Private Marriage, Secret Love-Chapter 133: His New Home

"Not going to make it? What’s that supposed to mean?"

Raina’s voice was filled with anxiety. "She can’t hold on much longer. She just wants to see Miles Hawthorne. Can you please just tell me where he is?"

Her voice had dropped to a near-beg. Raina reached for Ethan Lancaster’s arm, but he coldly pulled away. "She gets to see him just because she wants to? When they carried my dad out, who did he get to see? And where was I supposed to go for my last goodbye?"

Raina stood there, drained of strength. "Where is he?"

Ethan Lancaster sneered. "Anything else? Ask it all at once, then get out!"

She braced herself, forcing strength into her limbs. At a time like this, she could only rely on herself. "Ethan Lancaster, can we settle our scores later? Just let him go to the hospital. It won’t take long..."

"Don’t even think about it." His voice was cold and heartless, his rejection absolute. "I’m not the one driving him to his death, so how can you blame me? Raina, if you have time for this, you’d be better off going to the hospital to be a dutiful daughter in his final moments."

Raina felt a tearless grief. She watched Ethan Lancaster turn to go back into the bedroom. "This is the last time I’m begging you, please?"

"No."

Raina grabbed his hand, but Ethan flung it off. She surged forward and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Just this once, please?"

He was trapped in her tight embrace. Ethan struggled, but he couldn’t pry her arms off. With her face buried in his back, she begged again and again, her voice trembling, "Ethan Lancaster, just say yes this one time, please?"

He pried her fingers off one by one, then grabbed her by the wrist and shoved her away. Ethan Lancaster’s words were cruel, each one a fresh cut to her heart. "If I were you, I never would have come. Or have you forgotten who lives here?"

Her eyes reddened, but still, no tears fell. Ethan Lancaster pushed the bedroom door open, stepped inside, and locked it behind him.

Raina took a step back and leaned against the wall, her eyes fixed on the door. She refused to leave.

A maid came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands. She spoke cautiously, "Young Madam, you should go. You know what Fourth Master’s temper is like."

"If it weren’t a matter of life and death, I wouldn’t have come to him." ’This was a place she never wanted to set foot in again.’

Ethan Lancaster walked to the bay window in the bedroom. The large pane of glass offered a clear view of the lake. Gwen Sharp was folding clothes. He glanced over. "You can let someone else do that."

"I have nothing better to do, anyway."

He sat down on the window seat. "Are you bored?"

"Not really. I bought some study materials online. I’m thinking of getting my early childhood teaching certificate."

The corner of Ethan Lancaster’s mouth twitched. "A teacher? Why?"

"My situation didn’t allow for it before. If I missed a day of work, I couldn’t eat. I don’t have to worry about that anymore. I like children. The older ones are a handful, but kindergarteners are just perfect."

In truth, Ethan Lancaster had no interest in her future plans. He just needed someone to talk to, to fill the silence.

Raina stood outside. The faint murmur of voices seeped through the door. She couldn’t make out the words, but she could tell Ethan Lancaster’s tone was gentle. He was always so patient with Gwen Sharp.

She pressed her palm against the ice-cold wall. The air conditioning was cranked up high. She’d been sweating when she arrived, but now, standing here, she felt a biting chill.

Raina took a step forward and began to knock. ’Does he see me as some kind of shrew?’ she wondered. ’Relentlessly hounding him even when I know how much he despises me.’

"Ethan Lancaster, I just want to talk to you, really..."

The man sat inside, his expression dark. ’What is there left for us to talk about?’

’No matter what, it always comes back to Miles Hawthorne. She’s decided that I’m ruthless, that my methods are dirty and vicious. But has she ever once tried to see things from my perspective?’

Gwen Sharp glanced toward the door. "Fourth Master, maybe you should..." 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

"Stay out of things that don’t concern you."

"Okay."

Raina kept pounding on the door. The chilled air in the room did nothing to cool Ethan Lancaster’s rising anger. He got up and strode into the bathroom.

Seconds ticked by. Raina felt as if she were being roasted over an open flame. Her voice was thick with desperation. "Ethan Lancaster, open the door!"

After a moment, the sound of the shower stopped. Raina knocked even harder.

But then, a different sound came from inside the room—playful laughter. She could hear Ethan Lancaster’s voice, mingled with Gwen Sharp’s playful cries for him to stop. Every sound was an agonizing torture to her ears.

’I don’t belong here. I’m just an unwanted, despised nuisance.’

The tears Raina had been fighting back finally welled in her eyes. She lifted her chin, forcing them to retreat.

"Fourth Master, have mercy—"

"Okay, okay, stop! I’m hungry, I’m really hungry," Gwen Sharp’s voice was soft and sweet, carrying the gentle lilt of a girl from Everdene.

Raina stood frozen at the door as footsteps approached from within. The door was yanked open. Ethan Lancaster’s arrogant, handsome face was alight with a smile, but the moment he saw her, the expression was instantly ironed flat by displeasure.

His robe hung loosely on his frame, making it obvious what they had been doing.

"Still here?"

He brushed past her. Gwen Sharp came face-to-face with Raina and flinched. Ethan turned and held out a hand to her. "Come on."

After a moment’s hesitation, Gwen Sharp placed her hand in his. They walked out, hand in hand.

The maid stood in the kitchen doorway. Ethan glanced at the dining table. "Is dinner ready? I’m hungry."

"It’s ready."

"Let’s eat."

"Yes."

Ethan Lancaster pulled out a chair and sat down. Gwen Sharp obediently took the seat beside him. Without a moment’s hesitation, Raina followed them to the table.

The man glanced up at her. "Sorry, I don’t think we have enough food. We can’t ask you to stay."

’How humiliating.’ Even though Gwen Sharp showed no sign of provocation or gloating, wasn’t her mere presence the ultimate insult to Raina?

’He called this place "home." He was making this his home.’

The maid began to serve the food. It was a rich spread, and every dish was one Raina recognized. She took a step closer to Ethan Lancaster.

"If you’re going to bring up Miles Hawthorne’s name again, don’t blame me for what happens next."

Raina swallowed the words caught in her throat. "Is there really no room for negotiation?"

"None."

Gwen Sharp went into the kitchen to get the rice. She came out and placed a bowl before Ethan Lancaster. The man picked up his chopsticks, but instead of serving himself, he placed the first morsel of food into Gwen Sharp’s bowl.

The woman was clearly flattered, her face blooming into a radiant smile. "Thank you, Fourth Master."

"You’ll get used to it. You don’t need to be so formal with me."

Raina didn’t know how she found the willpower to remain standing there. "Ethan Lancaster, you’re never going to let him go, are you?"

"That’s right!"

"Fine. I’m sorry to have disturbed you." Raina’s last shred of hope died. ’In Ethan Lancaster’s eyes, in his heart, I was never special. What did I ever have that I could use to beg him?’

’I don’t even have the right to ask.’

Raina turned away, and the tears finally fell. This was someone else’s home, not hers. In this place, her heart had been completely hollowed out.