Private Marriage, Secret Love-Chapter 60: Past Story, Past Scars

Miles Hawthorne knelt there motionlessly, like a statue.

He was completely unaware of anyone approaching. Raina Reddington’s hand tightened on the handle of her umbrella. "Miles Hawthorne."

The man’s body stiffened. "Why are you here?"

Raina’s gaze fell upon the tombstone, where she saw a date. She felt even more that something was wrong. "That year, your whole family moved away without a word. But... Mr. Hawthorne actually passed away the same month you moved? What on earth happened?"

"It was nothing. He was just sick."

"Impossible." Raina didn’t believe it could be such a coincidence. "You suddenly moved away... was there another reason?"

"What does that have to do with you?" Miles Hawthorne remained kneeling, unmoving. "Raina, go back to your own life. Live it well."

"Miles Hawthorne, I ran into Mrs. Sullivan a couple of days ago. I’m sure she didn’t tell you about her hospital visit, did she?"

Miles Hawthorne stiffly turned his neck to look at her. "What’s wrong with my mom?"

Raina didn’t hide it from him. "Late-stage cervical cancer. Right now, the only option is to start chemotherapy as soon as possible."

"What?" Miles Hawthorne tried to stand up, but his legs were numb from kneeling for so long. He couldn’t stay upright and braced his hand against the adjacent tombstone. "Say that again."

"It’s already progressed to the late stage. The only thing to do... is chemo."

Miles Hawthorne’s jaw trembled. He suddenly slid down along the tombstone, collapsing onto the ground. His face was contorted in pain, and Raina couldn’t even tell if the streaks on his face were tears or rain.

"I’ve done so much. Can’t my mom even wait to see the result?" Miles Hawthorne reached out, touching the photo on the tombstone. "Dad, those people are all still living just fine. If anyone has to die, it should be them!"

Raina listened, her heart pounding with fear. "Mr. Hawthorne didn’t die from an illness, did he? You were forced to move away so suddenly back then, weren’t you?"

Ethan Lancaster stood at the bottom of the steps. The rain fell in a dreary mist, and his eyes were full of a dark, unreadable expression. He started walking forward.

"Back then, my dad was the one leading the opposition to the demolition. That night, a mob of people rushed into our house and knocked down one of our small outer buildings. We didn’t realize... my dad was sleeping inside..."

A sharp pain seized Raina’s heart. That night had been filled with blood and violence, and it was the deepest wound in Miles Hawthorne’s heart. Recalling it now was like tearing open a festering wound.

"It was the middle of the night, and there was a thunderstorm. Even if anyone heard the noise, they would have just thought it was thunder. By the time they pulled my dad out, he was already fading. Those people wouldn’t let us save him. My mom was crying and begging, but they just took out a demolition agreement and said we had to sign it first..."

"In the end, we signed. But my dad couldn’t be saved, and our home was gone."

He spoke of it lightly, as if it were something that happened a long, long time ago. But to Raina, the scene was so vivid it might as well have been unfolding right before her eyes.

"From that night on, I’ve had only one thought in my head: make every single person involved pay the price. A life for a life! But they all conspired together, burying the incident completely..." 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Raina was at a loss for any words of comfort. Her hands, hanging at her sides, clenched into tight fists. "Why did you never tell me? Why did you stop contacting me...?"

"Raina, because of this, I’ve walked into a dead end. I’m afraid I’ll never get out."

A bitter sting pricked Raina’s nose, and her eyes felt heavy and wet. She opened her mouth to speak, but a faint sound of footsteps crunching on twigs reached her ears.

Raina turned and saw Ethan Lancaster standing right in front of her. The edge of his black umbrella nearly touched hers. Raina hastily averted her gaze. Miles Hawthorne was lost in a daze, muttering to himself. She raised her voice and said, "I’ve told you what you need to know. You should take Mrs. Sullivan to the hospital right away."

Miles Hawthorne looked up, his expression blurred by the rain. He stared fixedly at Raina, then shifted his gaze to Ethan Lancaster’s face.

The men’s eyes met. Ethan felt that single glance held far too much complexity—and if he wasn’t mistaken, there was hatred in it, too.

Raina started to leave, but Ethan Lancaster took the umbrella from her hand. He tossed it next to Miles Hawthorne. "Look how pitiful Mr. Hawthorne is, getting soaked in the middle of winter."

Raina said nothing as Ethan Lancaster wrapped an arm around her shoulder and led her down the steps.

She stepped in a puddle, and the resulting splash dirtied Ethan Lancaster’s pants.

"What are you doing here?"

"If you took their bus back, you’d just be wasting time on a long, winding route."

The two walked to the cemetery entrance. The large buses were already gone. Seth Sinclair stood by Ethan Lancaster’s car holding an umbrella, and when he saw them approach, he opened the car door.

The car quickly pulled away. Ethan Lancaster finally couldn’t hold back his temper. "Quite a coincidence, huh?"

Raina took a tissue and wiped her face. "I didn’t expect to run into Miles Hawthorne here, but even if I hadn’t, I was going to contact him anyway."

’Is she trying to piss me off on purpose?’

Ethan Lancaster turned to the side and grit his teeth. "What for? To reminisce? To talk about your feelings?"

"Nothing like that. I just had to tell him his mother doesn’t have much time left."

Hearing this, Ethan Lancaster suddenly felt as if his throat were stuffed with cotton.

Back at The Verdant Garden, Raina’s clothes were still damp. After a shower, she had no appetite and just picked at her dinner before going to sleep.

She was in a daze, her mind replaying that day at Aristor Hall when she had, in front of so many people, called Miles Hawthorne a heartless bastard, accusing his family of taking the benefits and leaving overnight without a word. She truly hadn’t known that Samuel Hawthorne’s life had also been lost that night.

She couldn’t imagine what threats and intimidation a teenage Miles Hawthorne must have endured back then. Raina was lost in a dreamlike state, yet her mind clearly recalled many details.

It was as if she could see Miles Hawthorne pleading, ’Help me.’ He was being held down by so many people, pinned to the ground, and the blood that covered the floor stained Raina’s vision red.

She cried and screamed but just couldn’t wake up, as if the nightmare was about to devour her.

Ethan Lancaster heard the sound of sobbing. He wasn’t asleep yet. He rolled over and looked at the person beside him.

Her features were scrunched together tightly, her face streaked with tears. Ethan Lancaster patted her shoulder. "Raina?"

She only cried more sorrowfully, and Ethan Lancaster’s heart sank bit by bit.

He knew, of course, that her tears weren’t for him. He was perfectly aware of who she had just seen.

Raina choked on her sobs in distress. Ethan Lancaster reached out and gave her cheek a sharp pinch. She finally startled awake, her opening eyes met by a handsome, striking face.

Raina reached out and hugged him tightly. Ethan Lancaster was quite surprised. His raised arm paused for a long moment before he finally hugged her back.

She burrowed her head into his chest, feeling as if she had found a safe place from which she never wanted to move.