Chapter 5

Ethan's words stunned everyone.

I also stared at him in shock, my eyes full of surprise.

His hand rested not too heavily on my shoulder. He actually reached up to stroke my face, then looked down at me, his eyes soft: "You endured so much hardship. Why didn't you say anything back then? What did you take me for?"

"Ethan..."

"Brother!"

My voice and Wendy's cries rang out almost simultaneously.

The former anxious and uneasy, the latter tearful and furious: "Brother, who's been feeding you nonsense? Who bullied her?! Can't you see what kind of person she is yet? She can't even compare to Olivia's little finger. Don't let her fool you again..."

"No need to worry about it."

Ethan cut off her words. His tone was light, but somehow chillingly cold: "Wendy, Mrs. Chi only jokingly said she would accept you as a goddaughter when you were little. She never actually meant it. Your family was the one desperately trying to climb the social ladder."

"Since there are so many people here today, let's make things clear. The Chi family only has one son - me. I don't have any sisters, adopted or otherwise. Let's forget about how you've been showing off in the past. From now on, don't mention the Chi family at all, and don't appear in front of me or my mother again. Do you understand?"

"Brother..."

"Also, stay far away from Lucy whenever you see her in the future. Got it?"

"Brother..."

Wendy's face turned pale. She stared in disbelief, her makeup ruined by tears.

Her body was shaking.

Because she knew what this meant.

Ethan had told everyone in their circle that from now on, the Chi family was cutting ties with her family.

Wendy would not only lose face, but would find it very difficult to continue socializing in that circle.

"Ethan! You've gone too far!"

Olivia, who had been standing beside Wendy the whole time, finally couldn't hold back. Her eyes rimmed with red, her voice both disappointed and angry: "For this woman who almost killed you, you're even disowning Wendy? After all these years, how has she treated you? How have we treated you? How can you do this?"

"How I act is none of your business."

"You..."

"What's your relationship to me? Even your dad doesn't have the right to say much when he comes to our house. Olivia, count yourself lucky I'm not causing you trouble. If we really fall out, it won't be good for you."

Ethan's features were sharp and fierce. From the moment I met him, he always had that angular face.

Back in school, he often got into fights.

I had seen many sides of him.

But I had never seen this - the mature man he had grown into, polite and cultured, saying the gentlest words in the calmest tone.

Those gentle words made Olivia's face change instantly. She stood there frozen, unable to say another word.

He grabbed my hand and pulled me up.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, without saying another word or looking at anyone, he pushed open the door and brazenly led me out.

There really was a room ready upstairs.

The high-end club was luxurious and magnificent.

When the lights in the room turned on, it was a bit dazzling for a moment. Before I could adjust to the brightness, I was pinned against the cabinet.

He pressed against me, his lips covering mine.

Ethan had a tall, straight build that made me seem especially small and thin.

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I'll continue the translation from where we left off:

In his shadow, my hands didn't know what to do, finding nowhere to rest.

He cupped my face and kissed me roughly, without any tenderness.

Fierce and cruel, biting so hard it hurt terribly.

My tears instantly fell.

After a long while, he let go of me and stepped back. His dark eyes were as unfathomable as the deep sea, concealing a turbulent undercurrent.

"Now, it's time to settle our accounts."

His voice was hoarse, his lips as red as blood. Then he raised his hand to unbutton his shirt.

I heard the clear sound of buttons being undone in the silent room.

The lights were too bright. I could see every expression on his face clearly.

Complicated, angry, hiding hatred, and hiding sorrow...

The gloomy and fierce aura reached its peak as his shirt was fully unbuttoned.

I lowered my head, trembling slightly, not daring to look into his eyes.

Nor daring to look at him.

He grabbed my hand. I cried out in fear instinctively: "Ethan!"

"Hmm?"

His low voice contained no emotion. He had already pulled my hand over, slowly placing it on his chest.

My gaze followed involuntarily. Under the open shirt, where there should have been firm, rugged muscles, there were surgical scars.

The abdominal muscles were clearly defined, and on the sternum stretching upwards, the scars looked like a bunch of hideous worms.

He had one hand propped against the cabinet, trapping me in a small space. Looking down at me condescendingly, his expression weary, his voice detached -

"Take a good look. Look at my fractured bones, feel the steel plates and nails in my body, then look at these ugly scars..."

"Lucy, the pain of broken ribs was exactly like the feeling of you tearing yourself out of my life. I was in so much pain I thought I would die. What about you? Did you ever feel any pain?"

I couldn't speak a word, only my trembling body and sobbing remained.

The hand resting on his body wanted to trace those scars, but was roughly pushed away by him.

He laughed, stepped back a few paces, and started buttoning up his open shirt one by one.

"From now on, we're even."

His voice was so cold, brushing past my ear like an icy wind sweeping across a vast wilderness, making one shiver.

I looked up at him with red eyes: "Ethan, I never liked anyone else."

"I know. Nathan was your cousin. Your dad had passed away, so he came to see you at school. That's why you cried in his arms."

Ethan calmly stated, his gaze falling on me: "Lucy, if I hadn't known this, I wouldn't have lived to see today."

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..."

Finally, I broke down, covering my face as I crouched on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably.

I cried for a long while before Ethan slowly crouched down in front of me, his gaze calm as he looked at me: "I said just now that we're even from here on out."

"Lucy, it took me a very long time to understand one thing - the reason we drifted apart had nothing to do with love."

"I know you never liked anyone else. You've been alone all these years. So have I. Even today, I still have you in my heart. So from beginning to end, our feelings never missed each other."

"What was wrong was you and me - two incompatible people. When I loved you, I never understood the anxiety hidden in your heart. I didn't understand your self-esteem. While you were trying to put on a brave face for your life, I was like an idiot, not understanding anything."

"Forgive me, Lucy. I was too young back then. I thought loving someone with all my heart was enough. It wasn't until later that I understood how shallow that love was."

"Ethan..."

"For a long time, I hated you. You had no one else in your heart, yet you insisted on pushing me away. It made it even harder for me to accept. Until a girl told me that I probably never truly understood you. The last straw doesn't break the camel's back - you must have been extremely disappointed to push me away so resolutely."

"But Lucy, even if that love was shallow, I did give it unreservedly. I completely opened my heart to you. Did I not even deserve the chance for you to look back at me one last time?"

"Yes, I'm so sorry. I really didn't know it was that serious. I thought you were tricking me..."

Crying uncontrollably, I looked at Ethan through my tears. His eyes were also red-rimmed. He laughed, his voice choked with emotion, utterly disappointed -

"Did you ever think about what if it was real? What if I died and never woke up again? What then? Would you regret it?"

"You never thought about it. You weren't even willing to give me that one in ten thousand chance. So in your heart, what did I amount to?"

"Lucy, you didn't give me a chance. Now I don't want to look back either. Dongming will interface with your company. We don't need to see each other again in the future."

"I've repaid what I owed you."