Private Marriage, Secret Love-Chapter 115: Still Can’t Let Her Go

「The Verdant Garden.」

Ethan Lancaster stood before the full-length mirror, methodically tying his tie. Raina Reddington went into the walk-in closet to find an outfit. His gaze, reflected in the mirror, watched as Raina took a sweater from the wardrobe.

He had only found out from Cameron Fairchild that Raina had been transferred, and that today was her first day at the new hospital.

But she hadn’t breathed a word of it in front of him. Ethan Lancaster’s fingers smoothed over his cuff as he fastened a button.

"How have things been at the hospital lately?"

If he hadn’t asked, Raina would have only suspected. But now that he’d brought it up, she knew he was almost certainly the one who had arranged it.

Raina changed her clothes as if he wasn’t there. "Things are fine."

No one wanted to go to the new hospital. Ethan Lancaster had waited for days, but Raina never brought it up with him. It seemed she had accepted it willingly.

When she arrived at The Second Affiliated Hospital of Mercy Seas, the doors to every consultation room were propped open. The hallways were lined with green plants, but when Raina Reddington walked into her office, she could still smell a pungent odor.

The hospital had its air conditioning on, so it wasn’t possible to keep the windows open all the time. After half a day of seeing patients, Raina felt dizzy, foggy-headed, and nauseous.

During her lunch break, Raina made a special trip to a nearby flower shop. She picked out a few pots of devil’s ivy and arranged with the owner to have them delivered directly to the hospital.

The news was playing on a television mounted to the flower shop wall. Aristor Hall had been shut down, and its behind-the-scenes boss, Miles Hawthorne, had been released on bail.

Raina couldn’t help but clutch her phone tightly. She wanted to call Miles Hawthorne, but with things at such a critical juncture, even a simple apology could bring more trouble.

’Actually, if I could just be a little more callous, if I could just let it go, I wouldn’t feel so guilty.’

’After all, what happened to Miles Hawthorne was just him getting what he deserved.’

Raina returned to the clinic and gently pushed open her office window. It was on the ground floor, and the branches of a small tree reached toward the windowsill. The fresh green grass had just begun to sprout tender blades. She was the kind of person who could easily heal herself. ’Life needs a little sunshine to go on, doesn’t it?’

The sound of a door opening came from behind her. Raina instinctively glanced at her watch; there was still some time before her afternoon appointments began.

Raina turned around and saw Hannah Lynch standing in the doorway. If she hadn’t looked closely, she wouldn’t have recognized her.

This Miss Lynch had been out of the public eye for a long time. If she hadn’t suddenly appeared today, Raina would have almost forgotten about her.

"Can I help you?"

"Doctor Reddington, long time no see."

Raina leaned lightly against the windowsill. "If you’re here to see a doctor, please register first."

"I am here to see a doctor. Here, take a look for me. How is my baby doing? Has it gotten much bigger? Is it a boy or a girl?"

Raina saw that she seemed to be in a daze. The woman who used to dress so impeccably was now disheveled and lifeless. "You need to register first."

"No!" Hannah Lynch shrieked as if she’d been provoked. "Why are you all doing this to me?"

Raina was baffled. "Miss Lynch, you should know very well that I have never done anything to provoke you."

"But Miles Hawthorne provoked me for your sake."

"He... the things he did were only because of his father."

Hannah Lynch waved her hands frantically. "No, that’s not it! He got rid of my baby because of you. He wants to be with you, so he can’t have any stumbling blocks. He’s the one who had my baby forcibly aborted!"

Raina’s face was filled with shock, but she couldn’t let herself be shackled with this burden.

’Does something like this have to be blamed on me, too?’

Ethan Lancaster was the first one out of the conference room. Seth Sinclair walked up to him. "Fourth Master, Miss Lynch has been released. The first thing she did was go to the Young Madam’s hospital."

Ethan Lancaster’s expression tightened. "How did she know Raina changed hospitals?"

"She has some connections of her own. It wouldn’t be hard for her to find out something like this."

Ethan Lancaster’s brow furrowed. He wanted to rush over, but what he said was, "The Lynch Family has fallen so far. What kind of trouble could Hannah Lynch possibly cause?"

"Fourth Master, as they say, a cornered animal will lash out."

"That’s what she deserves, too. Why would Hannah Lynch seek her out specifically, and not someone else?"

It seemed Ethan Lancaster didn’t want to get involved, so Seth Sinclair couldn’t press the matter. But having been by his side for so long, Seth knew he was just looking for an excuse.

"Fourth Master, Hannah Lynch has nothing now but a disgraced mother. There’s no guarantee she won’t do something extreme to the Young Madam."

Ethan Lancaster couldn’t listen anymore. Seth Sinclair knew him well, so every word struck him in just the right place.

Seth Sinclair followed him into the car, gave the driver the new hospital’s address, and they rushed over.

The commotion inside the consultation room was so loud it soon attracted a crowd of onlookers. A nurse, seeing that things were getting out of hand, was on the phone calling for security.

When Ethan Lancaster arrived at the door, he saw a crowd gathered outside. Hannah Lynch was hysterical, shouting that her baby was gone while accusing Raina Reddington and Miles Hawthorne of being in cahoots.

Raina was cornered by the window, her expression still relatively calm.

Ethan Lancaster saw Hannah Lynch reach into her pocket. When she pulled her hand out, she was tightly gripping a fruit knife.

"AHH—" Several people in the crowd scattered, and Ethan Lancaster took the opportunity to walk in. "What’s going on? Quite a lively scene here."

Hannah Lynch glanced back. Seeing it was him, she started to lunge toward Raina.

"You just said the baby is gone?" Ethan Lancaster approached Raina’s desk. "I did it."

"What?" Hannah Lynch looked at him, confused. "What does this have to do with you?"

Ethan Lancaster could only lie. "I had someone drug you."

"No, that’s not it. Miles Hawthorne admitted with his own mouth that he did it. I get it now. You’re all trying to protect her, aren’t you?" As Hannah Lynch said this, she pointed the tip of the knife at Raina, who was standing a few steps away.

"Why would I protect her? I just wanted to end your Lynch Family’s line..."

The words were truly vicious. Hannah Lynch was so provoked she could barely take it. "I’m going to kill you."

"Ethan Lancaster, are you insane?!" Raina broke out in a cold sweat. Now was not the time to be provoking Hannah Lynch. "Who asked you to step forward?"

"You shut up!" Ethan Lancaster had finally managed to draw Hannah Lynch’s attention to himself; the bow was now drawn taut.

Raina had been trying to de-escalate the situation with Hannah Lynch precisely because she could see how volatile and easily angered she was. Now she had a knife. Even if Ethan Lancaster was stronger than her, he definitely wouldn’t have the upper hand if they actually fought.

Hannah Lynch tightened her grip on the fruit knife and started toward Ethan Lancaster.

"Don’t listen to him! Everything that happened to you is my fault. Miles Hawthorne... he only got rid of your baby because of me."

Ethan Lancaster was so angry he gritted his teeth, wishing he could rush over and cover her mouth.