Chapter 5

Ethan Bennett’s warm fingertips gently brushed over every inch of my scars, and I felt that warmth, but I still curled up and did not want to face him.

“Lee, I was wrong.”

Ever since I confessed, he had never called me by my nickname again, and the warm memories of the past played in my mind like a movie.

I trembled and tried to move away from him, tears dripping down uncontrollably.

“Lee, I shouldn’t have sent you in for forced treatment. I didn’t realize my own feelings... I love you... Can you forgive me...” Ethan Bennett touched my wet hair as he confessed to me.

I had thought he sent me to treatment because he was “homophobic,” but in the end, he loved me.

“Lee, we can start over. I’ll treat you well.” He draped a bath towel over me, carried me back to the bed, and gently, carefully wiped away my tears as he spoke in a soft voice.

“Ethan... I can’t start over...” I pulled the towel around my body and refused his touch.

Ethan Bennett stared at me with red eyes, and after pressing his lips tightly together in silence, he said, “There’s nothing that can’t be started over. I’ll book you the best therapist and find the best doctors. Everything can be fixed. I’ll handle Mom and Dad. We can move to another city, forget all these unhappy things, and, Lee, can you love me one more time?”