By the ti Gwen Sharp was brought into The Verdant Garden, her eyes were swollen from crying.
Ethan Lancaster sat on the swing in the courtyard, his feet tapping the ground, his gaze fixed on the lawn beneath him.
"Fourth Master..." Gwen Sharp’s voice was thick with tears. She sobbed for a good while, unable to speak.
Ethan Lancaster toyed with a lighter in his hand. A fla would WHOOSH to life, then CLICK shut, over and over. He watched it, lost in thought, but said nothing.
Seth Sinclair stood to the side, his brow furrowed. "Miss Sharp, if you have sothing to say, say it. Stop crying."
"Fourth Master..."
Ethan Lancaster acted as if he hadn’t heard. Gwen Sharp simply squatted down, carefully placing a hand on his leg. "I’m too ashad to go on living."
"What’s wrong?" Ethan Lancaster finally spoke.
"My mom just called . She said soone went to our house and stirred up trouble, exposing my relationship with you. They said I used to work in... that kind of place, that I ddled in soone else’s family, and that even now I’m just a kept woman without any proper standing. And... and there are old photos of ..."
Gwen Sharp was too embarrassed to say it herself. She had worked at The Regalia Palace, but that was years ago. Still, soone had dug up photos of her being hugged and held by clients, and now those pictures were plastered all over her village.
Mrs. Sharp had been crying and screaming on the phone and was now on her way over.
"Fourth Master, I really don’t know what to do..."
"So you co to . What can I do to help you?" Ethan Lancaster leaned down. Gwen Sharp completely lost her composure. "My mom isn’t well. She can’t handle this kind of shock. Fourth Master, please help ."
"When did this happen?"
"Just now. An... an hour ago."
’She sure moves fast.’
’Does Raina Reddington think I’ll be scared just because she went after Gwen Sharp?’
’I went after the person she held dearest, so she’s copying and going after Gwen Sharp?’
Ethan Lancaster didn’t know whether to laugh or feel sorrow. After all, it was Raina Reddington who had pulled Gwen Sharp out of that hellhole in the first place. Raina was always forthright. Back then, even when he and Gwen had ganged up to bully her so horribly, she never exposed them in front of Mrs. Sharp. Yet now, for Ian Sinclair’s sake, she had practically ruined Gwen’s future.
People from a place like that care imnsely about their reputation. After the scene Raina had caused, Gwen Sharp would probably never be able to go back.
"Fourth Master, please help ."
The words gave Ethan Lancaster a headache. ’Can this woman say anything else?’
"I can’t help you."
Gwen Sharp’s tears stread down her face. "That can’t be true. There’s nothing the Fourth Master can’t solve. We just need to find a way to convince the people back ho that the photos were doctored, that soone frad . Then this will all blow over."
"If you have it all figured out, why don’t you do it yourself?"
"Fourth Master..."
The gates to The Verdant Garden were open. When Raina Reddington drove up, she t no resistance and slowly drove her car inside.
"Fourth Master, the Young Madam is here."
Ethan Lancaster brushed Gwen Sharp’s hand off his leg. He stood up and saw Raina Reddington’s car entering the courtyard.
She suddenly slamd on the accelerator. The car sped over the cobblestone path, crushed the newly grown lawn, and caught several bougainvillea plants in its wheels, yanking them up by the roots. Ethan Lancaster’s expression changed slightly as he strode forward.
Gwen Sharp was still squatting in her previous position. Hearing the commotion behind her, she scrambled to her feet.
Raina Reddington rolled down the window, leaning out slightly. "Where is he?"
Ethan Lancaster’s gaze was still fixed on the bougainvillea. The ample afternoon sunlight was warm, spilling across his handso face. "Since you’re here, I’ll definitely let him go."
"I’m taking him with now."
"Do you think that’s possible?"
Raina Reddington gripped the steering wheel, her eyes flicking to Gwen Sharp standing behind him.
Gwen Sharp, still sniffling, spoke cautiously. "Did you do this? Why would you do sothing like this?"
"Fourth Master, doesn’t it break your heart to see your woman crying like this?"
Ethan Lancaster’s expression was indifferent. It seed Gwen Sharp’s tears were worth less to him than the flowers and grass being crushed under her tires.
"Let take him back, and we’ll drop this matter."
Ethan Lancaster raised an eyebrow. "And if I don’t?"
Raina Reddington tightened her grip on the steering wheel, her gaze sweeping across the courtyard. The place was completely different from when she had left. A glass conservatory had been added behind the swing, surrounded by climbing flowering trees. Two vintage decorative lamps hung by the conservatory’s entrance. On the few bluestone slabs nearly swallowed by the lawn, a few wind-blown leaves lay scattered.
’Don’t tell he’s been living here for the past three years?’
’Isn’t he afraid of being haunted by a vengeful spirit?’
Ethan Lancaster watched Raina Reddington, noticing she was montarily lost in thought. ’She should be able to see the effort I put in. This is our ho. I’ve redecorated it all just to wait for her to co back.’
Raina Reddington coldly averted her gaze. "I’ll ask you one last ti. Are you letting him go, or not?"
Ethan Lancaster’s chest tightened. Seth Sinclair, standing to the side, frowned as he heard Ethan say, "I’m not."
Raina Reddington gripped the steering wheel again. She tapped the accelerator and the car moved forward. Seth Sinclair was afraid she would lose control and do sothing reckless.
He grabbed Ethan Lancaster’s arm, but was pushed away. "I don’t believe she has the guts."
"Fourth Master!"
Seth Sinclair didn’t dare take that risk. Plus, Gwen Sharp was still here. What if Raina rembered their past and acted on impulse?
Raina Reddington’s car drove forward. Ethan Lancaster stood rooted to the spot. ’All I have to do is floor it, and my world will finally be quiet.’
Raina’s foot tapped down, and the car quickly reached Ethan Lancaster. But in the end, her impulse was reined in by reason.
’Is he even worth paying with my life?’
Raina Reddington had fought so hard to live; she cherished her life more than anyone.
She jerked the steering wheel hard, and the car veered toward the gardenias that filled the yard. Ethan had painstakingly managed to get them to grow, and they were now blooming for the first ti this year. The small white blossoms looked like fresh snow dotting the green leaves. He didn’t believe Raina had truly forgotten. She had once told him she loved the scent of gardenias because almost every ho in Hemlock Village had them in their yard. It was the scent of her hotown.
But it seed she truly had forgotten.
The car plowed into the flowerbeds. Countless newly opened blossoms were instantly crushed, and trembling buds clung to broken stems.
Ethan Lancaster’s breath hitched. Seth Sinclair shouted anxiously, "Young Madam, don’t!"
The title grated on Raina Reddington’s ears. She yanked the wheel again, the tires mangling an entire row of gardenias. So were trampled so deep into the mud that they were surely beyond saving.
Ethan Lancaster felt his heart being violently torn to shreds. The things he treasured so much were being utterly destroyed by the person he treasured most.
’All I want is for her to co ho. Why won’t she?’
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