Do you believe in love at first sight?

Chapter 9: Memory

Maxwell bring Ethan to go home, who had remained silent the entire way, Ethan stood at the door, he quietly watching Maxwell, who had turned on the living room light, for a long time.

The moment ,Maxwell turned to leave, Ethan hesitantly raised his pale, tightly clasped hands.

“You know… I’m an orphan…”

Understanding that Ethan had finally lowered his guard and was about to share the secret he had kept buried in his heart, Maxwell stepped forward, held his hand, and led him to sit on the living room sofa.

“If you really want to tell me, then do that. I won’t pressure you. I don’t care what your past was, I will treat you the same as I do now. You are you, you are Ethan and whatever others have imposed on you does not define you. Do you understand?” he said gently, kneeling in front of him and speaking each word slowly.

Ethan shook his head. “...I am willing to tell you, and I will let you know my past.”

Ethan’s secret was accidentally partially revealed to Maxwell. Maxwell’s acts of protecting him gave Ethan just enough courage to consider finally revealing his past. If he didn’t speak now, he feared he might never find the courage to take that leap again.

Maxwell sat down on the sofa across from him. “I’ll listen very carefully.”

Seeing Maxwell say the word "listen", Ethan smiled slightly. "I only stayed in the orphanage until I was thirteen years old. The security in the area where the orphanage was located was very bad. So when the director died, no one could protect us anymore, and many people started quarreling and fighting over that small piece of land. Looking back now, I can still feel the same confusion and helplessness as other children.”

"At that time, our only option was to flee. We couldn't wait for the government to make other arrangements for us, so everyone scattered. I don't know where the others ended up; I just know I escaped and went hungry for two days. Then, a kind woman took me in. Her name was Luna Rossi.” After finishing, he picked up a blank sheet of paper in the living room and wrote down the name he had held dear in his heart.

At first, I thought Luna lived alone, but it wasn't until the second year that l learned she had a husband who was often away and never returned for long. This time, he didn't sign that person's name, and his already damaged lower lip was once again tortured by his own teeth.

Maxwell bent down and gently held his hands. "Don't do that. Let go of your lip, okay? It's all in the past now. Everything is over." Although Ethan hadn't begun to say much, it wasn't difficult to guess that his unbearable fate likely began with the arrival of that man.

Soothed by Maxwell's tender gaze, Ethan stopped biting his lip. Reluctantly, he pulled his hands away and began to gesture again.

Duan Maxwell, meanwhile, moved closer and wrapped his arm around his slender waist.

"Luna and I were living happily, but then he came back. He would often look at me with a terrifying gaze. At first, I didn't know what it meant, but it made me feel deeply uncomfortable. One day, when Luna went to visit her friend in a neighboring city, he took the opportunity to... to r**e me." The final words were signed with great difficulty, his fragile hands trembling.