Ethan raised his arm to shield his eyes. He loved someone so deeply, a love like he had never experienced before. He wanted to see Aoife smile, to be by her side, to always be together.
They had experienced so much together – meals, sleeping in the same room, embracing each other, declaring love in a crowd, exchanging rings, going to the maternity store, sharing meals, and living together… Things that seemed ordinary, now became a luxury.
Losing Aoife meant he would never meet another woman who would make his heart skip a beat so many times. He would never love again.
“Can you hear me? You are not allowed to go out for the next few months, I will have someone watch you,” Mrs. Johnson said with a tone of urgency.
“Mom,” Ethan cleared his throat, “Is it all my fault that our family lost so much money?”
Mrs. Johnson looked at Ethan trembling in pain, feeling sorry for him, “Your dad said those things out of anger, don’t dwell on them. Just be obedient from now on.”
Ethan knew better than anyone else that it was because of him, the Jiang family suffered such heavy losses. He knew it ever since that night when he was taken away by his family right after trying to confess his love to Aoife.
Finn was right, his father was right. He was a disaster, the one who brought calamity to Aoife, to their family.
Without him, Aoife would not have lost the child, their family would not have suffered such heavy losses, his parents would not have fallen ill, and their hair would not have turned white overnight.
Ethan lowered his hand, his eyes red as he looked at Mrs. Johnson’s exhausted face. He noticed the deepening wrinkles on her face, the redness in her eyes, clearly from crying downstairs just now.
“Mom, I won’t go see Aoife anymore,” Ethan didn’t know how those words came out of his mouth. His voice drifted with the cool breeze from outside, echoing like a hallucination.
“Help me apologize to Dad, for all the trouble I caused you all in the past. From now on, I won’t let it happen again. Please don’t make things difficult for Aoife…”
Aoife belonged to Finn. Even if they were dissatisfied, it was only in their hearts. How could they possibly make things difficult for her? Mrs. Johnson didn’t think too much, she nodded in approval after hearing Ethan’s words, “As long as you behave, we will be a happy family in the future.”
Ethan smiled, a smile laced with bitterness. He tried to lift the corners of his lips, smiling so brightly, yet upon closer inspection, the dimple on his face was gone.
“Well, rest well. I’ll go downstairs to talk to your father and calm him down.”
“Okay.” Ethan sat up, just as Mrs. Johnson was about to turn around, he reached out and hugged her. In a hoarse voice, he said, “Mom, do you have anything else to say to me?”
“Nothing,” Mrs. Johnson replied.
Ethan cast his gaze down, gently letting go of Mrs. Johnson. His smile had not faded from his face as he said, “Mom, thank you. I love you all.”
“You silly child,” Mrs. Johnson touched his face, wiping away the blood from his nose. Besides feeling relieved, there was also a sense of heartache. She felt sorry for his worn-out appearance, his broken left middle finger that, even if repaired, would no longer be functional, turning him into a cripple who could no longer play the piano well.
Aside from the piano, Ethan loved all kinds of musical instruments – the guitar, drums, violin… He even knew how to play the erhu and xiao flute. He was an idol in the making, labeled as the “musical genius” in the group.
Sensitive to sounds, Ethan had loved playing music since he was a child. The first instrument he drew lots for was a small guitar.
“I’m heading downstairs.”
“Okay.” Ethan let go of her.
After Mrs. Johnson left and closed the door gently, she realized Ethan was unusually obedient tonight, the most obedient he had ever been. He rarely spoke words of love or gratitude like “thank you” or “I love you” to his parents.
Mrs. Johnson felt a softness in her heart as she smiled and shook her head. She met Mr. Johnson downstairs.
Speaking gently, Mrs. Johnson said, “I have already spoken to him upstairs. He said he won’t see Aoife again and asked me to pass on an apology to you. I feel like Ethan is serious this time, so don’t be angry.”
“He talks the talk, but can he walk the walk? I’m tired of listening to his empty promises. He won’t leave the house for a few months under my watch,” Mr. Johnson retorted.
Both father and son had strong personalities, leaving Mrs. Johnson caught in the middle, unable to defend Ethan and afraid of making her husband angrier.
Changing the subject, she asked, “How’s the company doing lately?”
“We had a fallout with Finn, so many in the industry refused to work with us. Now that Finn has left the Burns family, things have slightly improved. I plan to initiate a collaboration with the White family, as Mr. White has already set up a meeting for tomorrow morning.”
“Collaborating with the White family would be beneficial. As long as we show sincerity, everything will be fine. Are you confident?” Mrs. Johnson inquired.
“I’m about sixty to seventy percent sure. The opportunity is there, White family won’t back down from the Burns family. We just need to show our sincerity.”
Everything seemed to be back on track, the Jiang family’s fortunes were on the rise. Mrs. Johnson hoped Ethan wouldn’t cause any trouble, he was always the troublemaker.
Mr. Johnson reminded Mrs. Johnson a few more times before heading his way.
Mrs. Johnson nodded, knowing it was critical not to let Ethan out, especially with Finn, who could ruin people financially at any moment.
She agreed with Mr. Johnson, realizing that they were still unable to handle Finn, and the money they lost before could only be written off as a loss.
Mrs. Johnson complied with Mr. Johnson, however, she suddenly remembered something.
Glancing at the time, it was already 11:50.
“Oh my, how could I forget that today is Ethan’s birthday? No wonder he asked me if there was something else I wanted to tell him.”
Mr. Johnson sarcastically remarked, “Does he even have the nerve to celebrate his birthday? After causing such a commotion…”
Before he could finish his sentence, a sudden dull thud from outside, akin to thunder, echoed in the air, as if something heavy had hit the ground, deafening everyone’s ears.
Mrs. Johnson was taken aback, looking out the window. The sound seemed to come from not far away outside, as if something had fallen from the upper floors. But what could make such a loud noise upon impact?
A sense of strong unease gripped Mrs. Johnson, calling out to the upstairs, “Ethan.”
“Son, did you drop something down?”
There was no answer. Fear gripped her heart tighter, silencing her tongue.
Not just her, even the still-awake servants in the villa were startled by the sudden “thud.” They were all trying to guess what could have fallen.
Mr. Johnson quickly sent someone out to check, and after a while, screams were heard outside.
As the terrified servants returned, Mrs. Johnson wanted to ask what had happened, but a powerful fear tightened her throat, rendering her speechless.
The fear within her manifested as a barrier, preventing her from speaking, urging her to avoid the situation.
Mrs. Johnson wanted to cover her ears, but it was too late. She saw the trembling servants muttering something in fear.
“Master… it’s the young master, he jumped off, his face covered in… in so much blood…”