When He Cheated, I Connected To Young Him

Chapter 2

Ring, ring, ring.

The old phone was ringing again.

Yara's eyes went dark. She picked up.

"I listened to you yesterday — had too much to drink afterward, and I got into a car accident. I never made it to the confession..."

"Who are you?" The voice on the other end was low and guarded, edged with irritation. "Who are you really?"

Yara pressed her cigarette out in the ashtray and rubbed her throbbing temple. "I already told you. I'm Yara Wren."

"Fine." The urgency in his voice snapped into focus. "Then prove it."

Yara walked to the mirror. She lifted the hem of her shirt and looked at the jagged scar across her abdomen, her voice softening to barely a murmur. "In three days, you'll be hunted down. Your kidney will rupture. You'll need a transplant. I'm the one who saves you."

That day, Ethan had been set up and come back gravely wounded.

She had been the one to save him — no hesitation, no conditions. She had given him her kidney.

Except that kidney was now keeping Ava alive.

Yara's lips curved into something cold. 'If I could go back, I never would have given it to him.'

A long silence stretched from the other end before he finally said, "I'll be careful."

Three days later, Yara stood in front of the mirror staring at her own smooth, unblemished abdomen.

Not a single scar.

Shock broke open behind her eyes.

It could actually change the past.

Then a rush of new memories flooded her mind all at once.

Ten years ago, on this very day, Ethan had used some excuse to send her abroad early.

Yara couldn't help it — she laughed. But the laughter kept going, and somewhere in the middle of it, tears started falling.

Her gaze dropped to her phone screen.

Ava had sent another message. In the photo, two hands intertwined — a gemstone on Ava's ring finger catching the light, almost aggressive in its brilliance.

Ava: Ethan says I'm as pure and flawless as this gem.

Ava: You know he's been done with you for years. He keeps you around out of guilt, nothing more. Why are you still clinging to the Ross name?

Yara's eyes filled with contempt. Ava was laughably naive. Even if she walked away, Ethan would never marry Ava — not in a million years.

A second later, another message came through. The photo showed a sprawling estate — vast, immaculate — along with a deed of gift.

Ava: See this? I told him I liked it, and he just gave it to me. A hundred-million-dollar property.

Then came a screenshot — a job offer from Harrington Broadcasting, a full-time anchor contract.

Ava: Ethan made my dream of being a TV host come true, too. While you — you were always stuck in the shadows, cleaning up the Ross family's dirty work.

Yara's eyes narrowed, a current pulling beneath the surface.

She had been fifteen the first time she fell in love with the image of a female news anchor on television.

At eighteen, she had been accepted into Harrington Media University.

It was Ethan who had pulled her into his arms, his eyes blazing with something possessive and absolute. "Don't go, baby. What if someone dangerous sets their sights on you?"

"Someone in your position shouldn't be in the public eye."

She had understood what he meant. To Ethan, a vulnerability like her was safest kept hidden — out of sight, out of reach, harder to use against him.

So she had extinguished her own dream and made herself into the blade he used to kill with.

How pathetic.

Yara's mouth twisted. Her phone buzzed again.

This time it was a video.

Ava was in sheer lingerie, pinned beneath Ethan.

"You're so beautiful, Ava..."

Ava's voice dripped with want. "What do you like about me, Ethan?"

Ethan's reply came smooth and warm, layered with indulgence: "That you're innocent. Clean. Sweet..."

Yara closed her eyes. A single tear slid down the corner of her face.

Then she typed her reply to Ava:

Yara: Ms. Harper — thank you for sending me all the evidence I need. I'll be filing a civil claim against you. Every asset listed here will be returned in full.

Yara: And the video is excellent quality. I'll be passing it along to a few media contacts for wider distribution.

Then the old phone rang.

Ethan's voice came through, low and subdued. "You were right. No matter how careful I was, the Shelton family still came for me. But this time — Yara wasn't hurt."

A beat of silence.

"Is it really you?"

His voice was trembling — threaded with something that couldn't quite believe itself.

Yara kept her tone even. "It's me. Ethan — if you want to protect me, stay away from me. Far away. And never confess your feelings."

"Then can you tell me—" His voice came faster now, desperate. "What did I do to you? How did I fail you?"

The study door swung open. Ethan stepped in, crossing the room toward her in long, deliberate strides.

Yara lowered her voice. "Then listen carefully. I'll tell you exactly what you're going to do to me."