Love Burned, She Rose Unscathed

Chapter 839
"Why?! Why would you do this? She's your sister!"
"Sister? Oh, yes-she's family. My own flesh and blood. Always one step ahead of me! Even you like her more. But why? What
did she ever do to deserve that?"
"That's it? That's why you wanted her dead?!"
"That's right! I was jealous! I was envious!"
"Kathleen, you're insane! Truly insane!"
She let out a wild laugh, her voice echoing off the walls. "Insane? Of course I am
I lost my mind over twenty years ago! Especially every time I saw you two together, whispering and playing lovers. It made me
want to run in and strangle her with my own hands!"
"And even now, I still feel that way! Do you know what it's like, watching you look at her like she's your entire world, as if forever
still wouldn't be enough? Do you know how much I hated you for that?"
"Teague, you're my husband now. We're the real family, aren't we? It's been over twenty years-why can't you let her go? Even
after she got married and had kids, you still look at her with that same longing."
"You get jealous of Norris, don't you? You wish he'd just disappear from the face of the earth, right? Well, that's how I feel about
Aberdeen. We're both lovesick fools, desperate and pathetic, willing to do anything-absolutely anything to get what we want!"

Teague's voice was cold as steel. "You're wrong. No matter how jealous I am of Norris, I'd never hurt him. Because I know-
without him, Madge would never have become mine."
Kathleen laughed even louder, her eyes wild. "Well said! That's where we're different. I got rid of Aberdeen, and you became
mine! Isn't that perfect?"
"So, you think I did the wrong thing? Aberdeen disappeared, you married me, we raised a child together, spent more than twenty
years as a family. I'd say it was all worth it!"
Teague's whole body went rigid.

Kathleen's words were sharp as knives. "If I'm a cold-blooded killer, then you were the bounty. The prize. Take out the
competition, and you win it all! Of course I fought with everything I had-can you really blame me?"
"In the end, Teague, it was you who destroyed Aberdeen. Your love for her sparked the jealousy in me that I'd tried so hard to
bury. You made me take the gamble."
Teague's fists clenched so tight his knuckles went white. His face twisted in agony —a tangled mess of grief, regret, and self-
loathing.
A moment later, he raised his eyes, his voice trembling but deliberate, each word etched in ice. "So. The night we slept together
years ago that was your plan all along?"
Kathleen met his bloodshot gaze, her body shaking. "Y-you... You couldn't resist temptation-"
"But I remember," Teague pressed in, his eyes black with fury. "That
Wnovel

night I never touched you. Isn't that right?"
She shrank back, silent.
"So, Kathleen. How did you end up pregnant?"
The
on Namily had a tradition welcome the new year els
on New Year's Eve-they'd
late
together.
Geneva had planned to pull an all-nighter this year.
But everyone protested, so in the end she had to give in with a dramatic sigh, "Fine, fine, we won't stay up all night. But at least
let's make it past midnight. We have to ring in the new year before we sleep, right?"

Madge nodded. "That's fair."
"Good." The old lady agreed immediately, actually looking delighted—almost childlike in her excitement.
She loved letting Madge take charge. It made her smile and chuckle to herself.
Neely, watching quietly, gave her daughter a secret thumbs-up.
As midnight approached, the special holiday broadcast shifted into the final countdown.
Madge and Norris sat on the sofa with the two elders, everyone smiling and chatting as they waited.
Roseanne lounged in a beanbag, lazily scrolling on her phone.
Suddenly, her phone rang.
An incoming call.
It was-
Owen Reynolds.