Chapter 3

Time seemed to freeze.

The girl looked over in shock, meeting my gaze without any evasion.

Ethan stiffly turned around slowly, forcing out a smile.

"Serena, how did you get here?"

After saying it, he probably realized his tone was stiff and softened a bit.

"Why didn't you tell me in advance? I would have picked you up."

I didn't say anything.

The atmosphere became somewhat awkward for a moment.

Ethan walked over, grabbing my hand to explain.

"Don't misunderstand. This is Tara. She helped me pick out gifts for business partners today."

I smiled. "Being a boss isn't easy for you. You even have to give your employees massages."

Ethan looked at my expression, maintaining surface composure as he told Tara to leave.

"Thank you for today. You can go home now."

Tara bit her lip, her tone dejected. "Alright, Mr. Miller. I won't disturb you two then."

Only the two of us remained in the room.

Ethan crouched in front of me, his words sincere.

"Tara's used to being casual. I forgot myself for a moment. Even if you hadn't come today, I wouldn't have let her stay."

I stared at him for a few seconds. "I'm a bit hungry."

Ethan exhaled, relaxing considerably.

He ruffled my hair. "Then I'll take you to eat. What do you want?"

"Hot pot."

When we reached the entrance, Ethan's footsteps suddenly stopped.

"Let me change clothes. Can you wait a moment?"

I nodded.

Ethan quickly walked into the master bedroom.

Click—a soft sound as the door locked from inside.

I suddenly realized that changing clothes might just be an excuse.

There was probably something he needed to hide that he didn't want me to see.

Twenty minutes later.

Ethan came out changed, the bracelet on his wrist gone.

He was as considerate as ever.

The dishes he ordered were all my favorites, and the sauce he mixed for me suited my taste perfectly.

Ethan barely ate, several times probing my intentions for coming.

He thought my sudden appearance was due to distrust.

What used to be a pleasant surprise was now suspicion.

"We've been together for so many years. Do you really think I'm that unreliable?"

Seeing my silence, his patience ran out.

"Serena, I think we need a different way of getting along."

"Like when we're apart, we can be like friends. That way everyone will be more relaxed."

I heard this less than an hour after we met.

After staying up all night and traveling over two thousand kilometers.

Actually, I was very tired, physically and mentally exhausted.

Ethan said the daily check-ins and video calls made him feel very tired.

The occasional missed contact, the screen full of messages and missed calls made him feel oppressed.

He even felt love was being worn away bit by bit.

"Serena, I love you. I want to marry you and start a family. Life is still long. Can't we save our love for later?"

Ethan's gaze was very calm.

A kind of helpless yet unavoidable weariness.

It made me feel like my love was a burden, that even loving him was wrong.

"Okay."

Ethan didn't react.

I looked into his eyes and repeated, "I think what you said makes sense."

Just like that, we seemed to reach some kind of consensus.

But I knew clearly this relationship should end.

That night, I made up a random excuse to sleep in the guest room.

Ethan didn't ask much.

At the crack of dawn, I was woken by some commotion.

Opening the door, Ethan was on the phone in the living room.

"Don't be nervous. We'll see each other soon."

"If you're not used to wearing heels, you can hold them and change at the hotel."

In a suit and tie, refined and elegant.

Hearing the noise, he hung up.

"Did I wake you?"

"A friend's getting married today. I'm a groomsman, so I need to head over early."

An unexpected kiss landed on my forehead.

"Get some more sleep. I'll come back to keep you company once things are done there."

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