Chapter 4

I nearly broke down.

It was Ethan again.

“Ava, I couldn’t reach you, so I had to contact your parents. They said you were hospitalized. I was really worried…”

I smiled bleakly. “We’ve already broken up. I don’t need your concern. Leave.”

He shook his head desperately.

Like a child who had done something wrong, he half-knelt beside my hospital bed.

“Ava, I won’t break up with you.”

His voice trembled, and he gripped my hand tightly, refusing to let go.

It was as if he was truly terrified of losing me.

I looked at him calmly and said, “If you stay with me, what happens to Chloe?”

Like a madman, he slammed his fist into the wall.

“I broke up with her a long time ago. Even if she dies, it has nothing to do with me!”

I clearly caught the way his gaze dodged as he spoke.

His stubborn attempt to say the opposite of what he meant was honestly laughable.

“Fine. Then call Chloe over, and we’ll make things clear.”

I knew Ethan didn’t want to break up with me, but he also wanted to keep entangling himself with Chloe.

Then I would call Chloe over and let everyone end this properly.

I would leave, and they could rot together.

After hesitating, Ethan still called Chloe.

After hanging up, he promised me with absolute confidence, “Ava, don’t worry. When she gets here, I’ll make her give up in front of you.”

He gently wrapped an arm around my shoulders.

His body still carried the woody perfume scent that belonged to Chloe.

I only found it ironic.

Ten minutes later, Chloe arrived.

She stumbled into the hospital room and, without saying a word, threw herself into Ethan’s arms.

“Ethan, I was already standing by the river just now. If you hadn’t called me, I would have jumped by now.”

Ethan’s eyes nearly split with rage, and he gripped her shoulders hard.

“Can you fucking stop making a scene? Do you want to die that badly?”

His tone was full of helplessness, and also heartache.

Chloe bit her lip tightly, and tears the size of beans kept falling.

“What do you think? You’re about to marry someone else. What’s the point of me staying alive?”

“I can swear that Ryan and I really had no affair. I’ve lived thirty years, and you’re the only man I’ve ever had!”

Ethan let out two bitter laughs and glared at Chloe viciously.

“Who the fuck are you trying to fool? When I pulled back the blanket, neither of you had clothes on! Ryan was my best friend, and you were the woman I loved most! The two of you teamed up to cheat on me! Do you fucking know how badly I wanted to die back then?”

Chloe was already sobbing so hard she could barely breathe.

“I know. I know you hate me. Even dating Ava was your way of getting revenge on me.”

“Do you still remember? The first time you two slept together, you sent me a photo of the two of you in bed. You asked me if it hurt… It did hurt, but I hate even more that you’re marrying a woman you don’t love just to get revenge on me!”

Chloe swayed unsteadily, and her bloodshot eyes turned toward me.

She staggered to my bedside and said through sobs, “Ava, we’re the ones who wronged you.”

“The two of us tortured each other, and we dragged you in as collateral damage.”

With trembling hands, she took out her phone and handed it to me.

“Look. The first time you held hands, the first time you kissed, the first time you slept together, he messaged me every time.”

“He only found another woman to get revenge on me…”

It felt as if a huge hole had been dug out of my heart.

Those countless messages were like countless needles, stabbing me until I was riddled with wounds.

[I kissed her. It felt much better than kissing you.]

[She’s more obedient than you. She does whatever I want in bed, unlike you, always so delicate and crying pain the moment I use a little strength.]

[We’re getting married, you little lunatic. Stay far away from now on. Don’t let me see you again, and don’t make my heart hurt again.]

Chloe tugged on my sleeve. “Do you see it now? He never loved you.”

“So, Ava, I’m begging you, be generous and let him go… Do you really want to be my substitute for the rest of your life?”

She pleaded bitterly with me, as if I were the third party in this relationship.

…A substitute?

The pain in my chest reached its peak.

I didn’t want to see this pair of “star-crossed lovers” for even one more second.

I got up to leave, but Chloe grabbed my arm tightly.

“Ava, I’m begging you. Let us go. Stop clinging to Ethan…”

I could no longer bear it and pushed her away.

“Stay away from me!”

I clearly hadn’t used much force, yet she fell backward, clutching her waist with both hands as tears streamed down her face from the pain.

“My waist…”

“Chloe!”

Before I could react, a violent pain suddenly came from my back.

My whole body lost balance, and someone slammed me hard onto the floor.

My head hit the sharp corner of the table, and blood flowed from the back of my head into my collar, staining my hospital gown red.

I covered the wound and struggled to turn back, only to meet Ethan’s fierce gaze.

“Ava, you can do whatever you want to me because I owe you, but can you not touch her?”

After saying that, he gently helped Chloe up, then picked her up in his arms and walked out.

Even after he left the hospital room, he never looked back at me once.

Trembling from the pain, I staggered and crawled to the bedside, then called the police first.

Then I called Ethan’s PhD advisor, my father.

“Hello… Dad, I was beaten by Ethan Parker and his mistress.”