled with rage. She grabbed Nina’s hair, her face contorted. "Bitch! So you did it on purpose! You deliberately got close to my uncle, trying to use his pity to social climb and get him to introduce you to some rich heir? In your dreams!"

"How long do you think his pity will last? He’s getting engaged over the New Year. The invitations and guest list are already printed. How many days do you think you can gloat? After the engagement, Rosalind Lowell will be the mistress of this house, and you’ll have no choice but to crawl back to your hovel!"

Nina slowly pulled her hair back from Crystal’s grip, taunting her in a low voice as she did. "So what? At least I’m the one living here now. You’ve never stayed in this house, have you, Crystal? The butler said you aren’t even allowed to stay the night. It’s obvious Uncle dotes on me."

Crystal had never been provoked like this, especially not by Nina—the person she considered the most contemptible, the most pathetic, the one she had bullied mercilessly since they were children.

Seething, she yanked Nina’s hair, intending to smash her head against the wall.

"Bitch, I’ll kill you!"

"Stop!" Suddenly, an enraged roar came from the doorway.

It was Caleb Rhodes’s voice.

Crystal jumped, hastily letting go of Nina’s hair. But she didn’t expect Nina’s head to still hit the wall with a dull thud.

Not only that, but in the next second, Nina’s entire body tumbled off the bed.

The series of actions happened in an instant. To an outsider, it looked as if Crystal was the one committing the assault.

Crystal stood there, dumbfounded, not understanding why Nina would fall off the bed on her own. She had clearly let go.

Nina curled up on the floor, begging softly, her voice exceptionally frail, "Sister, please don’t hit me anymore. I wouldn’t dare try to take your uncle. I’m just an outsider, I wouldn’t dare..."

It was only then that Crystal understood.

’Nina did it on purpose!’

’This was all an act! She was framing me!’

The young miss, who had never suffered such an injustice, flew into a rage. "Bitch, you dare frame me!"

She yanked Nina up by her hair and kicked her viciously.

The sharp stiletto heel struck Nina squarely in the abdomen. A wave of unbearable pain washed over Nina, and she spat out a mouthful of blood.

Still not satisfied, Crystal raised her foot to kick again.

Before she could, Caleb’s hand suddenly clamped around her neck.

His expression was absolutely hideous. Crystal had never seen such a bone-chillingly murderous look in his eyes.

Worse, Caleb was using almost all his strength. The force felt like he was trying to choke the life out of her.

Crystal’s mouth opened, her face turning redder by the second as she rasped, "Un... Uncle..."

But it was as if Caleb couldn’t hear her. His gaze was terrifyingly sharp, the murderous intent in his eyes growing more intense. In just a short moment, Crystal’s face had turned purple, and her vision began to blacken.

She understood then. Her own uncle truly wanted to kill her.

She clawed desperately at Caleb’s hand, but it was useless. Her vision faded to black, and she was on the verge of suffocating and passing out.

Just then, Leo Rhodes rushed over, grabbing Caleb’s hand and shouting, "Caleb, what are you doing? Let go! That’s your own niece!"

Caleb narrowed his eyes and violently flung his hand back. Crystal’s body flew through the air, slammed hard against the wall, and then collapsed to the floor.

Having narrowly escaped death, Crystal gasped for air, breaking into a fit of violent coughing. Her neck throbbed with a pain so intense it felt as if it had been broken.

She looked at her own uncle in utter disbelief.

She couldn’t believe her own uncle had just tried to kill her—for an outsider!

But Caleb didn’t spare her a single glance. He was bending down to check on Nina.

Nina was slumped on the floor, spitting out small mouthfuls of blood. A patch of the white carpet beneath her was soaked red, a ghastly sight.

The darkness in Caleb’s eyes was bottomless. He reached out to hold her, but Nina shook her head. "I’m fine, Uncle. It doesn’t hurt. It’s just a cut in my mouth. My stomach wasn’t hurt."

Her voice was quiet, but in the silent room, everyone heard her clearly.

Leo Rhodes, who was helping his daughter up, couldn’t help but frown. He opened his mouth, about to speak, when Lana Shaw walked in.

The moment she saw Crystal’s disheveled state, she rushed over, grabbing her in a panic. "What’s wrong? What happened? Why is your face so red?"

Then her eyes fell on the obvious choke marks on Crystal’s neck, and she gasped, "Who did this?"

Leo also saw the deep, purple bruises on his daughter’s neck. It was clear that whoever did it had been trying to kill her.

His expression changed, and he couldn’t stop himself from saying in a low voice, "Caleb, Crystal is your own niece. How could you use lethal force on her for an outsider?"

Lana Shaw was stunned, and only then did she turn to look at Nina.

She barked furiously, "Nina Wynn, what did you do now? Did you provoke your sister again?"

Lana automatically ignored Nina’s miserable state, as if seeing Nina cough up blood was a common, everyday occurrence she had long grown accustomed to.

Nina’s hands clutched tightly at the soft carpet beneath her as she said weakly, "Auntie, I didn’t... She hit me..." 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

"Nonsense!" Lana Shaw snapped. "You troublesome girl, causing trouble all day long! So what if your sister hit you a few times? Would she hit you if you weren’t being disobedient? How dare you talk back!"

Nina’s body trembled. She lowered her head and fell silent.

Caleb suddenly spun around, his sharp gaze fixed on Lana Shaw. "Get out!"

His voice was as cold as ice, absolutely merciless. "The three of you, get out of my house. You are not welcome here!"

Leo’s face changed drastically. He hissed, "Caleb, you’re being outrageous! I’m your older brother, your own brother!"

Caleb pointed toward the door, his tone fiercely sharp. "Leave. Now!"

Leo was so furious his eyes nearly popped out of his head.

While his younger brother had always been cold, the two of them had been on harmonious terms for so many years. They had never exchanged a harsh word, let alone gotten into a single argument.

But today, for an outsider, he had not only repeatedly spoken to him with sarcasm but had also nearly killed Crystal.

And now, for this same outsider, he was even trying to kick him out.

’Where does that leave my dignity and authority as the older brother?’

He pointed at Nina, demanding angrily, "You’re going to talk to me like this... for her?"

Caleb’s expression was glacial. "Don’t forget, Brother. You were the ones who said you didn’t want her. Since you cast her aside, I picked her up. That makes her my person now. And no one gets to bully my people!"

Leo had never been defied like this in his life. He was so angry he could only point at Caleb, speechless, his face flushed red.

Seeing that the two brothers were about to have a major falling out, Lana Shaw quickly pulled Leo’s arm. "Leo, let’s just go for now. Caleb is just confused. He’ll realize he’s wrong once he’s had time to think."

With that, she supported Crystal with one hand and pulled Leo toward the exit with the other.

Just as they reached the door, Nina suddenly lifted her head. "Auntie!"

Her voice was hoarse, as if she were crying.

Lana Shaw acted as if she hadn’t heard and walked out quickly.

Hearing her leave, Nina got up from the floor and began stumbling her way out. Caleb grabbed her, but she shoved him away.

She reached the doorway and cried out plaintively in that direction, "Auntie!"

"Auntie!"

There was no answer.

She stumbled forward again, as if trying to chase after Lana Shaw.

Caleb caught up and wrapped his arms around her from behind. "Don’t chase her. She’s gone!"

Nina’s voice was broken and hoarse, like a sob. "No, she’s not gone! She wouldn’t abandon me. She said... she’s the only family I have left. She said we’d rely on each other!"

Caleb held her tightly, saying nothing.

Nina stared toward the doorway with unfocused eyes, her breath hitching and her chest heaving several times. But no tears fell.

Not a single one.

After a long moment, she called out again in a low voice, "Auntie!"

Still no answer.

Finally, her head drooped. In a low whisper, she asked, "She doesn’t want me anymore, does she?"

Caleb held her, silent.

Nina suddenly grew agitated. She struggled out of Caleb’s embrace, stumbled a few steps forward, and then fell to the floor.

She lay motionless on the floor, her eyes staring blankly at the ceiling as she murmured, "She couldn’t abandon me. It’s not real!"

"She said I could call her ’Mom’ when no one was around!"

"She said that since my mom was gone, she would be my mom, and I would be her child!"

"She said she would love me forever! She promised!"

"She couldn’t abandon me! She couldn’t!"

...

After murmuring for a while, she suddenly began clawing at her chest. "It hurts! It hurts so much!"

"Just let it break! If it breaks, it won’t hurt anymore!"

As she spoke, she actually started hitting her own chest, hard.

Seeing her like this, Caleb felt a sharp, wrenching pain in his chest, as if someone were tearing his heart out. He rushed forward and gathered her into his arms, his voice hoarse. "Nina, you still have me. I’m here!"

Nina struggled against him, screaming, "I don’t want you! I don’t want you! I want my auntie! I only want my auntie!"

Out of control, she ran toward the door.

But of course, there was no one outside. She leaned against the doorframe, shouting hoarsely, "Auntie!"

"Auntie!"

There was no answer, only the sound of the whistling wind and raindrops pattering on stone.

After calling a few times with no reply, she stood at the door, staring blankly outside.

Her thin, fragile figure made Caleb feel as if a great hole had been torn in his chest, with a cold wind howling through it.

After a moment, Nina let out a few more desolate cries of "Auntie!"

Still, there was no answer.

She suddenly spun around and swept everything within her reach onto the floor.

"She lied to me! It was all lies!"

Soon, a wide swath of items in the entryway lay on the floor, including many priceless ceramic antiques.

The butler wanted to step forward and stop her, but Caleb held him back.

Without blinking, he watched her destroy everything, saying in a low voice, "Let her vent."

The butler fell silent, his expression pained as he looked at the famous porcelain, now shattered all over the floor.

After a long while, Nina grew tired from her rampage and simply lay down amidst the heap of broken porcelain.

Shards of porcelain dug into her skin, but she seemed to feel nothing at all.

Caleb went to her and lifted her into his arms, brushing off the small fragments. "Is that enough?" he asked softly.

Nina’s listless eyes stared at the ceiling as she murmured, "So tired... I don’t want to live anymore."

Caleb held her, holding her so tightly his strength was frightening, but his tone was light. "You have to live. And you have to live well."

As if she couldn’t hear him, Nina continued to talk to herself. "There’s no point. There’s no point in living. Everyone’s gone."

Caleb carried her toward the bedroom. As he walked, he said, "There is a point. From now on, Nina, you’ll stay with me. You have to walk a long, long road with me, so you have to live well."

"And anyone who bullies you... we won’t let them get away with it, okay?"

Nina didn’t speak again, allowing him to carry her.

Caleb placed her on the bed, then took a warm towel and began to gently wipe the bloodstains from her face and body. When he saw the small cuts from the porcelain covering her hands and back, his expression darkened even more.

He said softly, "Nina, don’t think about people who aren’t worth it."

Nina didn’t speak or move, letting him tend to her like a doll.

A little while later, the old physician arrived. He was startled by Nina’s condition, and when he saw the bloodstained carpet that hadn’t been replaced yet, he sucked in a sharp breath.

"Coughing up blood again?"

While treating the small cuts on her hands, Caleb replied, "It’s a cut in her mouth. It shouldn’t be a stomach hemorrhage."

The old physician quickly examined her and let out a sigh of relief. "Good, it’s not a stomach hemorrhage. Otherwise, she’d have to be hospitalized again."

Just then, Nina suddenly clutched the fabric over her chest and murmured, "My heart hurts so much... Dr. Chapman, can you check my heart? Is it... broken?"