Private Marriage, Secret Love-Chapter 181: Three Years Later, the First Meeting
Gwen Sharp didn’t dare make a sound. She glanced at the entrance of The Golden Maple Pavilion. ’Seth Sinclair should be coming out any minute now, right?’
She supported Ethan Lancaster as they moved to the side. The man’s steps were unsteady, and Gwen Sharp raised her hand to hail a cab.
Ethan Lancaster’s eyes fluttered open. He glanced at the road, then suddenly raised his hand and pointed at a car. "Get in."
"No," Gwen Sharp pushed his arm down. "That’s not our car."
"It is my car."
Gwen Sharp had already spotted Ethan Lancaster’s car. The entrance was blocked, so it couldn’t pull over; it was currently honking its horn.
In her haste, she wrapped her right arm around Ethan Lancaster’s waist. She saw a taxi stop and its passenger get out. Gwen Sharp was anxious to get Ethan over to it.
Unexpectedly, the man strode directly toward the strange car. He shook off Gwen Sharp and quickened his pace.
Raina Reddington was focused on the traffic ahead. When she happened to glance at her rearview mirror, she was startled to see a staggering figure.
Then, someone started pounding on her window with their fist. "Open the door."
Ethan Lancaster yanked on the door handle several times. "You’re asking for it."
Goosebumps erupted on Raina Reddington’s skin. She never expected Ethan Lancaster to rush over like this. Thankfully, the windows were specially tinted, so no one could see inside.
’He’s insane.’
Raina cursed silently as she watched Gwen Sharp speak to him in a soft, gentle voice. "You really have the wrong car. This isn’t ours."
"How is it not? Look, it’s black."
Ethan Lancaster pressed his handsome face against the glass, trying to get a clear look inside. Raina Reddington gripped the steering wheel. That face had appeared in her nightmares more than once. What good was it to be so handsome? The more beautiful the facade, the more easily it concealed a wicked heart. Ethan Lancaster’s cruelty and venom were hidden just beneath that skin, something most people would never experience.
"Open the door! What are you waiting for? Do you want to get fired?" Ethan Lancaster pressed his forehead against the glass, his body reeking of alcohol that even the wind couldn’t dissipate.
"Fourth Master, please don’t. Let’s go home, okay?" Gwen Sharp clung to his arm, trying to pull him back.
The man refused. They were locked in a tug-of-war. Ethan Lancaster’s forehead hit the window with a THUD, but he didn’t cry out in pain. He just wouldn’t leave.
Raina Reddington laid on the horn. Gwen Sharp, deeply embarrassed, softened her voice and tried to coax him. "When we get home, I’ll make you something to eat, alright? To sober you up. Otherwise, you’ll feel awful."
Raina Reddington turned a deaf ear, wishing only for the two of them to get the hell away from her.
Ethan Lancaster seemed completely oblivious to Gwen Sharp’s words. His forehead rested against the glass as he murmured a name, "Raina."
Her head snapped around, her gaze locking with the man’s. Raina Reddington’s hands tightened on the steering wheel, her fingertips digging into the leather cover, her face a mask of disbelief.
’Impossible. There’s absolutely no way Ethan Lancaster could see me.’
Raina’s breath hitched. When she looked again, Ethan Lancaster’s eyes were glazed over. He must have just blurted it out randomly.
’Or maybe... I misheard him.’
"Yes, thrown away," Gwen Sharp replied, misinterpreting his words. "Those things you told me to throw away, I’ve thrown them all away."
Only Ethan Lancaster knew that he had said a name, worlds away from the words "thrown away."
Raina Reddington let out a derisive snort. The car in front finally moved. Without a moment’s hesitation, she slammed on the accelerator, giving the two people outside no warning as she sped away.
Ethan Lancaster was thrown aside. Gwen Sharp couldn’t hold onto him, and both of them tumbled to the ground.
The man pointed a finger at the departing car. "Get the license plate number."
He seemed a little more sober now, no longer claiming the car was his.
But there was no way Gwen Sharp was actually going to write down the license plate number. Gritting her teeth against the pain, she helped Ethan Lancaster up. The taxi was right there, so she quickly guided him into it.
"Driver, to Northbay Community on South Sun Road."
"Alright."
Only after driving some distance did Raina Reddington finally let out a breath of relief.
She clenched her fists and found her palms were slick with sweat. She didn’t know why she had reacted that way. ’So what if we really ran into each other? So what if he found out I was still alive? Would he still hold a grudge? Does he have to take his revenge until there’s nothing left?’
’Besides, I’m not Raina Reddington anymore. After that jump all those years ago, Raina really did die.’
After getting into the taxi, Ethan Lancaster quieted down considerably. The phone in his pocket was ringing nonstop. Seeing his eyes were closed, Gwen Sharp guessed it was probably Seth Sinclair calling and steeled herself to pretend she didn’t hear it.
Soon, Seth Sinclair’s call came through to Gwen Sharp’s phone. After a moment’s hesitation, she answered it.
"Hello."
"Miss Sharp, where are you taking the Fourth Master?"
Gwen Sharp was put off by his tone. "I’m taking him home."
"Miss Sharp, if I were you, I wouldn’t overstep my bounds. You know the Fourth Master’s temper..."
"I’ve waited for him for three years. Don’t I even get a single chance? I know you all look down on me, but I genuinely want to be with the Fourth Master." With that, Gwen Sharp ended the call.
"Driver, please go a little faster."
"You got it."
The car soon entered Northbay Community and stopped in front of an apartment building. Gwen Sharp paid the fare and helped Ethan Lancaster toward the entrance.
The apartment was very large. It was originally meant for them to live in together, but after Raina Reddington’s death, Ethan Lancaster had never set foot in it again.
Gwen Sharp had stubbornly held on for three years. As long as Ethan Lancaster didn’t take back the apartment and the bank cards, it meant he still acknowledged her. For the past three years, he hadn’t had any other women in his life. But everyone in Stoneworth knew about Gwen Sharp; they all knew that it was because of her that Ethan Lancaster had driven his own wife to her death.
She couldn’t bear this infamous reputation for nothing, being his woman in name only, without ever having truly possessed him, not even once.
Gwen Sharp led him into the bedroom. She tried to lay him on the bed, but he was surprisingly strong and pulled her down beside him as he fell back.
She reached a hand to his chest, her fingers carefully undoing one of Ethan Lancaster’s buttons.
The man’s breathing was even, his eyes shut tight. Emboldened, Gwen Sharp sat up. She unfastened Ethan Lancaster’s buttons one by one, her fingers soon reaching his waist.
Gwen Sharp took a deep breath and moved her hand to his belt. Just as she was about to make a move, her wrist was seized. An instant later, a hand swung at her. She had no time to dodge. The back of Ethan Lancaster’s hand struck her across the neck. A sharp pain shot through her eardrum, and her ears began to ring.
Her jaw went numb from the blow. A heavy force shoved her shoulder, and Gwen Sharp was thrown unexpectedly from the bed to the floor. She looked up to see Ethan Lancaster slowly sitting up. His shirt was wide open, his features cast in shadow by the light filtering in from the doorway, his entire being exuding a sinister and dangerous aura.
