Chương 3
"You know?"
"My attorney mentioned the agreement before I woke up."
My stomach dropped.
"What agreement?"
He looked confused by my reaction.
"The marriage agreement."
The room suddenly felt colder.
"What exactly did he tell you?"
"That my trust required a spouse."
"And?"
"And your family needed financial help."
I stared at him.
He had known.
Not everything.
But enough.
"You knew I was paid."
His expression changed.
"No."
"Then what did you think?"
He was quiet.
That silence hurt more than a lie.
"I thought you were trapped."
The anger inside me weakened.
Just a little.
"That's not much better."
"No."
He looked at his hands.
"But it's the truth."
I wanted to stay angry.
Anger was easier.
Anger had protected me for years.
But watching this man struggle to sit upright, watching him search for words he could barely form, made hatred feel too simple.
That evening, my father called.
I almost did not answer.
His name appeared on my phone screen, and for several seconds I just watched it.
Before the wedding, he had called every day.
After I arrived at Thornton Manor, he had barely called once.
I finally answered.
"Hello."
There was a pause.
"You saw the news?"
I looked toward the television in the sitting room.
A business channel was showing a picture of Ethan before the accident.
"News?"
"They know he's awake."
My grip tightened around the phone.
"How?"
"These people have reporters everywhere."
"These people?"
My father sighed.
"Don't start."
The old phrase.
The one he used whenever he wanted me to stop asking questions.
"Did you know this could happen?"
Silence.
That was enough.
My voice became quieter.
"Did you know Ethan might wake up?"
"No."
"You hesitated."
"I didn't want to get your hopes up."
"My hopes?"
I laughed once.
It sounded bitter.
"You sold my future and you're talking about my hopes?"
My father said nothing.
I closed my eyes.
For years I had defended him.
I had explained his mistakes.
I had forgiven things before he apologized.
But standing in that enormous house, married to a stranger who was slowly becoming a person, I saw something I had avoided.
My father had not sacrificed himself for me.
He had sacrificed me to fix himself.
"Are we safe now?" I asked.
Another pause.
"What do you mean?"
"The debts."
He exhaled.
"The money came through."
I felt sick.
Not because I did not know.
Because hearing him say it made it real.
"So you got what you wanted."
"That's not fair."
"No?"
"I wanted to protect you."
"You wanted the problem gone."
His voice sharpened.
"You think I wanted to do this?"
"I think you were scared."
The line went quiet.
Because I was right.
And because being right did not make it hurt less.
That night, I found Ethan awake when I returned to his room.
He was holding an old photograph.
I stopped in the doorway.
"Where did you get that?"
He looked down at it.
"I found it in the drawer."
I walked closer.
It was a picture of him and his parents.
I had never seen his father before.
A serious man with the same dark eyes Ethan had.
His mother stood beside him, smiling like she was the only person in the world who could make him relax.
"I don't remember taking this."
"You were young."
He touched the edge of the frame.
"My father died when I was twenty."
"I know."
His eyes lifted.
"How much did you learn about me before the wedding?"
The question felt like a test.
"Not much."
"Tell me."
I hesitated.
"You were the CEO of Thornton Industries."
"Was."
"You were involved in technology investments."
"Was."
"You had a reputation for being difficult."
A faint smile appeared.
"That sounds accurate."
I almost smiled back.
Almost.
Then he looked at the photograph again.
"My father built everything."
"Your grandmother says that."
"She would."
The way he said it made me curious.
"What does that mean?"
Ethan was quiet for a moment.
Then he placed the photograph on the table.
"It means everyone in this house remembers my father differently."
"How do you remember him?"
His face changed.
Not dramatically.
Just enough.
"Like someone who loved me."
The simplicity of the answer made it heavier.
Before I could respond, his phone began ringing.
A name appeared on the screen.
Jason.
Ethan stared at it.
He did not answer immediately.
"Should I leave?"
"No."
He pressed the button.
"Jason."
His cousin's voice came through the speaker.
"You're awake."
The way he said it sounded almost disappointed.
Ethan noticed.
So did I.
"Apparently everyone keeps saying that."
A pause.
Then Jason laughed softly.
"We need to talk."
"About what?"
"About what happened before the accident."
Ethan's expression changed.
"Why?"
Another pause.
"Because you were investigating someone."
The room went silent.
Ethan looked at me.
Then at the phone.
"Who?"
Jason lowered his voice.
"The person you married."
My heart stopped.
Ethan did not speak.
Neither did I.
Then Jason continued.
"Before you woke up, you were trying to find out who she really was."
Ethan's face became unreadable.
For a moment, I thought he had not heard Jason.
Then I saw his fingers tighten around the edge of the blanket.
"Why would I investigate her?"
Jason did not answer immediately.
That hesitation was louder than any confession.
"Because you found something."
"Found what?"
"That's what you were trying to figure out."
Ethan looked toward me again.
I hated that I noticed.
I hated that some small part of me was afraid of what he might believe.
Jason continued.
"Listen, I know how this sounds."
"No," Ethan said quietly.
"You don't."
The line went silent.
Jason lowered his voice.
"Ethan, you disappeared before you could finish."
"Disappeared?"
"You know what I mean."
"No."
Ethan's expression hardened.
"I don't know anything."
For the first time since he woke up, I saw the frustration beneath his calm.
May you like
Not anger at me.
Anger at the empty spaces inside his own mind.
