Mr. Lancaster said nothing more and simply walked inside, leaving Ethan with no choice but to follow.
Stepping into the courtyard, Mr. Lancaster spotted Raina Reddington imdiately. Ethan hadn’t seen her in days. ’How has she gotten even thinner?’
Mr. Lancaster approached quietly. Raina’s eyes were shut tight, and she didn’t hear a thing.
She was singing. The lody was mournful and desolate, and Ethan only made out the words as he drew closer.
"Little child, so small, did you cry today? Has your family all gone away, leaving a loneliness you can’t escape..."
The words struck Mr. Lancaster, his eyes filling with a mix of heartache and complex emotions. Raina had changed the word "friends" to "family," and every line sounded like it was choked with tears. Ethan stared at her. She was bundled up in so many layers, yet her face was still deathly pale. He finally understood what Seth Sinclair ant when he said sothing wasn’t right.
’She’s so thin a gust of wind could blow her away.’
’So miserable, so depressed, yet not a single tear was left to cry.’
"Raina?"
Raina’s eyelids fluttered. ’I must have misheard,’ she thought, but opened her eyes anyway. "Grandfather?"
"It’s so hot today, why are you sitting out here?"
"It’s not hot. I just ca out for so fresh air."
Mr. Lancaster reached out to help her up. As he took her arm, he felt nothing but bone. "Have you not been eating lately? You’re all skin and bones."
"The heat... My appetite hasn’t been very good." Raina got up from the swing. She didn’t look at Ethan standing beside her, instead following Mr. Lancaster into the house.
Entering the living room, Mr. Lancaster surveyed the surroundings. On the coffee table sat several takeout containers and a half-eaten cup of instant noodles that had been left there.
Raina, sensing his disapproval, hurried over to clean up, but Mr. Lancaster stopped her. "Where’s the maid?"
She sohow managed a smile. "I sent her back to the Lancaster estate to help out."
"She did go back, but didn’t I order her to return to The Verdant Garden?" As he spoke, Mr. Lancaster’s gaze swept over to Ethan, who was standing nearby. "So where is she?"
"Grandfather, why are you getting so worked up?" Ethan sat down on the sofa. "Since neither of us would keep her, she obviously went to work for another family."
"So you just left The Verdant Garden empty?"
Ethan’s gaze landed on the coffee table. "Raina said it herself. She has all her als at the hospital, and she’s the one who sent the maid away. Don’t take your anger out on ."
"Grandfather, I was the one who told her to leave." She quickly tidied the table. "Please, sit. I’ll get you a glass of water."
Raina went into the kitchen, washed her hands, and got a glass. As she reached for the hot water dispenser, she thought about how she never expected Mr. Lancaster to show up so suddenly. ’Over the past few days, I’ve gotten used to being alone in The Verdant Garden, left to fend for myself.’
The water was about to overflow when Ethan pressed the stop button. Only then did Raina feel the scalding heat, and she quickly set the glass aside.
"So, you’ve resorted to playing the victim since neither threats nor pleas work on ?"
Raina poured out so of the water and started to leave, but Ethan grabbed her wrist. "I’m talking to you."
She stood her ground, refusing to even look at him. Ethan lowered his voice. "Don’t think for a second that I wanted to co back. If it weren’t for Grandfather, I wouldn’t bother setting foot in here."
’And where was "here"?’ It was their marital ho, the place everyone knew the Young Madam of the Lancaster Family lived.
Raina didn’t so much as lift her gaze. Ethan studied her profile. "Raina?"
’He refused to believe she hadn’t heard him after all that. She was just deliberately ignoring him.’
They remained at a standoff in the kitchen until Ethan finally let go. Once her hand was free, Raina hurried out.
The air conditioning was blasting inside. Raina sat on the sofa and pulled her jacket tighter around herself.
Mr. Lancaster took a sip of water. "Where have you been staying lately?"
The blunt question was, of course, directed at Ethan.
The corner of Ethan’s mouth twitched. "Ho."
"How many hos do you have?"
The words stung. Raina found it unbearable, and Ethan wasn’t faring much better. "Grandfather, what are you trying to get at?"
"Don’t think I’m clueless just because the family is in turmoil. Your father’s incident was an accident, and you’ve been forced to shoulder so much. I’ve seen it all. But that doesn’t give you a license to ss around."
A chill crept into Ethan’s voice. "You’re omniscient, so of course you know everything. In that case, I’m sure you must have also caught wind of the great Miss Reddington scouring every last club in Stoneworth by night?"
Upon hearing this, Mr. Lancaster looked over at Raina. She sat there demurely, not uttering a word. No explanation, no response. She was like a lifeless puppet.
"Raina?"
Raina was digging her slightly long fingernails into the back of her hand. Ethan looked over and raised his voice. "Don’t think staying silent will make this go away. It’s pathetic."
"I’m talking to you!" Mr. Lancaster pointed his cane at Ethan. "Starting today, you will return to The Verdant Garden every single day. I’ll have soone keep an eye on you. If you dare to ss around outside again, I’ll—"
For once, Ethan didn’t retort or say anything else.
"I already live here."
Mr. Lancaster scoffed. "Good. Then rember your own words."
As Mr. Lancaster was leaving, he pulled Raina aside to offer so parting advice. "Raina, try to make things work with Ethan. He’s not a lost cause. He really does have feelings for you..."
Raina wanted to laugh, but she couldn’t even manage to curl her lips into a smile.
Ethan stood a short distance away, straining to listen. He heard his grandfather’s words and discreetly glanced over to gauge Raina’s reaction.
’He wanted to see a flicker of emotion on her face, the slightest sign of softening, but he was once again disappointed.’
After Mr. Lancaster left, only she and Ethan remained in The Verdant Garden. She felt incredibly awkward, as if the air were thick with drifting willow fluff, irritating and inescapable.
They were in the sa bedroom. Ethan paced back and forth, trying to make his presence felt, while Raina stared at her phone, seemingly at nothing in particular.
The man sat on the edge of the bed, grasping for sothing to say. "You’re the one who called Grandfather, aren’t you?"
The room was silent. Raina kept her head bowed, not even lifting her gaze.
"Using Grandfather to pressure ... so what if you got to co ho? My legs are my own. I can leave whenever I please."
Ethan waited for Raina to retort with, "Then go," but she continued to treat him as if he were invisible. ’It felt like punching a wad of cotton—utterly, suffocatingly frustrating.’
"Raina, say sothing!"
’She was really trying to drive him insane.’
Raina looked out the window. The last sliver of daylight was swallowed by the encroaching darkness. ’It was only in such profound blackness that the debauched and dissolute souls would co out to play.’
Seeing it was about ti, Raina stood up and walked into the closet. She erged a mont later, having draped a slightly thicker coat over her shoulders.
Ethan saw her walking quickly towards the door. "Where are you going?"
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