Chapter 2

"Enough!"

As if he couldn't bear it anymore, Ethan suddenly roared.

"I told her to wear the clothes."

"Last time she was here, it got too late, so I let her stay the night and found her one of your shirts."

"It's just one outfit."

"If you want, I'll buy you another one, exactly the same!"

"It's not the same!"

I screamed back, my face a mess.

Veins bulged on the back of his hand as he repeatedly asked me,

"How is it not the same? Is it just because you don't like her?"

"I've paid her debt for the money you wanted."

"Ten times the amount, is that enough?!"

"Why are you harassing a young girl?!"

My ears throbbed, and my palms tingled; I gasped for air.

"You're paying for her? What makes you her protector?"

"She's a criminal. Where do you get such a huge sense of responsibility?"

"Time after time, she does this on purpose. Ethan, are you blind? Can't you see it?"

We argued at the top of our lungs.

"You only took her mother's case as her defense attorney."

"There are professionals to look after her, to guide her."

"She clings to you, and you just let her."

"Can't you see she likes you?"

His words weren't just words; they were needles, piercing me where I was most vulnerable.

"Sarah, shut up!"

"Do you have any empathy? How can you be so vicious?"

"She made mistakes, but does she have to be bound by her past forever?"

"You keep calling her a criminal. Why are you acting so superior?"

In the midst of our argument, Chloe ran out, as if she couldn't stand it anymore.

Ethan moved to follow, but I blocked his path, tears streaming down my face.

"Don't you dare leave!"

"If you walk out that door today, we're over."

Ethan ignored my tears, his voice filled with rage.

"Sarah, I told you."

"The only reason Chloe bullied others at school was because her parents neglected her. She made mistakes because she grew up in a loveless home."

"She's not bad at heart."

"The court only ordered probation."

"What right do you have to insult her?"

"I defended her, I believe in her, so she relies on me, she's willing to listen to me and make amends."

"Why wouldn't I look after her?"

"Are you really going to be as cold-hearted as you are, and abandon a child's future?"

His last sentence was slow and cold.

"Now I even wonder if you did something between you and Chloe."

His phone rang.

Chloe's name flickered like a persistent ghost.

I wouldn't let Ethan answer.

He tried to snatch it.

He yanked me, slamming me against the wall with a loud thud.

My foot was still injured; I couldn't stand steadily and collapsed to the floor.

His phone also fell, and a spiderweb of cracks spread across the screen.

Ethan's eyes blazed with fury.

My tailbone, back, and lower abdomen screamed in agony; every word I spoke made me gasp.

"Ethan, help me up..."

His eyes were fixed on the leaking phone screen.

He fumbled with it, his hand slipping three or four times before he finally answered.

He tried to pull me up from the floor.

"You're coming with me."

"You're going to apologize to Chloe for what you said!"

Chloe's voice leaked from the phone, crying and yelling, "I don't want to see her! I don't!"

I flailed in Ethan's grasp like a duck whose neck was being squeezed.

He tossed me away again, and I fell back down with a heavy thud.

The room darkened with the fading light outside.

Ethan rushed out, the hallway light casting his face in a chiaroscuro of light and shadow.

"And another thing."

"So what if Chloe likes me?"

"It's normal for a young girl to have a crush; she just needs proper guidance."

"Not for you to act like a maniac, just because you're jealous of a little girl."

"Today isn't about you threatening to break up with me."

"It's about whether you can bear the consequences if Chloe gets hurt."

My fingers curled up in pain, and I melted into a heap on the floor.

It took a long time for me to find the strength to respond.