Chapter 853
[ 741 words ]
Chapter 853:
He’d been so careful with my emotions, afraid I would overthink things or end up hurting myself with unnecessary suspicions, so he’d chosen to shoulder everything alone.
Taking a slow, steady breath, I smoothed the wrinkles from my dress before walking back outside.
Once we were back in the car, I quietly reached over and took Ethan’s hand. He looked at me, surprise flashing across his face.
Meeting his eyes, I spoke honestly. “Ethan, the perfume I smelled on you that day belonged to Melisa, didn’t it? The day you left the house, you weren’t visiting Rola. You went to see Melisa instead.”
His body noticeably stiffened. His lips parted, clearly intending to explain.
Before he could say anything, I gently squeezed his hand and continued, “I understand why you hid it from me. You don’t have to keep carrying everything by yourself or worry so much about whether I’ll misunderstand. From now on, let’s promise to be honest with each other. I won’t doubt you without reason, and if either of us has something on our mind, we’ll talk about it openly instead of keeping it bottled up. Alright?”
He nodded without hesitation. “Alright. From now on, I won’t keep anything from you. No more secrets.”
𝘋𝗂𝗌𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 h𝘪𝖽𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗴е𝘮𝘴 on 𝘨a𝗅𝗻𝘰𝘷е𝗹ѕ.𝘤o𝘮
A smile spread across my face as I lifted his hand and gently rested my cheek against it. “Ethan, I don’t want suspicion to slowly chip away at everything we’ve built together. I just want us to leave every misunderstanding behind and spend the rest of our lives living peacefully by each other’s side.”
“Alright,” he replied before leaning over and placing a gentle kiss on my forehead.
Ethan’s POV:
For quite some time, I’d noticed that Lianne had been pushing herself far too hard.
Ever since we returned from Melisa’s examination, she had buried herself in work every single day, remaining in the study until late at night without fail.
Watching her exhaust herself like that made me increasingly uneasy. “Lianne,” I finally said, unable to keep quiet any longer, “don’t work yourself this hard. Let me help you.”
She immediately shook her head, determination shining in her eyes. “I want to achieve things through my own efforts. I don’t want anyone saying I only got this far because I relied on you.”
Looking at the stubborn expression on her face, I felt both helpless and worried.
I knew better than anyone how strong her pride was. She had never been willing to let anyone look down on her.
She reached over, took my hand, and gently tugged on it as she looked at me pleadingly. “Ethan, just let me get through this busy period. Once everything settles down, I’ll rest properly. I promise I won’t stay up late anymore.”
Seeing the hopeful look in her eyes, I couldn’t bring myself to refuse. “Alright,” I relented with a sigh. “But you have to promise me one thing. The moment you feel even slightly unwell, you’ll tell me immediately.”
She smiled brightly, nodded, and leaned over to kiss me on the lips.
“I promise. Don’t worry.”
But in the end, the very thing I’d been afraid of still happened.
One afternoon, I was attending an executive meeting.
Although someone was presenting a report, my thoughts had already drifted elsewhere as I found myself wondering whether Lianne had remembered to eat lunch.
Suddenly, hurried knocking shattered the quiet atmosphere in the meeting room.
Before anyone could respond, the door was pushed open, and Alex rushed inside, drenched in sweat, his breathing ragged and his voice trembling. “Alpha… something’s happened to Lianne.”
My fingers tightened around the pen in my hand.
Alex continued, “She was in the middle of a meeting when she suddenly coughed up blood and collapsed.”
For a second, my thoughts scattered like leaves in a windstorm, leaving nothing but white noise.
Without another word, I stormed out of the meeting room.
The meeting no longer mattered. Neither did the projects or the company.
There was only one thought left in my mind. I needed to get to Lianne—now.
By the time I arrived at her office, the ambulance had just pulled up outside.
The moment I saw her lying there, I froze where I stood.
She lay unconscious on the floor, surrounded by frantic coworkers.
Blood stained her lips, her chin, and the front of her clothes, while dark crimson splatters covered the edge of her desk.
Her eyes remained tightly shut, her face was deathly pale, and not a trace of color remained in her lips.
At that moment, it felt as though the last thread holding me together had finally snapped.
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