Chapter 2
1044 Words
Helen's eyes went wide open.
She was completely stunned.
The next second, she threw her head back and burst out cackling.
"Me? Can't afford these? Don't make me laugh.
"Stella, I was being polite to you, but you actually think you're somebody important, huh?
"All your money's in my hands now. Who do you even think you are?"
She didn't take me seriously at all.
I was sick of wasting breath arguing with her anyway.
I stood straight up and reached to yank the earrings right off her ears.
Before I could even touch them, a thunderous roar exploded right next to my ear.
"What the hell do you think you're doing!"
Ethan stormed over in big, fast strides and immediately shoved Helen behind his back, shielding her completely.
Just that morning, he'd pressed a loving kiss onto my forehead and told me to watch out for traffic on the road.
Now, he looked at me like I was his worst enemy.
It looked like he would blow any second.
"Stella, if you've got a problem, take it out on me. But if you so much as lay a finger on her, I swear I will make you regret it."
I stared at this man I'd once loved with all my heart, and now I couldn't spot a single trace of that old affection in his eyes.
He wasn't even bothering to put on a show anymore.
Looking at these two cheating scumbags, a bitter laugh bubbled out of my throat before I could stop it.
"Ethan, don't you owe me an explanation?"
The cat was already out of the bag. There was no hiding it anymore.
And yet, he still looked me dead in the eye like he was on the right, completely unashamed.
He let out a dismissive, mocking snort.
"What's there to explain?
"Jasper saved my life, that's a fact. He took a bullet for me, and in his last breath he told me to take good care of his wife and kid. Was I supposed to just leave them hanging?
"You're such a petty woman. If you'd found out, you'd never agree to spend the money on them. I didn't have any other choice."
I stared at him, and I couldn't get a single word out.
Every syllable I wanted to say got lodged tight in my throat.
Petty me? I didn't even utter a single word of complaint when he drained every last cent of my savings.
He was the one who did wrong, and yet he just shoved all the blame onto me.
"Is this how you take care of them? Getting your bro's wife pregnant with your kid?"
The words slipped out of my mouth before I could think better of it.
That was all it took to set Ethan off completely.
His face flushed bright red, and his breathing grew heavy and ragged.
"Don't you dare mention that child to me! If you hadn't been such a careless driver and killed my brother's only kid, none of this would have happened!
"Helen cried for three straight days over this! She almost cried her eyes out! If I don't give her another child, what's she supposed to do for the rest of her life?
"I took the blame for you and covered this whole mess up, and instead of being grateful, you come here yelling at me?"
I was too stunned to react for a second.
The words came out on instinct.
"Her kid was supposed to be sent to..."
I didn't even get to finish the sentence.
Ethan's palm came flying straight at my face.
He put every ounce of his strength into that blow. I couldn't withstand it at all, and crumpled straight to the ground.
The second my head hit the floor, a flood of old memories came rushing back to me.
"Stella, stop trying to make excuses. You killed that child. Even if you spend every cent you have for the rest of your life, you'll never pay for what you did."
Ethan's cold voice drifted down at me from above.
It smashed my heart into a million pieces right then and there.
My whole body went limp, and I just didn't have the energy to argue anymore.
Five years ago, I got into a car accident on my way to a prenatal check-up.
Thinking back on it now, that car that sped away from the scene in such a panic must have been the one that was taking Helen's kid out to the countryside.
The kid that died in that crash wasn't Helen's. It was mine.
I lost the baby, and I was heartbroken for months after that.
All I wanted back then was for Ethan to stay by my side.
But he'd changed completely. Every time he looked at me, his eyes were ice-cold.
"Comfort you? Just thinking about that kid makes me sick looking at you!
"How can you even sleep at night? Aren't you scared that the kid will come to claim your life when you dream?"
Instead of supporting me through it, his coldness made me sink into even worse depression.
For the longest time, I carried not only the guilt of losing the baby I'd carried, but also the weight of thinking I'd wronged Ethan.
I even blamed myself for why we never ended up tying the knot.
Every time I jolted awake gasping from a nightmare, I couldn't help but wonder.
If that car crash had never happened, would everything have turned out different?
But of course it wouldn't.
The kid Ethan kept going on about was never ours to begin with.
Even without the crash, nothing would have changed.
He didn't love me anymore.
We never had any future together at all.
After I dragged myself out of Helen's apartment, I wandered the streets in a fog.
It felt like half my soul had been ripped right out of my body.
A million old memories spun through my head, until finally, that pair of emerald earrings swam back into focus.
I pulled out my phone and dialed the number saved at the very bottom of my contact list.
"I've made up my mind, Mr. Dalton. I'll go with you.
"But please help me find someone."
- Writer
