Chloe Bennett’s Accident
986 Words
The atmosphere in the living room froze for a moment.
The year printed on the wine bottle felt like a slap across Ryan Chase’s face, leaving him deeply humiliated.
The wine was indeed fake—but he had been confident he could easily fool ordinary connoisseurs. Who could have guessed Ethan Cole would expose the truth?
But who was he to humiliate him, Ryan Chase—the man who owned The Chase Group?
Unforgivable.
Ryan’s pride shattered, breaking through the easygoing, polished facade he’d always maintained. He slammed his palm down on the marble table.
“You little nobody—just because you can tell one wine from another, you think you can talk down to me? Even if it’s fake, it’s still not something you could afford.”
“Right, right, right.”
Yvonne Lin, startled by the sudden outburst, rushed to smooth things over.
“Ryan, calm down. I don’t blame you. It’s Ethan who’s being difficult—he should apologize.”
Ethan Cole raised an eyebrow, completely unimpressed.
“You’re siding with him—an outsider—to scold me? Shouldn’t you be the one apologizing first?”
“You—what did you just say?”
Yvonne Lin froze. She had never expected this man—silent, submissive, humiliated for years—to actually stand up to her now.
And Ethan’s voice was steady and powerful, his sharp gaze radiating calm authority that made her falter for the first time.
At that moment, Ryan Chase lost control. He lunged forward and threw a punch straight at Ethan’s face.
He’d taken boxing lessons during his time abroad and was confident this blow could knock Ethan to his knees.
But Ryan had miscalculated.
Ethan didn’t even flinch. He simply raised one hand and caught Ryan’s fist midair.
No matter how much Ryan struggled, he couldn’t break free. Even the slightest tightening of Ethan’s grip sent pain shooting up his arm.
“Hiss—!”
Ryan gasped, slapping at Ethan’s hand. “Let go! Let go!”
Ethan smiled faintly, looking down at him with amusement.
“You think I’m sparring with you? Why should I let go just because you said so?”
Ryan’s wrist was already purple-red. He couldn’t comprehend how Ethan—a man he’d always mocked as weak—had such terrifying strength.
It was almost on par with a trained fighter.
In truth, Ethan Cole had been forged by his parents’ harsh discipline. They believed real strength came from within, not wealth or status.
They’d hired seven or eight professional martial arts coaches to train him. He’d never complained—only endured, only improved.
A spoiled heir like Ryan Chase, who boxed as a hobby, wasn’t even worthy to carry his gym bag.
“Ethan Cole, stop it!”
The sudden shout came from upstairs.
Logan Bennett, who had retreated to his room earlier, couldn’t sit still after hearing the commotion. He rushed downstairs—only to find chaos unfolding.
“Ethan! Ryan was wrong to hit you, but stop! You know hitting someone could land you in jail!”
“Huh?” Ethan blinked.
It almost sounded like Logan was defending him.
Had the money-obsessed Bennett suddenly changed his tune?
Even so, Ethan wasn’t planning to let Ryan off easily. He twisted his body, driving his shoulder into Ryan’s chest with brutal precision.
Ryan yelped as he was sent flying backward onto the sofa.
Yvonne Lin and Logan exchanged a stunned look.
Who could have imagined Ethan Cole, of all people, would dare to fight back?
“You—”
Yvonne was about to speak when the phone on the glass coffee table rang.
The caller ID read: Chloe Bennett.
She quickly picked up and put it on speaker, hoping someone could calm things down—but before she could say anything, her face went pale.
“You—you said you wanted the deed to the villa. Why?”
“Don’t ask questions,” Chloe’s voice came through, tight and shaky. “Just get Ethan to bring it to The Mirage.”
Then the line went dead. For a split second, Yvonne thought she heard shouting in the background.
Ethan frowned. “Why does she suddenly need the property deed?”
“I don’t know,” Yvonne said, grabbing her purse. “Something sounds wrong—it must be trouble at The Mirage.”
She hurriedly slipped on her heels and ran to the door.
Ethan followed, snatching the car keys off the wall.
Even though the Bennetts had treated him poorly, Chloe was the only one who hadn’t mocked him in the past five years. And she was, after all, his wife in name.
“You—you’re going too?” Yvonne stammered. She didn’t like the idea of Ethan being there if things got ugly.
Ethan nodded firmly. “I’m going.”
“You’d go anyway—” Ryan muttered weakly from the sofa. But when Ethan turned toward him, he instantly froze and looked away, pretending to be calm.
“Auntie Yvonne, I’ll drive you. Don’t worry—I’ll make sure Chloe’s okay.”
Relieved, Yvonne gave Ethan a wary glance and followed Ryan out the door.
She’d already made up her mind: once Ryan helped Chloe through this crisis, she’d persuade Chloe to finally leave that loser Ethan and get back with Ryan.
Ethan frowned but said nothing. He walked to his car—only to hear the passenger door open.
Logan Bennett slid in beside him.
“I’m coming with you,” Logan said flatly.
Ethan gave him a sidelong look. “What, you suddenly trust me now?”
“Pah!” Logan rolled his eyes, lowering the window and fanning the air dramatically.
“I just realized Ryan Chase is a stingy jerk. Can’t even buy a real bottle of wine. Why should he be my future brother-in-law?”
- Writer
