His Mute Wife: He Can't Sleep After She Left-Chapter 49: Ethan Sinclair—Fierce and Ugly

Kiana Sutton is currently unlucky in love, but thriving at work.

The planning proposal that she worked on with Evan Shepherd got selected, and both of them were praised by the manager.

Plus, it was time for the monthly paychecks—she’d lost her attendance bonus because of sick leave and tardiness, but even with just salary and bonuses, she somehow ended up with 112,000.

It was the first time she’d ever received so much money, so naturally, Kiana was thrilled. She transferred 100,000 to Quinn Sinclair right away, then personally made a small gift for everyone who’d ever helped her.

Some people got phone charms, some got keychains, and others got little pendants.

Each one had a chibi version of the person on it—absurdly cute.

Amy Manning was so smitten when she got hers that her heart practically melted; she threw her arms around Kiana and planted a huge kiss on her cheek. "Kiana, it’s enough that you’re adorable and gorgeous, but you’re also fantastic with your hands—whoever marries you, wow, their ancestors must’ve worked overtime in heaven!"

Mid-sentence, Amy accidentally bumped into someone. Seeing it was Ethan Sinclair, Kiana’s expression changed ever so slightly and she quietly lowered her head.

Amy, on the other hand, was freaked out and gave a sheepish "President Sinclair!" before tugging Kiana to stand properly beside her—like two mischievous students caught by the principal.

Ethan’s face didn’t look too good. His eyes, cold and shadowed, swept over the downward-facing Kiana, and for some reason, he suddenly felt irritated. "This is a workplace. Be mindful of how you behave."

"Sorry, President Sinclair! I just got a handmade gift from Kiana, and—I got carried away. I’ll pay more attention next time, promise!"

"What kind of gift?"

Amy was genuinely surprised that busy President Sinclair would care, and she proudly pulled out the phone charm Kiana had made for her. "This! Isn’t it cute?"

Kiana felt a little awkward and, on reflex, bit her lip—only, Ethan’s words flashed through her mind uncontrollably.

"Only I get to bite this."

Kiana resisted biting her lip, but then thought, honestly, why should she listen to him? So she bit down hard, just out of spite.

Turns out, she nearly bit herself to death.

"You made it yourself?"

Ethan’s gaze fell on Kiana; she still refused to look up at him. Amy nodded enthusiastically, "Yup! Kiana’s amazing."

Ethan frowned tightly, noticing that Kiana hadn’t looked at him, not once.

She was perfectly happy smearing makeup all over his face before, wasn’t she?

So why won’t she look at him now?

Feeling guilty?

Ethan didn’t say anything else; he spun on his heel and left.

Once he was gone, Amy was right back to swooning. "Oh my god—President Sinclair is even hotter today than he was yesterday. How can someone be such a perfect human? Seriously, whoever marries him, ancestors blessing galore!"

Kiana: "..."

Walking into the planning department, Evan Shepherd came over with a warm smile. "Kiana, thanks for the keychain you gave me. I really love it."

Evan wasn’t quiet about it—instantly, everyone nearby turned to look at them.

Amy grabbed Evan’s arm, whispering, "Why are you being so loud? Kiana got gifts for everyone, you’re making her look like she’s showing off." 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Evan looked a bit embarrassed. "Sorry, Kiana, I just really liked it. Got a little excited."

Kiana smiled and shook her head. "Don’t worry about it—so long as you liked it."

For Kiana, Evan and Amy were friends. Everyone else was just a colleague. Her time and energy were limited—she couldn’t give gifts to everyone.

Evan looked at the smile on Kiana’s face, but his heart twisted painfully.

Meanwhile, Ethan Sinclair was heading off with Nathan Lawson to meet a client.

In the car, Ethan was focused on the papers in his hand.

Up front, Connor Grant eyed Nathan’s phone charm and asked eagerly, "Secretary Lawson, did Miss Sutton give you that keychain?"

Nathan nodded slightly, still as stoic as ever.

"Mine’s a pendant Kiana gave me, too! It’s got a chibi version of myself on it—I’m pretty much obsessed."

The moment Ethan heard "Miss Sutton," he lifted his eyes to look at the charm Connor was showing off. The chibi Connor was bouncing with the car, cheerful as can be.

Ethan frowned. "Kiana Sutton gave it to you?"

"Yeah—Miss Sutton is so sweet."

"Smack—"

Ethan snapped his laptop shut with a bang. Both Connor and Nathan caught sight of his stormy face in the rearview mirror and, exchanging a look, knew better than to say another word.

Ethan lost all interest in the paperwork. Picking up his phone, he saw a new post from Quinn Sinclair on social media.

"Thank you to the absolute sweetest girl for my phone chain—can’t even use it, I’m saving it in the bank’s safe!"

Beneath was a photo of Quinn holding a phone charm. Sure enough, there was a chibi Quinn on it.

Ethan was feeling incredibly irritable, and realizing it was all because of Kiana, he felt even worse.

That night, when Ethan got home, his face was nothing short of thunderous—Chelsea Chapman saw him and barely dared to breathe.

"Where’s Kiana Sutton?"

"The Young Madam is in her room."

"What’s she doing?"

"No idea—she went back to her room after dinner."

A thought flickered in Ethan’s mind. Could it be...was Kiana in there getting a gift ready for him?

"Should I go get the Young Madam for you, sir?"

"No, I don’t really need anything from her. Let her keep busy."

Watching Ethan head upstairs, Chelsea was pretty confused. What was going on?

He looked borderline murderous when he got home—not even a minute later and he’s fine?

After his shower, Ethan was glued to the thought that Kiana would come knock on his door.

But, come midnight, still no sign of her.

Frustrated, Ethan got out of bed and stormed to her room, ready to give her a piece of his mind.

"Kia—"

He didn’t even finish the word—when he saw Kiana asleep, slumped over her desk, the rest died in his throat.

This woman, her back just healed and she’s sitting this long, does she want it to break again?

"Hey...Wake up! Go sleep in your bed if you’re so tired!"

Ethan nudged Kiana. She shifted, started to fall off her chair—Ethan’s reflexes kicked in, hand catching her before his brain could even process it.

Kiana must’ve been completely exhausted—she was sound asleep, and when she leaned against Ethan, she even snuggled against his chest, nuzzling until she found a comfortable spot to keep sleeping.

He noticed she was clutching a doll, so Ethan tugged it out—only to find an aggressively grumpy and ugly little plush character.

The plush was dressed in a black suit, white shirt, and black tie—scowl firmly in place, like he was furious about something.

Wait a second... why did this doll look so familiar?

Ethan flipped it over—her stitched his own name on the back.

Ethan: "..."

Damn Kiana, she made him look so hideous!

Everyone else got a smiling face—why did his look like it was ready to kill someone?

Is this how she sees him in her mind?