Chapter 6
For the first time, panic flashed in Ethan’s eyes.
“Darling, why say such things? You expect me to believe these nine years were just… gratitude? Did you really think I’d fall for such a pathetic lie?”
Of course he wouldn’t believe it.
If I’d felt nothing, why had I begged for his kisses every morning?
Why had I sobbed outside his surgery room, refusing to leave until he woke?
In deed, I loved him very very much.
1/9
Chapter 6
+5 Points
Everyone had seen how deeply I loved him.
And what had he done in return?
The more devotion I poured out, the more he
trampled on it.
He forgot hearts aren’t made of stone.
Hurt them enough, and even love numbs into
indifference.
Ethan’s lips twisted into a smile more ghastly than tears, his eyes bloodshot. “Claire, I didn’t know Nina would hurt you this much. It was one drunken mistake–I only brought her home out of obligation. Once the baby’s born, I’ll send her
abroad. Please.”
2/9
Chapter 6
+ 5 Points
I shook my head. “I don’t care about you and Nina. Just know this – I’ve built a new life here. There’s no going back for me. So do us both a favor and leave.”
“What new life? You-!”
Exhausted, blood loss from the tattoo catching up, Ethan swayed mid–sentence–then collapsed into darkness.
When he woke at 11 PM, the water glass by his bed sparked hope. Weak but determined, he staggered out, searching for me–until he reached the rooftop terrace.
There, under the moonlight, he saw it:
Logan’s hands tangled in my hair, my lips parted
3/9
Chapter 6
+ 5 Points
against his in a kiss that left no room for doubt.
Ethan’s heart lurched.
He lunged, gripping Logan’s collar with a snarl: “What the hell do you think you’re doing?!”
No more pretending Logan was just some childhood friend.
“Who said you could touch my wife?!”
Logan actually laughed. “Your wife? Ethan, when did you ever treat her like one?”
“You-!”
Before Ethan Brooks could unleash his fury, the hot–tempered, Logan’s fist cracked across his
4/9
Chapter 6
+5 Points
left cheek.
“Listen here, Ethan, if Claire weren’t so soft–hearted, I’d have fed you to the wolves by
now.”
He wiped his knuckles, icy. “She’s my fiancée. Keep harassing her, and I’ll make sure you regret
it.”
Ethan’s raised fist froze mid–air as he turned to
me in stunned disbelief.
“Tell me this isn’t true,” his voice cracked.
“Claire Shaw, it hasn’t even been a month. You’re engaged to someone else?”
I didn’t explain how I’d accepted Logan’s proposal via video call the day I learned of
5/9
Chapter 6
+5 Points
Nina’s pregnancy. That boy who’d adored me since childhood had gotten down on one knee over a transcontinental video, and I’d given him my answer without hesitation.
Instead, I leaned lazily against Logan’s broad shoulder and offered Ethan a careless hum of
confirmation.
Ethan’s face twisted in something between horror and incredulity. “Have you lost your mind? You’re still my wife – I never agreed to any divorce! How could you just-“His voice broke. “How could you do this to me?”
Why not?
I tilted my head, blinking with deliberate slowness. “Since when do I need your
6/9
Chapter 6
+5 Points
permission for anything? Ethan Brooks, you overestimate your importance.” My fingers. interlaced with Logan’s as I delivered the final blow. “You mean nothing to me now. We’re
done.”
Turning away, I left Ethan standing there like a shattered ghost as Logan and I resumed our moonlit conversation, lacing my fingers through Logan Hayes‘.
No one noticed when he finally left the estate
that night, nor did anyone care.
Yet Ethan didn’t return to America.
He purchased a high–rise overlooking the vineyards and established a disturbing new routine – remote board meetings by day,
7/9
Chapter 6
+5 Points
haunting the estate gates by afternoon with ever–changing bouquets and gifts he’d once promised but never delivered.
I neither acknowledged him nor altered my schedule to avoid meeting him.
Nine years of humiliating marriage had taught
me this:
never bend your life around a man’s whims.
Work when you must, socialize when you please. T
he world is vast, and my happiness comes first.
As for Ethan Brooks, I suspected his relentless pursuit stemmed from old Mr. Brooks‘ orders
8/9
Chapter 6
+ 5 Points
-his fondness for me undoubtedly compelling him to demand my forgiveness at all costs.
So I personally called old Mr. Brooks, telling him that I have a fiancé and a new life, so forcing
Ethan to stay in England on my account is pointless.
Yet for an entire month after that call, Ethan defied all expectations. He lingered at the estate gates daily, watching my car pass from a distance–just one glimpse through the window, as if that could rewrite our ending.
It was Logan who finally snapped.
9/9
