Chapter 7
Returning from a gala one midnight, we found Ethan waiting beneath a streetlamp with his
trademark white roses.
As I stepped out of the car, the night sky exploded in rainbow fireworks – a replica of Ethan’s proposal all those years ago.
Logan Hayes had watched–with a masochist’s obsession–the recording of Ethan Brooks proposing to me a thousand times over.
Back then, a younger, more foolish version of myself had been swept away by the explosion of fireworks painting the sky, saying “yes” to Ethan in a dizzy rush of joy.
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Seeing me momentarily distracted by the fireworks, Logan Hayes–whose insecurities had been simmering just beneath the surface -finally snapped. He charged at Ethan like a raging bull.
“You shameless homewrecker!” Logan’s fist connected with Ethan’s jaw. “Thirty years alive and I’ve never seen a more pathetic leech–always slithering around trying to catch my fiancée’s eye!”
Ethan spat blood but grinned. “If I’m a leech, what does that make you? Claire and I had nine years together. If she hadn’t lost the ability to conceive after the accident, do you really think I’d have let Nina Turner keep that child?” His
voice dropped. “She’s only with you because she thinks I betrayed her. When she forgives me
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-she’ll drop you and run straight back to me.”
Hearing this, Logan’s next punch sent Ethan. sprawling.
The irony burned- When I lost my child in that accident, it was Logan Hayes who dropped everything–rushing to my side, refusing to leave until I walked out of that hospital on my
own two feet.
Meanwhile, Ethan Brooks?
“Too busy with work,” he’d claimed.
Yet somehow found time to book two tickets to Prague–strolling through the Old Town Square
with Nina Turner..
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Their brawl continued despite my desperate attempts to intervene, until a patrol car happened to round the corner.
One officer’s gaze locked with Ethan’s through the windshield. Within seconds, they’d separated the combatants and, without explanation, hauled all three of us to the nearest hospital.
After fussing over Logan’s injuries the entire ride, I was inexplicably directed to Ethan’s private room, the setup became obvious.
That’s when the pieces clicked. The fireworks. The fight. Even the conveniently timed police intervention–all orchestrated by Ethan Brooks.
All this elaborate theater… just to steal five
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minutes alone with me.
- 5 Points
“Was all this really necessary?” I asked dryly.
Ethan, with two broken ribs, looked up with red–rimmed eyes. His smile was heartbreakingly tentative as he rasped:
“Claire Shaw… I’ve missed you.”
A pause. Then softer: “I’m going mad without
you.”
When the doctor examined him, I saw the tattoo
on his chest – sun, moon, and stars.
The family portrait I’d designed when I was first pregnant with our child. The child we’d lost. The future he’d thrown away.
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I still remember Ethan Brooks‘ scathing remark about that painting:
“The moon? You think you’re worthy of it?”
In the hospital room, the moment Logan Hayes was pulled away, Ethan seized his chance.
He strode toward me, gripping my wrist with bruising force, refusing to let go.
“Claire Shaw, I need to apologize to you in
person.”
His voice was raw, desperate.
“I’m sorry, my love. This was all my fault.”
“I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you
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-just please, forgive me.”
Before I could respond, his phone rang.
Nina Turner.
Without hesitation, Ethan answered–on
speakerphone.
“Ethan! Help me, Ethan! Max just–he broke into the apartment with his men! They dragged me to the hospital–they’re trying to take our
baby!”
Nina’s voice was ragged, hysterical.
Yet Ethan didn’t even flinch. Instead, he kept his eyes locked on me, his smile chillingly serene.
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“Nina Turner, I know about the drugs you
slipped into my drink that night. That child will
never be born.”
“And those vile rumors you spread online- claiming Mrs. Brooks was barren? I had them
erased.”
“But the price for slandering my wife is this: no anesthesia during the procedure. And after today? You’ll never conceive again.”
A choked silence. Then Nina’s sobbing pleas erupted through the speaker.
“Mr. Brooks! I–I wasn’t thinking straight! Punish me however you want, but please–spare my baby! I’m begging–AHHHHHHH!”
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Her sudden, bloodcurdling scream made me
stiffen.
Seeing my reaction, Ethan ended the call
instantly.
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