Private Marriage, Secret Love-Chapter 68: Stop Hitting Him

Raina’s smile froze. Her hands unconsciously clasped together. "Wh-what thing?"

"I find it strange too. Frederick Lynch doesn’t seem like a brainless idiot. He either panicked and wasn’t thinking straight, or he was absolutely certain. He probably searched Miles Hawthorne as well..."

Raina felt an uncomfortable tightness in her chest. She clutched the hem of her dress. "I don’t know why they’re targeting me. I haven’t taken anything from the Lynch Family."

"You didn’t take it, but is it possible... someone gave it to you?"

Raina denied it instantly. "No."

A slight smile played on Ethan Lancaster’s lips. She was unwilling to talk, and even less willing to tell him what had really happened.

A phone began to ring insistently. Ethan Lancaster picked his up, glanced at it, and didn’t answer.

In the cramped space, the ringing sounded like a death sentence, going on and on. Finally, it stopped, and Raina’s phone began to ring instead. She looked at the caller ID—it was the Lancaster family’s landline.

Raina glanced at Ethan Lancaster hesitantly. Seeing this, he snatched the phone from her.

"Hello."

After hearing Ethan Lancaster’s voice, the person on the other end, who had been suppressing their anger, exploded. "You get your ass back home right now! Immediately!"

"Dad, we haven’t even had dinner yet."

Zachary Lancaster was so angry he was gritting his teeth. "You come over here, and I’ll give you a thrashing you won’t forget."

"I’m not coming."

"Fine. Do you want me to get Grandpa and hunt you down at The Verdant Garden together?"

Ethan Lancaster hung up, annoyed. His face was grim, and the atmosphere around him seemed to freeze over. Raina said nothing. Seth Sinclair glanced at the back seat. "Fourth Master?"

"Let’s go."

"Yes, sir."

Raina glanced at him from the corner of her eye. The car quickly returned to the Lancaster estate. Seth Sinclair didn’t get out. When Raina saw Ethan Lancaster push open his door, she followed him out.

The two of them walked into the living room. Ethan Lancaster didn’t even bother to change his shoes. No one was in the room besides Zachary Lancaster. Hearing their footsteps, Zachary looked up.

He said nothing, simply snatched the remote control from the coffee table and charged forward. Seeing that things were about to get ugly, Raina cried out anxiously, "Dad, don’t!"

Ethan Lancaster was long used to this. When the remote came flying at him, he blocked it with his arm. He was taller than Zachary Lancaster, and the blow landed hard on his forearm, shattering the remote into two pieces. The batteries tumbled out.

"You’ve gotten bold! Causing a scene at an event like that! If I let you run any more rampant, will you start murdering people next?"

Ethan Lancaster rubbed his arm. Raina was stunned speechless. Still fuming, Zachary Lancaster started looking for something else to throw. Raina quickly ran over to stop him. "Dad, this wasn’t his fault. Please, let us explain first."

"Raina," Zachary Lancaster pointed to the nearby sofa. "You go sit down. Stay out of this."

He spotted an ashtray on the table and was about to grab it and charge again. Raina, who had never witnessed such a scene, spread her arms to shield Ethan Lancaster. "The Lynch Family went too far tonight! Ethan didn’t do anything wrong! He’s not wrong!"

Zachary Lancaster was burning with rage. If Raina hadn’t been blocking him, he would have already thrown the ashtray. "He burned down their house! How can he possibly be in the right?"

"What are you all arguing about?" Mr. Lancaster came down the stairs, leaning on his cane, with Jessica Jacobs carefully supporting him. "Dad, please, walk slower."

The two entered the living room. Jessica Jacobs also knew what had happened. She was both anxious and angry, but couldn’t get a word in edgewise.

Mr. Lancaster sat down on the sofa. Seeing Raina still protectively shielding Ethan with her arms, he asked, "What’s this? Since when do the men of the Lancaster family need to hide behind a woman?"

Ethan Lancaster, with a cheeky grin, wrapped his arms around Raina’s waist from behind. "So what? Survival is what’s important."

"Ethan!"

"Mom," Raina said, full of guilt and anxious that Ethan wasn’t explaining himself. "This all started because of me. And the Lynch Family started it. They insisted I had taken something of theirs and even locked me up to search me."

"What?" Jessica Jacobs’s voice rose in anger. "The nerve of them! And now the villain plays the victim."

Zachary Lancaster’s temper finally subsided a little. Raina explained the whole story again. Mr. Lancaster pointed to the opposite sofa. "Sit down first."

"No thanks," Ethan Lancaster didn’t want to stay a moment longer. "We’re still starving. We’re going home."

"I’ll have the staff make something..."

Although Ethan Lancaster had a smile on his face, his words were filled with rejection. "Don’t want to eat. We’re leaving."

Raina stood her ground. Ethan Lancaster reached out to pull her along, but she glanced at his arm.

"Dad, there’s something I’d like to say, if I may."

Zachary Lancaster raised his gaze. "What is it?"

"I hope that you won’t raise a hand to Ethan again in the future. You can rest assured, I’ll keep a close eye on him when he’s being reckless. It’s best for a family to live in peace and harmony."

Mr. Lancaster looked quite surprised. Jessica Jacobs’s expression also softened considerably as she stole a glance at Raina.

"Raina, this kid has been a troublemaker since he was little. If I don’t discipline him, he’d tear the sky down." Zachary Lancaster had always been a firm believer in corporal punishment.

"He won’t. I’m here now, so he definitely won’t."

Mr. Lancaster saw the young couple standing together. It was a vast improvement from when they had just gotten married. At least now they knew how to protect each other.

"Alright. Grandpa promises no one will lay a hand on him again. You two should live well together."

"Okay."

Jessica Jacobs walked them out. Raina walked beside Ethan Lancaster. That blow earlier looked like it could have broken his bone. Raina reached out and patted his arm, and the man cried out in mock agony. "You’re killing me!"

"I thought it didn’t hurt."

"You try getting hit like that."

Raina suppressed her smile. "I always thought the Fourth Master of the Lancaster family was the epitome of a domineering CEO—walks with his chin in the air, no one dares get within ten feet of him, a man everyone outside has to respect. How could he let his family beat him up so casually?"

With Ethan Lancaster’s rebellious nature, he should have fought back long ago.

"It’s the same as you. When you don’t want to lose something, you’ll always have moments where you have to give in."

Raina stopped in her tracks to look at him. "Don’t want to lose what?"

"Back when I was in high school, I made my dad so angry once that he had to be rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment..." Ethan Lancaster walked a few more steps. Noticing Raina hadn’t followed, he stopped too, but he didn’t turn around. His gaze drifted far into the distance. "He was so close, so close to not making it. The doctor had my mom sign the critical condition notice..."

Ethan Lancaster stopped speaking and kicked a stone at his feet. "Raina, I don’t know what you were hiding today, but as long as it won’t harm the Lancaster family, I can let it go."

Raina’s lips moved, and she took two steps to catch up.

"It won’t be used against me, right?"

If she said yes, it would be an admission that she had hidden something. But he was so sharp; how could she possibly have pulled the wool over his eyes?

Raina gave a slight nod. "It won’t."