Chapter 3
I opened it irritably, but suddenly blushed when I saw it.
“The red dress suits you. You look beautiful.”
“Take off those heels and apply some medicine.”
I was surprised he knew my ankle was swollen.
But medicine?
As I was thinking, a drone flew to the window with a box attached.
I opened it to find a red dress and some ointment inside.
So he had discovered Ethan’s hideout long ago, but just hadn’t made a move. I really found the right ally.
I had just applied the medicine according to the instructions and was about to wash up for bed when Ethan came back.
He picked me up and gently placed me on the bed, holding some bruise ointment.
“Be good, don’t be afraid. I’ll apply the medicine for you.”
It seemed to be raining outside. Ethan was soaked, but he still dried his hands carefully before gently applying the medicine.
I was very afraid of pain.
When I first started fighting alongside Ethan, I would cry uncontrollably even from just a scratch.
Every time I was injured, no matter how battered he was, Ethan would always stay by my side, letting me bite his arm to endure the pain.
Those years were tough, but I felt secure.
But it seemed that one day, he disappeared from my bedside.
Later, countless times I was on the verge of death, with scars big and small, and he never spared me a glance.
But now I’m not afraid of pain anymore, yet he’s rushing to take care of me.
Has his conscience awakened?
Ethan’s apologetic voice came:
“Aria, you’ve lost weight. I’ve been neglecting you lately, I’m sorry.”
“About the marriage, I was afraid you’d overthink it so I didn’t tell you. Lily saved my life and was targeted for assassination because of me. I have to protect her.”
“But don’t worry, I won’t touch her. I only love you. Once I deal with Xavier, I’ll definitely divorce her and marry you properly, okay?”
He massaged my ankle, while my gaze fixed on the wedding ring on his finger.
I looked at Ethan, my eyes full of sorrow, and asked:
“Ethan, all these years, have you ever loved me?”
He was stunned for a moment, then knelt on one knee and held me in his arms, full of deep affection: “I love you, I only love you, Aria.”
Then, he hand-fed me the milk he brought, his eyes full of tenderness:
“Here, drink some milk and go to sleep early. You can come to the wedding tomorrow if you want, I won’t stop you.”
But I tasted that the milk was laced with sleeping pills.
Enough to make me sleep through the whole day tomorrow.
My throat felt constricted, almost suffocating me.
He was still deceiving me, just so Lily could marry him smoothly tomorrow.
So this was how he planned to keep me quiet.
I drank all the milk, a tear falling. My heart felt dead.
But Ethan smiled, smiled so brightly, gazing at me tenderly as I closed my eyes.
But he didn’t know that after years of fighting for him, I had trouble sleeping every night and had built up a tolerance to sleeping pills.
After a while, Lily’s coquettish moans sounded in my ear:
“Ethan, you were gone so long, I thought you were staying here!”
Ethan embraced her passionately:
“How could I? She’s just a human shield to take bullets for me. I’m still being watched by Xavier, so I need to keep her close to use her.”
“Xavier is wary of her, so he won’t go all out against me.”
Lily pouted: “Where are you touching? Naughty~”
“Mm, I’m the naughtiest…” Ethan’s voice was low and husky.
The sound of clothes rustling grew more intense as they kissed fervently.
My heart felt like it had been stabbed, the pain tearing me apart.
To Ethan, I had always submitted unconditionally. He had never been so doting and passionate with me.
“Aria, can you take the blame for me?”
“Aria, I’m in a firefight with Xavier, come help me.”
And I would always agree to his requests, even at the cost of my life.
Finally, they left, and I couldn’t sleep all night.
Early in the morning, I left with my backpack. Half the island was empty, everyone preparing for the wedding.
I handed the rental form to the dock guard: “I need a speedboat.”
The man looked surprised:
“Aria, things are tense out there. What if you get caught?”
“Boss told us not to let you leave the island alone. And with you gone, who will manage things here? We’re worried something might happen.”
Ethan had once promised me that as soon as he took over the city, he would marry me as Mrs. Qin.
To marry him sooner, I led raids at night and handled island affairs during the day, splitting myself in two.
But if Ethan truly loved me, how could he let me work so hard and ignore my efforts?
He didn’t love me, so everything I did was in vain.
“Does the boss know you’re leaving the island?”
He was one of the few who knew our true relationship and how much Ethan valued me.
Although Ethan never showed any special treatment towards me in front of his men, nor did he ever cross any lines with me.
He even beat me half to death in public to establish his authority.
But the man still asked repeatedly, because I was leaving on Ethan’s wedding day. He felt uneasy.
“He knows. He signed the form himself.”
The man hesitated, but under my urging, he still gave me the speedboat.
Driving the boat, the salty cold wind blew all the way before I finally felt the reality of leaving.
This counts as completely betraying Ethan, right? After all, I’m taking secrets to his archenemy Xavier.
I wonder what expression he’ll have when he finds out?
I can only think so maliciously.
As I passed an area of sea, a huge yacht was stopped, holding a wedding ceremony on deck.
A helicopter scattered rose petals from above, covering the nearby sea.
The sound system was so loud I could hear it from far away. It was Ethan pouring his heart out to Lily.
“Lily, you once said people in our line of work shouldn’t have loved ones. So I hid all my love for you in my heart, afraid you’d become my weakness, afraid you’d get hurt.”
“But now, I want to tell you, you are my weakness, and also my armor!”
“To be able to marry you, I waited 7 years, planning for so long. Now my wish has finally come true…”
Yes, he loves her, so he hid it from everyone, including me.
All his love for Lily now makes his promises to me in the past into a joke.
I turned my head to look in the distance, glimpsing the silhouettes of a man and woman standing together on the deck, pure and romantic.
Ethan’s gaze seemed to meet mine from afar. He froze: “Aria?”
My heart clenched painfully. He seemed to be overwhelmed by a strong sense of unease, as if about to lose something most important.
Lily held his hand, giggling and comforting him:
“Ethan, you must be seeing things. Sister drank the drugged milk you gave her. She’s still sleeping now.”
The doubt on Ethan’s face gradually faded, but he silently decided to comfort me well when he got back.
Even if it took the rest of his life to make up for it.
Little did he know, I was already driving the speedboat further and further away from him.
“Mr. Ethan, do you take Miss Lily to be your lawfully wedded wife, for better or…” The priest’s solemn vows were suddenly interrupted.
“Boss, something’s wrong!” A subordinate came running in panic, shouting:
“Boss, Aria… Aria is gone!”