Unstoppable Heartbeats

After an intense moment of passion, Olivia lay there, her skin glowing with a delicate flush. Ethan held her in his arms, his slender fingers tracing her features. For once, his deep, mesmerizing eyes were filled with a tenderness she had never seen before. Though she was exhausted, Olivia felt a sense of being deeply loved. But before her emotions could fully settle, Ethan’s phone rang. When she saw the caller ID, Olivia’s heart tightened. She clutched Ethan’s arm a little tighter and looked up at him, “Can you not answer?” The call was from Hannah, Ethan’s first love. She had been back in the country for less than a month and had already attempted suicide several times. Olivia knew all too well that Hannah was doing it on purpose. But Ethan didn’t care about Olivia’s feelings. He pushed her away without a second thought, his earlier warmth completely gone, and eagerly answered the call. Olivia couldn’t hear what was being said, but she could see the emotions brewing in Ethan’s deep eyes, a darkness even deeper than the night outside. After hanging up, he quickly started dressing. “Hannah is trying to kill herself again. I need to check on her.” Olivia sat up in bed, her skin, still flushed from their encounter, was now covered in kiss marks. Her eyes burned as she looked at him. “But today is my birthday. You promised to spend it with me. I have something important to tell you.” Ethan, now fully dressed, looked at her coldly. “Since when did you become so unreasonable? Hannah’s life is at stake.” Before Olivia could say another word, the door slammed shut. Moments later, she heard the roar of an engine as Ethan drove away. Olivia reached under the pillow and pulled out a small, delicate box. She opened it to reveal two matching rings, her eyes welling with tears. Three years ago, she had been cornered in an alley by thugs, and Ethan had gotten injured saving her. She had volunteered to stay and take care of him, and one night, after too much alcohol, they ended up in bed together. Ethan asked her then if she wanted to be with him, but the condition was that he couldn’t offer her marriage. Olivia had agreed without hesitation because Ethan was the man she had secretly loved for four years. Since then, she had been Ethan’s capable and beautiful secretary by day, and by night, she was his obedient and gentle lover. She had naively believed that Ethan loved her, and his reluctance to marry was because of his difficult childhood. So, she had spent an entire day preparing a proposal, hoping to help him overcome his fears. But Hannah’s call shattered that illusion. It wasn’t that Ethan didn’t want to marry he just didn’t want to marry her. Olivia let out a bitter laugh as she put the rings away and began dismantling the decorations she had set up on the balcony, before driving off alone. She hadn’t driven far when a sharp pain tore through her abdomen, followed by a warm sensation running down her thigh. Olivia looked down to see the white leather seat stained red with blood. Feeling a deep sense of foreboding, she immediately called Ethan. “Ethan, my stomach hurts. Can you come pick me up?” Ethan’s voice was impatient. “Olivia, if you want to throw a tantrum, do it at a better time.” Olivia looked at the blood pooling beneath her and started to cry. “Ethan, I’m not lying. My stomach hurts, and... there’s so much blood.” Before she could finish, Ethan’s cold, emotionless voice cut her off. “Olivia, Hannah’s life is on the line, and you still have the nerve to cause trouble?” Stunned, Olivia took a moment to process his words. When she finally spoke again, her voice was barely a whisper. “You think I’m making this up?” “Isn’t that what you’re doing?” His irritated tone was laced with indifference, cutting Olivia like a knife. She bit her lip hard, clutching the phone with trembling hands as she mustered all her strength to scream, “Ethan, you bastard!” Sweat poured down her face from the pain. She wanted to call for an ambulance, but her fingers were too weak to dial. Eventually, her vision went black, and she lost consciousness. When Olivia woke up, she was lying in a hospital bed with her best friend James sitting beside her. The moment James saw she was awake, she stood up and looked at her with concern. “Olivia, how are you feeling? Does it still hurt?” Olivia stared blankly at her. “What happened to me?” James hesitated before answering, “You were pregnant. The doctor said your uterine wall was already thin, and because of Ethan’s rough handling, you had a miscarriage and hemorrhaged.” Olivia’s eyes widened in disbelief. All she could think was, “I was pregnant, but now the baby is gone.” It was her and Ethan’s child. Even though she had no idea how far things would go with Ethan, it had been her first baby. Her fingers curled up instinctively, and tears streamed down her face. James, seeing her pain, gently pulled her into an embrace, trying to soothe her. “You just had surgery, you shouldn’t cry. Once you’re better, I’ll introduce you to a whole pack of younger guys. Let them tear that bastard apart!” “That jerk, Ethan, nearly killed you, and now he’s cheating on you right in front of your face. Isn’t he afraid of tearing something important?” Olivia’s heart ached more than words could describe. Her cold, trembling hands clung to James as she sobbed uncontrollably. Thinking about the baby who had barely existed and the man she had loved for seven years, Olivia couldn’t calm down. After a long silence, she finally spoke. “You saw him, didn’t you?” James nodded. “He’s upstairs on the fourth floor, taking care of Hannah. When you were in surgery, I used your phone to call him so he could come and sign the papers, but that bastard didn’t even pick up.” Olivia closed her eyes in pain. “James, take me to see him.” “You just had surgery. You can’t get upset.” “I need to see it for myself. Otherwise, I won’t be able to make a decision.” James reluctantly agreed and took her to the fourth floor. Standing outside the door, Olivia saw Ethan gently coaxing Hannah to take her medicine. His soft gaze and soothing voice pierced Olivia’s heart like a knife. But when Olivia noticed how much Hannah’s face resembled her own, it all suddenly made sense. Olivia let out a sad, bitter laugh and turned to James. “Take me home.” —— Two days passed before Olivia saw Ethan again. Lying in bed, she quietly observed the man she had once loved so deeply. Now that it was time to make a decision, her heart still ached unbearably. Perhaps noticing her pale complexion, Ethan asked in a low voice, “It’s been two days. Why are you still in pain?” He thought she was just having her usual menstrual cramps, which usually only lasted a day. Olivia’s eyes stung with unshed tears as she struggled to keep her emotions in check, saying nothing. Ethan sat on the edge of the bed, his handsome features as cold as ever. His warm hand touched her forehead, his voice softening slightly. “The bag you liked, I had someone buy it. It’s on the sofa outside. Get up and take a look.” Olivia stared at Ethan with a deadpan expression. “I don’t like it anymore.” “Then I’ll get you a new car. Ferrari or Porsche?” When Olivia didn’t respond after a long pause, Ethan frowned. “What do you want, then?” To him, there was nothing that money couldn’t fix. Olivia gripped the fabric of her nightgown tightly, her clear, bright eyes locking onto Ethan. Her pale lips parted slightly. “I want to marry you!”