- Ethan kissed my lips. “I can. It’s what I owe
- vou.”
- <
- That day, he flew to be with Lily.
- And I, a few days later, met Kai.
- In the best hospital in the country, the best
- experts were treating him.
- Soon, his memory returned, and he
- remembered me.
- Kai was injured and lost his memory while
- saving a child in a bombing zone.
- When he woke up, he hugged me
- immediately. A gentle voice echoed in my ear,
- “I was gone for ten years, and I made you
- suffer.”
- My tears immediately flowed.
- My empty heart was quietly filled.
- Kai and I missed ten years, we didn’t want to
- miss another ten.
- We got engaged soon.
- Kai also asked me if I had fallen in love with
- someone else in those ten years, not to make
- an impulsive decision that I would regret.
- Ethan’s face vaguely flashed in my mind.
- But it quickly disappeared.
- I shook my head and smiled, saying no.
- I stroked the scars Kai got saving a child in
- the war zone, and repeated, “No.”
- Before Kai asked me, I had a few dreams,
- and Ethan was in them.
- In my dreams, Ethan sneered at me, telling
- me not to get any ideas.
- My heart still ached.
- But as time went on, I no longer dreamed of
- Ethan.
- Those six years seemed to have vanished
- with the wind.
- Zoe, my best friend, would sometimes ask me
- if I still thought of Ethan.
- I was silent for a few seconds, shaking my
- head.
- “I hope he and Lily can be together,” I said,
- “It’s best for both of them to forget each
- Г
- other.”
- At least I had honestly and completely
- forgotten him.
- But a few days later, when Kai and I were
- having dinner, we ran into Ethan’s classmate.
- He greeted us from afar. “Hey man, you’re
- back in the country, why didn’t you call-”
- He stopped a few steps away, looking
- shocked.
- Kai was very similar to Ethan, but he had a
- scar on his brow from the war zone.
- Their temperament was completely different;
- he didn’t have Ethan’s frivolous and spoiled
- air.
- He was more hardened and composed.
- The classmate looked at Kai, then looked at
- me with suspicion. “Lauren, this-”
- He thought for a moment. “Did you put Ethan
- in the friend zone?”
- I shook my head. “We broke up.”
- く
- The classmate was even more surprised.
- “Didn’t Ethan say you were still waiting for
- him…?”
- I interrupted him. “This is my fiancé, we’re
- getting married soon.”
- He was stunned.
- Looking at Kai and me holding hands tightly,
- he turned and hurried away, making a phone
- call as he walked.
- I looked up to explain to Kai, but before I
- could speak, Kai smiled. “It’s all in the past,
- why mention it?”
- He helped me arrange my hair. “I can’t expect
- you to wait for ten years just because I
- disappeared for ten years.”
- My eyes welled up, suddenly feeling
- overwhelmed with grievances.
- The three years when I couldn’t find Kai, I
- waited by the phone every day.
- My phone was on 24/7; I would jump at every
- unknown call.
- In the first year, I hoped to receive a call
- telling me that Kai was only injured and would
- be back soon.
- In the second year, I hoped someone would
- tell me Kai was still alive.
- In the third year, I started to fear the phone,
- yet I had to answer it.
- When Ethan appeared, I was officially
- diagnosed with severe anxiety and panic
- disorder.
- His face was the last straw keeping me alive.
- Being a backup for Ethan wasn’t easy, but I
- couldn’t leave that face.
- Only by looking at him could I have the
- strength to live.
- So whether I loved Ethan, I didn’t know.
- But I was grateful to him, so grateful that
- even though everyone laughed at me for
- being a backup, I still accepted it.
- For me, those six years, Ethan was a good
- man, a good man who saved me from a
- desperate situation.
- I thought my impression on him would be
- good, at least I’d be considered sensible.
- But I didn’t expect him to grit his teeth and
- call me a liar.
- The copyright of this content belongs to
- “realnovel“.
- Chapter 2
- Ethan’s call came late at night.
- I got up quietly, not wanting to wake Kai.
- I thought he was coming to get his things, but
- as soon as I answered, he snarled, his voice
- like he wanted to bite me to pieces, spitting
- out two words through gritted teeth: “Liar.”
- His voice was hoarse and low. “Lauren, you’re
- a liar.
- You said he was your aunt’s son, you lied to
- me!”
- <
- 1
- He wasn’t his usual flippant, spoiled self.
- He was barely containing his rage, a hint of
- hurt in his voice.
- Childlike hurt.
- I lowered my head and sighed. “I’m sorry.”
- I apologized effortlessly.
- That’s how I apologized to him for six years.
- For many reasons.
- Like, not staring at him in front of Lily, it
- made Lily unhappy.
- Like, not trying to hold his hand in front of
- Lily’s friends.
- Like, not calling him when he was having
- dinner with Lily.
- Every time, I apologized, staring at his face,
- meekly saying I was sorry.
- At first, Ethan would hesitantly pat my head,
- like a child. “Just try to be better next time.”
- Later, he’d hold his chin, smiling at me.
- “You’re so cute when you apologize.”
- Then, he stopped making so many rules for
- me.
- But my habit of apologizing hadn’t changed,
- it came out immediately: “I’m sorry.”
- Ethan paused, then gritted his teeth. “This
- apology doesn’t work. Lauren, I’m really
- angry.
- I should’ve let your boyfriend stay in the
- warzone his whole life, why did I come all the
- way back here to wear a green hat myself!”
- My face turned cold.
- He seemed oblivious, continuing to question
- me. “Did he touch you?
- Lauren, answer me, did he touch you!”
- I interrupted his agitated voice. “Ethan, stop
- talking about him like that. He’s important to
- me.”
- There was silence on the other end.
- After a while, I heard something break.
- Ethan gritted his teeth, smiling word by word.
- <
- “Lauren, you’ve never said I’m important to
- you.”
- He said, “Remember, I didn’t tell you to leave,
- you’re still mine.”
- “I’m not yours,” I frowned, correcting him.
- “From the moment you went to America to
- find Lily, we were over.”
- Ethan was silent for a moment, then softly
- asked, “So you’re getting back at me, right?”
- He seemed more certain. “You’re with him
- because you’re angry at me, right? If I gave
- you a chance to regret-”
- I frowned even more. “Ethan, stop it. You and
- Lily are finally together, just be happy.”
- Ethan didn’t speak.
- His breathing was low and rapid.
- After a while, he said nothing and hung up.
- I listened to the busy tone and sighed.
- Ethan hadn’t changed.
- Whenever Lily was mentioned, his rationality
- returned.
- Before, when he was drunk, he would call me
- in the middle of the night to pick him up.
- I ran out in my pajamas and a coat, picking
- him up at the bar, drunk.
- In the cold weather, my hands were stiff with
- cold, but he didn’t want to go home.
- His friend couldn’t do anything, apologizing to
- me, then video calling Lily. “Let Lily see what
- a mess you are.”
- Ethan suddenly straightened up, sober as if
- he hadn’t drunk anything, opening the car
- door and getting in.
- His friend and I stood outside the car, staring
- at each other. His friend’s face was a mixture
- of embarrassment and sympathy. “Sorry, I
- really couldn’t do anything, only Lily can make
- him listen.”
- I shook my head. “It’s okay, I don’t mind.”
- That day, I made Ethan hangover soup, taking
- く
- care of him all night without sleep.
