When Gwen Sharp walked into the private room, only Al was clueless enough to call out, "Hey, sis-in-law."
Ethan Lancaster’s eye twitched. He looked up and shot Al a venomous glare. "Want to rip your mouth off?"
"Fourth Master." Gwen Sharp approached Ethan Lancaster’s side. Seeing the cuts on Caron Fairchild’s face as he sat with his head down in silence, she knew this was not the ti to walk into the line of fire.
A waiter pushed the door open to deliver their drinks, and Gwen gingerly sat down beside Ethan.
She arranged the exquisite little cups on the table, then picked up a bottle and filled each one to the brim.
Al took out a tip and handed it to the waiter. "Get out."
"Yes, thank you, thank you."
Caron Fairchild gently pressed a finger to the corner of his mouth. "What are you doing here?"
"Soone told the Fourth Master was here and had too much to drink, so they asked to co pick him up."
Al scratched his head. "That’s impossible. The Fourth Master just got here. He hasn’t had a single drop."
Caron knew sothing was off about this whole situation. His brow furrowed as he quickly put the pieces together. "Get soone to check who called her. They must have so kind of ulterior motive."
"Motive?" Ethan Lancaster sneered, looking at Gwen Sharp beside him. "I’d say the motive is pretty damn clear. Wasn’t it just to get you close to ?"
Caron irritably grabbed a glass of liquor and downed it in one go. "Just what has Raina Reddington done to bewitch you?"
"Fourth Master, I really only ca because soone called . If you don’t believe , I can show you my call history..." Before Gwen Sharp could even take out her phone, Ethan shoved her to the ground. He pressed a hand on the back of her neck, forcing her face against the glass coffee table.
"Back at the old stomping grounds. Feeling nostalgic? I told you to get out. Do my words just go in one ear and out the other? Since you love coming back here so much, then drink! Drink like you did with all those clients you used to entertain. Drink up!"
Tears welled in Gwen Sharp’s eyes, and her voice trembled. "Fourth Master, please don’t..."
The sight of her infuriated Ethan. Just looking at Gwen’s face inevitably brought back mories of what happened three years ago. His humiliation and neglect of Raina had been the cause, and her desperate leap had been the effect. He was the one who started it all, but Gwen had been the sharpest sword in his hand. She was the one who had sliced Raina to ribbons, turning her into the laughingstock of all of Stoneworth.
Ethan couldn’t unleash his anger on himself, so he took it all out on Gwen.
He grabbed a glass and started forcing alcohol down her throat. Gwen didn’t dare struggle against him, swallowing one mouthful after another until she choked and could only cry.
Caron couldn’t care less if she lived or died. He’d had far too much to drink tonight, and his head was splitting. He rubbed his temples. "What happened today was my fault, okay? Besides, it’s not like anything actually happened, right?"
The empty glass in Ethan’s hand smashed at Caron’s feet. The man’s brow tightened. "Fourth Master, are you serious? Don’t you forget who was responsible for what happened to your father."
Al quickly tried to diate. "We all grew up together, we know how everyone is. Isn’t this just so stuff between won?"
Gwen remained sprawled on the floor, not daring to move. Caron loosened his tie, a strange heat rising within him.
Ethan sat back down on the sofa. His phone vibrated twice. He glanced at the caller ID—it was Raina Reddington.
He answered imdiately. "Hello."
"Where are you?" Raina’s voice was low. "I woke up and I’m all alone. I’m scared."
"I’m coming back right now." Ethan stood up, worried that she was truly terrified. "Turn on the lights. If that’s not enough, turn on the TV. I’ll be ho in a minute."
Gwen didn’t need to guess who was on the other end of the line. ’Raina actually went back to The Verdant Garden so soon?’ Tears stread down her face as she crawled forward and threw her arms around Ethan’s legs.
The man glanced down, his expression as cold as ice. On the other end of the line, Raina urged, "I can’t even get the door open. Hurry back."
"Okay."
Ethan hung up, bent down, and rcilessly pushed Gwen away. He looked up and saw Al still sitting there. "Let’s go. What are you still doing here?"
Al glanced at Caron, then stood up and followed Ethan out. Once they were outside the private room, Al tried to put in a good word for Caron. "Fourth Master, he can be a bit of a bastard sotis, but his heart’s in the right place..."
Ethan remained silent. When they reached the parking lot, he finally said to Al, "Go ho. Stay out of this."
"Okay... alright."
Back in the private room, Gwen was slumped on the floor. Caron’s head was bowed, his breathing abnormally heavy. As a regular in places like this, he had a pretty good idea he’d been drugged. He tried to stand and leave but tripped on sothing underfoot.
He pitched forward, landing right on top of Gwen. Instead of pushing him off, she wrapped her arms tightly around him.
From the outside, the door to the room was gently pulled shut, and the yellow "Do Not Disturb" sign exclusive to The Regalia Palace was hung on the handle.
Ethan rushed back to The Verdant Garden. He looked up toward the bedroom and saw the lights were on.
He felt a wave of relief and reassurance. He hurried upstairs, opened the bedroom door, and saw Raina Reddington sitting on the edge of the bed. "Where did you go?"
"Sothing ca up. I had to go take care of it."
Ethan tossed his jacket aside and walked over to Raina, bending down in front of her. "Were you too scared to sleep?"
"I was afraid this place might be haunted."
Ethan’s newly relaxed expression stiffened slightly. "Even now, you still won’t admit that you’re her."
"I need to go ho. It’s so late, my family will be worried."
The light in Ethan’s eyes dimd, and an uncontrollable chill crept into his tone. "Family? You abandoned your real family."
Raina turned her face away. "I’m tired."
"Then sleep." Ethan took her by the shoulders, trying to get her to lie down.
Raina shoved his arms away, annoyed. "I’m a light sleeper to begin with. If you hadn’t locked in here and then taken off, I might have actually gotten so rest."
Ethan patiently apologized. "Okay, my fault."
He took his phone out of his pocket, turned it off, and placed it on the nightstand. "Go to sleep. I promise I won’t bother you."
Raina lay down on the bed, pulling the covers over herself and burrowing into them. ’I have to stay here tonight,’ she thought. ’If I make a scene and insist on leaving now, it’ll make what I did earlier seem too deliberate.’
Ethan went to the bathroom for a quick shower. When he ca out, Raina was already asleep. He moved quietly as he lay down beside her, wrapping an arm around her to pull her into his embrace.
The bedroom lights were turned off. Raina tried to turn over, not expecting Ethan to still be awake.
Their faces were almost touching. The man’s uneven breaths fell upon her ear. "Can’t sleep?"
Raina quickly shut her eyes, pretending she had just been turning over in her sleep. Ethan’s palm caressed her side, and she instantly felt the skin there burn.
Finally, the man’s mischievous fingers lifted the hem of her shirt, his fingertips brushing against the bare skin of her waist.
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