Ethan’s entire body was shaking, his cellphone dropped to the ground, the screen shattered, but the call continued.
He covered his ears, his legs uncontrollably gave in, and he ended up kneeling on the floor, holding his head. The voice from the other end of the phone and Aoife’s trembling words reached his ears.
“Ethan… I’m doing well, I’m not in pain… I’m not suffering… I’m taking good care of myself… So, don’t worry about me, don’t be sad for me…”
How could she not be suffering? How could she not be in pain?
Aoife, this silly girl, how could she be so foolish?
Ethan knew better than anyone how terrified Aoife was of being bullied by Finn, how afraid of pain and how timid she was.
She was the kind of person who couldn’t sleep at night after having a nightmare, who would still feel scared the next day. She was the kind of person who would be on edge even at the slightest movement…
And now, the pain and suffering she was enduring due to Finn’s abuse…
But he couldn’t do anything, he couldn’t save her, he couldn’t even save the person he loved the most.
Moreover… the person responsible for the current “tragedy” surrounding Aoife was not anyone else but him.
Finn was right. He was Aoife’s jinx. He knew he shouldn’t get close to her, that every touch of his would harm her, but he couldn’t resist touching her.
His father had warned him long ago that he could touch anyone except Finn’s woman. It would not only harm Aoife but also harm himself, and harm the entire Jiang family.
Ethan cried out in pain, tears streaming down his face landing on the ground wetting it. He didn’t know how long he had been kneeling there repenting, he didn’t even know when the call had ended. He picked up his phone, stood up, his legs numb from kneeling for too long, stumbling a bit.
Ethan unsteadily steadied himself, like a broken and worn-out machine missing parts, every step faltering, slowly making his way back home.
His eyes were red from crying for so long, his eyes dry from the tears. He dared not think about how Aoife was right now, her painful moans echoing in his ears. If he tried to imagine that scene… he would go insane.
By the time Ethan got back home, it was already late, the street lamps were lit, it was May 30th, his birthday.
It was fate that his birthday was on May 30th, and Aoife’s birthday was on June 1st, just a day apart.
Therefore, on such a special day, he wanted to see Aoife, even from a distance.
As he walked back along the path under the streetlights, the light cast long, lonely shadows, seemingly stretching into the night.
Back home, Ethan was already exhausted. The maid saw him and called out to him.
He didn’t hear her and went straight inside. In the living room, his parents sat on the sofa, his mother with her head down, his father smoking, a mixture of worry and anger on his face.
Seeing Ethan return, Mr. Johnson stormed over, without asking anything, he slapped Ethan.
“Slap-”
“Do you still have the face to come back? Did you go see that Aoife again?!”
Mrs. Johnson’s eyes flickered with worry, she slightly opened her mouth but eventually chose to remain silent, letting her husband scold.
The slap left Ethan’s face red, his hair tousled by the wind, his once sunny and cheerful face now looked lifeless and dejected, as if it had lost its support, like a sunflower without the sun, hanging its head.
He didn’t say a word, silently accepting it. Mr. Johnson didn’t expect him to admit anything, as he had already seen it online.
“Ethan, are you trying to bring calamity upon our household? Are you trying to kill your own parents for a woman?! I regret raising you all these years, if I had known what kind of person you would turn out to be, I would have thrown you away at birth!”
“Are you trying to drive me to death?! How did I give birth to such an ungrateful child?!”
“I should have never given birth to you!”
“Do you even realize your mistake by now? Do you know how much money the Jiang family lost because of you? Do you want to wait until the Jiang family goes bankrupt, and we have to beg on the streets for you to be satisfied?”
Mr. Johnson kept berating, and Ethan remained silent. Enraged, Mr. Johnson hit him a few more times, making his nose bleed.
Ethan didn’t wipe it, letting the blood flow down, staining his hands and chin red, making his white shirt stand out.
Pointing at his nose, Mr. Johnson said, “That Aoife, she crippled your hands, and yet you still haven’t learned your lesson?”
Upon hearing this, Ethan finally reacted, “She didn’t cripple my hands.”
“Dare you speak up for her? I won’t be satisfied until I beat you to death tonight!” Mr. Johnson went to find a stick in anger, but not finding one, he grabbed an ashtray from the coffee table. Mrs. Johnson hurriedly stopped him.
“Enough, put it down. What’s done is done, what more can we do now? Do you really want to beat your own son to death?” she asked.
“It’s my fault, but do you have no blame to take? You just keep shifting responsibility?”
“…”
Watching his parents argue, even though it was so loud and noisy, Ethan couldn’t hear anything as if he had gone deaf.
Seeing this, the maid intervened to prevent a physical fight.
Ethan watched for a while, then raised his hand to wipe the blood from his nose. But the blood kept flowing, staining his hands red, making him uncomfortable. He decided not to wipe it, his arms hanging by his sides as he turned and walked upstairs.
The Jiang family villa had three floors, and he preferred to sleep upstairs. Normally, he could open the windows to look at the scenery outside. Returning to his room, Ethan lay down on the bed.
Although the room had soundproof walls, he could still hear his parents arguing. His father’s words kept ringing in his ears.
“I shouldn’t have given birth to you… I should have thrown you away when you were born… Are you trying to kill us, your parents… And you still don’t know you’re at fault…”
What had he done wrong? He just liked someone too much, a love he had never experienced before. He just wanted to make sure his beloved girl was doing well. What did he do wrong?
Tears streamed down his face, soaking the bedding beneath him.
The door opened, and footsteps approached, then stopped. His mother’s voice echoed in the room.
“Ethan, listen to your father, don’t provoke Aoife. Aoife is someone we can’t afford to offend. Wait for your father to calm down and then apologize,” said Mrs. Johnson, sighing.
“Mom, Aoife is a good girl…”
“I know, but no matter how good a girl she is, she belongs to Finn. If you continue to pursue her, you’ll harm us all. Be calm for a few months, don’t go out during this time. After this period, you’ll forget your feelings for her. When you look back, you’ll realize that she… isn’t as good as you think she is.”