Private Marriage, Secret Love-Chapter 101: What Does That Have to Do with You?
Raina Reddington fell so hard she saw stars. Just as she was regaining her senses, the words "Get out!" ripped through her eardrums, hurled directly at her.
Her spine felt like it had snapped. There was nothing but pain.
Ethan Lancaster staggered to his feet, still weak. He sat on the edge of the bathtub, looking down on her. "What are you doing? Feeling kind enough to help me up?"
Raina Reddington propped herself up with her hands. Ethan Lancaster saw her pale little face and figured she must have taken quite a fall. His expression complicated, he looked away. "Don’t be a hypocrite. Get out."
She struggled to her feet, her clothes soaked. "How’s... Dad?"
Dark circles of exhaustion ringed Ethan Lancaster’s eyes. He finally understood how powerless people were in the face of illness. Jessica Jacobs had knelt outside the emergency room, not praying for Zachary Lancaster to make a full recovery, but just for him to keep breathing, to leave them with something to hold on to.
Her wish was granted, but he remained in a coma, torturing the entire family with unbearable anguish.
Ethan Lancaster didn’t say another word to Raina Reddington, so she had no choice but to leave.
They were like two prisoners trapped in the same cell. The mattress on Raina’s side of the bed sank, but a wide, safe distance remained between them. He would no longer cling to her in his sleep like he used to. She used to get headaches from how restless he was, his arms and legs always tangling around her uncomfortably. But now...
She realized just how much she missed it.
The Lynch Family was under a full investigation. The demolition case had major implications; it was about much more than just Samuel Hawthorne’s life.
Miles Hawthorne pushed open the bedroom door and went inside. The curtains were drawn, plunging the room into darkness despite it being broad daylight. Hannah Lynch was sitting on the floor. At the sound of footsteps, her back involuntarily straightened.
"Miles?"
Miles Hawthorne didn’t say a word. He walked over to the bed and sat down.
Hannah Lynch clutched her phone, desperate for him to confirm. "Is the news true? I don’t believe it. My dad would never do something like that."
"What news?" Miles Hawthorne leaned over and held out his hand to Hannah. "Let me see."
She had always trusted him, so Hannah Lynch placed the phone in his palm. But he didn’t even glance at it, instead smashing it against the wall.
The phone ricocheted back, nearly hitting Hannah. She flinched, covering her head with a cry. "AHH—"
Miles Hawthorne watched her with cold eyes. "There’s nothing worth seeing out there. From now on, you’ll stay in this room. Don’t go anywhere."
"What do you mean?" Hannah Lynch lowered her arms and tried to grab his hand. "Are you going to lock me up?"
"You just had a miscarriage. Your body hasn’t recovered yet..."
"Miles, I want to see my mom."
Miles Hawthorne clasped his hands together, gently pressing his thumbs against each other. "Your mother angered Dad to death. And you still want to see her?"
"I don’t believe you. My mom would never do something like that." Hannah Lynch placed her hand on his leg, asking tentatively, "You’re the one who reported the Lynch Family, aren’t you? My dad, my mom... was it all your doing?"
A faint, cold smile touched Miles Hawthorne’s lips. "Wrong. Not just your parents. Your baby, too."
"What?" Hannah Lynch’s face drained of color as she sank weakly back to the floor. "That was your child, too!"
"Yes. That’s why I found it disgusting and got rid of it."
"Miles Hawthorne!" Hannah Lynch lunged at him, ready to fight for her life, but in her weakened state, she was no match for him. With a light swing of his arm, Miles sent her flying. "This room is the safest place for you. Do you want to end up like your mother, a rat scurrying through the streets?"
"This is all your fault! It was you! I loved you so much..."
"Shut up!" Miles Hawthorne felt sick hearing that word. "When your father was getting people killed, you weren’t exactly clean either. He got an easy death. So you can stay here and slowly atone for your sins."
With that, Miles Hawthorne stood up to leave. Unwilling to give up, Hannah Lynch tried to grab his leg, but he kicked her away.
’He has no feelings for me at all. Otherwise, he couldn’t treat me like this.’
For the next few days, Raina Reddington barely saw Ethan Lancaster. He was already gone when she woke up in the morning. When she came home from work, she would find discarded clothes in the bathroom, a sign that even if he did come back, it was usually in the dead of night.
Raina couldn’t hold back any longer and secretly called Zion Lancaster. Only then did she learn that Zachary Lancaster had been brought home.
It was better for him to be in a familiar place than to lie in a hospital.
The hole Miles Hawthorne had blown open was not small, and Ethan Lancaster had spent the last few days trying to patch it up. The investigation team had also taken the old medical records from Arkwell Hospital, and there was still no word on what they’d make of them.
The Sterling and Lynch Families were in the worst shape. Forced demolition resulting in death, bribery—the charges were piling up, any one of which was fatal.
After they were done with those two families, an investigation into the Lancaster Family was inevitable.
Raina Reddington returned from the hospital to a neat and tidy entryway. If Ethan Lancaster were home, his shoes would have been kicked off haphazardly right there.
She had just finished dinner and was about to go upstairs when she received a call from Ethan Lancaster.
Raina answered without a second thought. "Hello—"
"Hey, Sister-in-law, it’s me." It was Al’s voice on the other end. "Fourth Master has had too much to drink. We’re worried about him, so maybe you could..."
"Where is he?"
"The Hilton on Central Avenue."
"Okay, I’m on my way." Raina got up and rushed out. Central Avenue was about a twenty-minute drive away, but she sped and got there in no time.
She hurried toward the private room, but as she passed the restroom, she saw a familiar figure.
Raina stopped in her tracks, her grip tightening on her purse. She saw Ethan Lancaster leaning over a sink, one hand braced against the counter while the other was pressed to his throat, forcing himself to throw up.
Raina instinctively took a step back, finding the sight hard to accept. ’This isn’t the Ethan Lancaster I know.’
He was used to being put on a pedestal. At any normal gathering, forget giving him attitude, anyone who wanted to propose a toast had to think twice. His version of "drinking too much" could only happen when he was having fun with his friends, not because he was begging for favors.
Ethan Lancaster splashed cold water on his face, which cleared his head instantly. He pulled out a paper towel and wiped his face.
The man braced his hands on the edge of the counter, straightened up, and looked at his reflection in the mirror, only to see Raina standing behind him.
Surprise flickered in Ethan Lancaster’s eyes, followed by an unspoken reluctance to face her. Perhaps he found the situation embarrassing.
He turned around, a drop of water from his chin trickling down his Adam’s apple. His gaze was icy and cold, piercing enough to keep Raina from stepping forward. "Why are you here?"
"Al said you drank too much."
"And what’s that got to do with you?" Ethan Lancaster walked straight toward her, stopping right in front of her.
Even his breathing carried an oppressive aura.
