Chapter 5

Charlotte POV

When Ethan came home that night, he was still full of apologies, apologizing one sentence after another.

Listening to those practiced apologies, I only felt like each sentence was a knife gouging at my heart.

Since when had our time together consisted of nothing but apologies and forgiveness?

Ethan's shirt was still wrinkled, and the faint scent of perfume on his collar reminded me of who he'd abandoned me to see tonight.

I looked at him steadily. "Mom and Dad said when you have another woman, my good life will be over. I said I'd divorce you then."

Ethan's expression changed immediately. He pulled me into his arms.

"Charlotte, what are you talking about? What other woman? There's no other woman. Only you. In this life, there's only you."

My heart ached so much it felt like it would explode.

The urge to tell him I knew everything had never torn at my reason as crazily as it did now.

But in the end, I swallowed all those words.

I couldn't say it.

In just over a week, I'd be gone.

If I said it, I wouldn't be able to leave.

Ethan once said that unless he died, he would never let me leave.

That night, I lay on the bed with my back to him, hiding far away on the edge.

The gap between us could fit a grown man.

Ethan looked at that empty space in the middle of the bed, seeming to sense something was wrong.

He moved closer, holding me tightly in his arms, his chin resting on top of my head.

I didn't respond, but I didn't refuse either.

Who knows, this might be the last time we'd fall asleep embracing like this.

The next day, the real estate agent called saying a buyer was interested in my old house and wanted to meet with me.

The price I'd set was quite a bit lower than market value, so our negotiation went very smoothly.

On the drive back after signing the contract, the sky was overcast and thick fog had risen on the road. Visibility was less than sixty feet.

As my car reached an intersection, a car that came speeding around the corner crashed into me.

The violent impact made my forehead hit the steering wheel, and everything went dark.

My arm was also trapped in the car. Blood trickled down from my temple.

I didn't have the strength to get out and deal with the hit-and-run driver. I could only use what little energy I had left to call the police.

After calling the police, I instinctively wanted to call Ethan.

I dialed several times, but the line was always busy.

My vision grew increasingly blurry, the light gradually fading.

In a daze, I seemed to see Ethan's anxious figure running over from not far away.

I wanted to call out to him but couldn't make a sound.

And Ethan wasn't running toward my car.

He was running toward the other car, the one that had hit me.

He reached in and carefully lifted the person inside out, looking heartbroken, anxiously negotiating something with the police.

I saw clearly.

The person in his arms was Ivy.

My world plunged into darkness.

When I woke up again, I was already lying in a hospital bed.

My forehead and arm were both wrapped in bandages. My whole body ached.

I picked up my phone. The screen was empty. No missed calls, no unread messages.

Of course. His mistress had been in a car accident. How could he have time to care about me?

I laughed at myself mockingly.

I shouldn't have had any expectations of him.

I kept reminding myself. When the time comes, just leave. Absolutely no wavering, no lingering attachment.

He wasn't worth it.

Ethan's call didn't come until the afternoon of the next day.

"Charlotte, why aren't you home?"

More than a full day had passed since the accident, and Mr. Sterling only just noticed I wasn't home.

"I was in a car accident. I'm at the hospital." My tone was calm.

"What? Which hospital? When did this happen?"

I pulled at the corner of my mouth.

His first concern was the time and place, not how badly I was hurt.

"Yesterday morning. Central Hospital."

The sound of a phone dropping came through the receiver.

Soon the phone was picked back up, and Ethan's voice trembled slightly. "Charlotte, how badly are you hurt? I... I'll be right there!"

I didn't answer. I simply hung up.

I opened my email. Sure enough, there was another new message.

This time it was a video, from the next room over. Ethan had stayed with Ivy all night, very attentive to her.

The man leaned down by Ivy's ear, his voice hoarse and frightening. "You're pregnant. Why were you driving? Wherever you want to go, I'll have the driver take you!"

I closed my eyes tightly.

So they had a child.

No wonder that night he'd rather leave me alone at his parents' house than stay with his mistress.

No wonder when he heard I'd been in an accident, he was so anxious he didn't even check whose car had been hit.

I thought I'd have tears.

But strangely, this time not a single tear fell.

Good thing I'd processed the divorce with him.

Otherwise this child would have to be a bastard.

I laughed coldly to myself.

Before long, Ethan burst into the hospital room.

The man's hair hung messily over his forehead, his suit and tie were askew, his eyes bloodshot.

His expression looked worried, guilty, and panicked all at once.

"Charlotte, how are you? Where are you hurt? I'm sorry, I..."

The excuse "there was an emergency at the company" had been used too many times.

Clearly, even Ethan himself couldn't keep up the pretense this time.

I lifted my eyes and looked at him quietly.

"The one who hit me was Ivy, wasn't it?"