His Mute Wife: He Can't Sleep After She Left-Chapter 173: Flaunting Affection in Front of Kate Lynch on Purpose
Even though Kiana Sutton knew perfectly well that Ethan Sinclair didn’t like her, she still carefully treasured everything he gave her, locked away in a box with a key.
What’s more, that necklace was so expensive—what if she lost it?
"But the necklace Young Madam is wearing is also beautiful. The Fifth Master will definitely like it when he sees it."
Kiana flashed a slight smile, her mind awash with thoughts.
When attending a wedding, you can’t dress too eye-catching, or people might think you’re trying to outshine the bride.
But you can’t dress too plain, either—it would make Ethan lose face. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶
For this reason, Kiana specifically chose a light blue spaghetti-strap gown. All the dresses in her closet had been brought by Nathan Lawson, with French labels she couldn’t read.
Still, the texture and craftsmanship of the dresses were excellent, and Kiana figured as long as she felt comfortable in it, that was enough.
When Ethan Sinclair saw Kiana, that pair of clear, indifferent eyes flickered imperceptibly.
The pale blue suited Kiana’s cool fair skin, as luminous as flawless white jade; her swan neck was graceful and delicate, and her collarbones strikingly beautiful.
Whenever Ethan liked kissing Kiana’s lips, he liked kissing her neck and collarbones even more—he especially liked leaving those circles of bite marks on her skin.
Doing that always put him in a good mood, as if Kiana was an object that belonged to him and him alone.
"You sure do know how to dress up!"
Kiana couldn’t tell if Ethan was actually complimenting her, or mocking her.
His outfit today wasn’t much different than usual, though the cufflinks were a style Kiana had never seen before—probably new.
Ethan stretched his hand toward her; not sure what he meant, Kiana just stood there uncertainly.
Ethan’s patience wore thin—he grabbed Kiana and looped her hand through his arm himself.
"If you dawdle any longer, the wedding will be over."
The wedding was on the lawn outside, near a swimming pool and a golf course. The air was thick with the fragrance of roses everywhere—still beaded with morning dew, so they must have been brought over early.
Fairy lights hung above the roses, clipped with photos of the bride and groom.
At first, Kiana thought the groom looked familiar. Looking closer, she realized it really was Evan Shepherd.
Kiana had already heard from Amy Manning that Evan Shepherd was getting married soon, but she never imagined the wedding Ethan brought her to was actually Evan’s.
Ethan noticed Kiana had recognized Evan and smirked lightly. "I remember you used to be pretty close with Evan Shepherd. You gave him rides in your junk car a bunch of times. So, coming to his wedding now—are you happy?"
Kiana pressed her lips together, and made no reply.
He obviously knew Evan had schemed against her back then, and yet he’d still say something like that. It couldn’t be jealousy; he just wanted to mock her.
But Evan wasn’t important enough to have invited Ethan to his wedding in person.
So, the person who’d invited Ethan must be the bride.
Kiana looked at the bride. She matched Amy Manning’s description—just average looking, and quite overweight.
Back when she and Evan hadn’t cut ties, he’d told Kiana what kind of woman he looked for.
Fair skin, beautiful face, and long legs.
So why was he marrying a woman like this now?
No matter the reason, Evan had made his choices, and Kiana could barely handle her own messes—she didn’t have the energy to care about his life plans.
"Ian..."
A familiar voice cut through the noise and into their ears. Kiana furrowed her brows—and, as expected, saw Kate Lynch, dressed up and smiling, walking toward them.
When Kate saw Kiana holding Ethan’s arm, her face faltered slightly, a clear sadness surfacing in her eyes.
Kiana noticed. Of course, so did Ethan.
Kiana thought Ethan would shake off her hand. In the past, she would have let go first. But today, for reasons she couldn’t understand, she didn’t let go. Instead, she clung to his arm even tighter.
Ethan looked down at Kiana indifferently. With her head bowed, he couldn’t see her expression, but her gesture was obvious enough in its intent.
By now, Kate seemed to have collected her emotions and smiled at Ethan. "I just knew these swallow cufflinks would be perfect for you. They match your swallow brooch. You always look good, but these cufflinks just made you look even better—like, eight times better!"
Kiana’s heart squeezed—the clothes and accessories Ethan wore were always managed by her, so no wonder she’d never seen those cufflinks; they were a gift from Kate Lynch.
She’d given Ethan a swallow brooch once, and Kate had wasted no time gifting him a pair of swallow cufflinks. What a coincidence indeed.
Kiana suddenly sensed that the way she’d clung to Ethan just now was much like a clown, stripped bare and thrown onto the street. Pathetic, and sad.
Slowly, she let go of Ethan. Kate noticed this and finally smiled at her. "Kiana, you really do look beautiful today."
Kiana nodded slightly, responding with distant indifference.
Soon, someone Kate knew arrived, so she hurried away to say hello. Ethan pulled Kiana into a deserted corner and shoved her against the wall.
"What are you sulking about?"
Kiana stared at Ethan coolly. When had she been sulking? She just didn’t want to talk to Kate. Besides, even if she used sign language, Kate wouldn’t understand—how was that considered sulking?
"You showed off in front of Autumn just to upset her, and you’re proud of that?"
Only now did Kiana realize that Ethan was talking about her holding his arm earlier.
Kiana squeezed her eyes shut. When they opened again, she raised her hand and signed calmly, "You’re the one who asked me to come with you. What did you expect me to do—see Kate and immediately offer her my spot next to you?"
Ethan’s face darkened at being contradicted by Kiana once again.
Honestly, he had no idea what he really wanted inside.
When he saw how possessive Kiana was toward him, it actually made him happy.
But seeing Kate Lynch’s heartbreak—the hurt in her eyes—made him feel lousy.
These two emotions pulled him in opposite directions, making him edgy as hell.
He wasn’t even sure why he’d dragged Kiana over here to ask that question, or what answer he wanted from her.
But it definitely wasn’t the answer he got.
The wedding was about to start—the music for the procession had already begun. Kiana saw Ethan glaring at her in silence, and helpfully signed, "Do you want me to leave now?"
"Leave?"
Ethan scoffed, grabbed Kiana’s arm, and tucked it firmly into his own. "If you want to leave so badly, then today you stay with me, and you’re not allowed to take a single step away."
