You Left Me for Doubt, I Made You Beg

Chapter 4 The Breaking Point

Mindy was just about to step closer to inspect it when her phone rang.

The name "Julian" flashed on the screen, and his weak voice came through the receiver. "Wifey, my head hurts."

She glanced at the bracelet in the tray one last time, her fingers curling tightly at her sides. Ultimately, she turned around and followed the nurse.

Night fell, bringing with it a heavy downpour.

Ethan's old injuries began to ache dullly. He curled up under the blankets, shivering uncontrollably.

In the past, on every rainy night, Mindy would always hold him from behind, using her body heat to drive away all the cold. She would tell him with deep affection, "Ethan, you took these injuries for me. From now on, I'll be by your side every single rainy night."

Now, she had broken her promise.

His phone buzzed. Julian had sent another text.

Julian: Ethan, there's some old guy living at her place. She said she's only keeping him around to repay a debt. I was so pissed that I punished her by making her stand in the pouring rain!

In the attached video, Mindy stood in the torrential downpour without an umbrella. Her haute couture dress was soaked, clinging to her skin and outlining her slender figure.

Flashes of lightning occasionally illuminated her pale but stubborn face.

Staring at the familiar face, Ethan burst into a sudden laugh, his features twisting into something worse than a sob.

He said, "A debt? If that was all this was, she should have let me soar. Instead, she used her love as a cage, trapping me just to break my wings."

His phone still held the text she had sent him earlier that evening.

Mindy: Babe, I have a transnational video conference tonight. Don't wait up for me.

How laughable! Her transnational conference was actually just her coaxing another man.

Ethan closed his eyes in agony, cold tears soaking through his pillowcase.

When he woke up the next morning, the bedroom door was gently pushed open.

Mindy walked in wearing loungewear, her eyes bloodshot.

She walked over to the bed and gently grasped his gauze-wrapped hand. "Babe, who hurt you? Was it Zane acting up again? I clearly told him..."

She stopped mid-sentence, realizing she had almost let the cat out of the bag. She kissed Ethan's forehead. "Babe, I'll take you to the equestrian club later to clear your head. No matter who hurt you, I'll make them pay it back double."

Ethan spoke softly, "No need. I'll handle it myself."

For the rest of the morning, she was nothing but attentive and considerate. She helped him wash up, fed him breakfast bite by bite, and applied top-tier imported ointment to his wounds.

Ethan stared numbly at the hickeys on her neck, letting her maneuver him like a soulless puppet.

The Sterling family's equestrian club was connected to a golf course.

As soon as they arrived, a figure in white caught their eye in the distance. Julian, dressed in golf attire, was standing next to a female client, pasting on a pitiful, apologetic smile.

Mindy stopped in her tracks. She turned to look at Ethan, feigning a casual tone. "That's a new assistant we just hired. He signed a sponsorship agreement with the company and just graduated this year."

Ethan gave a soft chuckle. "Aren't you gonna go check on him?"

Mindy's gaze locked onto him, her expression as solemn as if she were swearing an oath. "Ethan, you are my husband. Everyone else is irrelevant."

Ethan didn't say another word. Gripping the reins, he swung himself onto his horse and rode straight in the opposite direction.

Mindy rode alongside him, but her eyes uncontrollably drifted toward the golf course. She was completely checked out, looking as if her mind were miles away.

It wasn't until she saw the female client's hand about to slide onto Julian's waist that Mindy abruptly pulled back on her reins. "Ethan, I just remembered I forgot to return a client's call. I'll have the staff come over to keep you company."

Ethan let out a scoff and whipped his horse forward. Riding into a secluded grove, he caught the faint sound of a man panting softly nearby.

Then came a woman's husky, teasing laugh. "Hubby, where did she touch you? Tell me, and I'll wash you clean. Don't touch me there..."

The man's voice, laced with shy annoyance, pierced Ethan's eardrums like a fine needle.

Ethan reigned in his horse and peered through the sparse leaves.

Two figures were entangled together. It was Julian and Mindy.

Anger, disgust, and despair thrashed within him until there was nothing left but a cold, hollow silence.

He tried to turn his horse around to leave, but the animal suddenly spooked. Rearing up on its hind legs with a piercing neigh, it bolted out of control.

Ethan gripped the reins for dear life, desperately trying to steady the beast. But the commotion startled the herd in the distance, and the scene instantly spiraled into utter chaos.

Staff members rushed over in a panic, yet no one dared to approach recklessly.

Just as he was about to calm the panicked horse, the reins snapped with a loud c***k.

The immense momentum hurled him violently into the air, his body plummeting heavily toward the ground.

Right before his consciousness plunged into absolute darkness, he saw Mindy's deathly pale face and heard her screaming his name in soul-tearing agony.

Yet, behind her back, she was still tightly shielding a frightened Julian.