Chapter 4
861 Words
Charlotte's POV:
Even after Ethan learned that I had regained consciousness, his first reaction wasn't to ask about my injuries.
Instead, he pulled a settlement agreement from his briefcase and handed it directly to Evelyn.
"Get her to sign this," he said flatly.
The accident had happened right outside the police station, and Laura had been driving under the influence.
Even though I had survived, if we didn't settle privately, she would almost certainly end up behind bars.
What I never expected was that he wouldn't even come into the room to see me, not once.
Evelyn's face darkened with anger on my behalf.
"Ethan Cross, don't forget," she snapped, "if Charlotte hadn't helped you back then, would you really be standing here today as the respected businessman everyone admires?
"She stayed by your side when you were living in a basement apartment with nothing. And this is how you repay her? By cheating on her?"
A bitter laugh escaped Ethan's lips.
"Are you planning to live in the past forever?" he asked coldly.
But the truth was, I was the one still living in the past.
I still remember Ethan once telling me that all he wanted in life was to find someone who would cry only for him.
Yet I had stood behind him all these years, tears streaming down my face, and he never noticed.
Evelyn only brought up the past to stir some compassion in him and make him treat me better.
Unfortunately, Ethan heard it differently.
To him, it sounded like she was demanding repayment for old favors.
"Haven't I already done enough for her over these years?" he shot back.
Evelyn's eyes widened in disbelief. "Have you ever considered how heartbroken Charlotte would be if she recovered and heard you saying these things?"
"She'll never know," Ethan replied quietly.
He let out a weary sigh, his voice heavy with exhaustion. "Honestly, sometimes I wish she had never saved me. The last six years have been unbearable."
The love that had driven me to save him six years ago…
In the end, it became a storm that trapped both of us in the mud.
I had ruined my own life.
And because of that, Ethan couldn't bear to watch Laura suffer, especially when there was also a child involved.
His expression hardened.
"As far as the law is concerned, I'm still Charlotte's guardian," he said. "If she refuses to sign now, I have other ways to make sure she signs later."
The twenty-two-year-old version of me would never have imagined it.
The man who once rescued me from despair had eventually become the person causing it.
When Evelyn entered my hospital room, she hesitated.
For a moment, she seemed unable to find the right words.
I looked at her, wanting to smile and tell her the good news—that I had recovered completely.
Instead, tears slid down my cheeks.
"Give it to me," I whispered. "I'll sign."
Alongside the settlement agreement was another document.
A compensation agreement.
Ethan had transferred the majority of his personal wealth to me.
The amount was so generous that refusing it seemed impossible.
Without hesitation, I signed my name.
Evelyn froze. "You..."
She understood immediately—she understood that I was no longer the woman everyone thought I was.
Moments later, she marched back outside and hurled the settlement agreement directly at Ethan's chest.
"Ethan," she said meaningfully, "you've finally lost the person who loved you most in this entire world."
The papers were scattered across the floor. Ethan bent down to pick them up.
This should have been what he wanted; he should have felt relieved. Yet every movement seemed unbearably heavy.
He gathered the documents awkwardly and stuffed them into his jacket.
His lips parted slightly. For a brief moment, it looked as though he wanted to ask a question, 'did she cry?'
But then he remembered. As far as he knew, I still couldn't understand what I had signed.
The question never left his mouth. Instead, all those thoughts became a promise.
"When this is over," he said quietly, "I'll end things with her."
I couldn't help wondering: If I had been the one who caused the accident, would he have sacrificed Laura's happiness to protect me?
Only a single door separated us. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Just two days ago, he had told me that he couldn't spend the rest of his life trapped with me.
Now, for Laura, he was willing to sacrifice the rest of his life without hesitation.
Love is a compromise powerful enough to move mountains.
Unfortunately, that love no longer belonged to me.
Right before boarding my flight, I called Ethan.
The line connected.
"Ethan," I said softly, gripping my phone, "I've recovered my memories."
End of Charlotte's POV
- Writer
