Chapter 4

After carrying Lily home, Vanessa could not stop seeing Ethan's empty, lifeless eyes. Her heart began to ache uncontrollably.

She texted Ethan. "Honey, what happened today was my fault. I'll be yours tonight. However you want me. Please don't be angry anymore, okay?"

She sent the message, only to be horrified to find that she had been blocked.

At last, Vanessa's panic became uncontrollable.

She rushed to the hospital, but there was no one at the entrance.

With trembling hands, she pulled out her phone and called the hospital director, asking, "Where's Ethan? Where did he go?"

The hospital director answered cautiously, "Dr. Reed has already resigned, but he forgot to take his mother's death certificate with him."

His words hit Vanessa like a bolt from the blue. "No… That's impossible…" she uttered through clenched teeth.

She rushed home and found the room empty.

Just then, she saw a piece of paper in the trash can.

Her hands trembled as she pulled it out. She was shocked to discover it was a torn-up marriage certificate. And beneath the marriage certificate was a death notice.

Vanessa abruptly unfolded it and found out that it indeed belonged to Ethan's mother, Margaret Reed.

As if struck by lightning, she lost control of her body and collapsed to the ground in an instant.

Ethan's recent unusual reactions flashed through her mind. Together with his lifeless gaze, they all finally made sense to her now.

Vanessa held her head in her hands tightly, attempting to dismiss all these feelings from her mind.

If the death notice was real, Ethan would never forgive her.

The more certain she had been when she pushed Margaret into danger back then, the deeper her regret became now.

Vanessa sprang to her feet. As she tore the death notice in her hand to shreds, she muttered to herself, "I don't believe this. It was just a fake bomb. There was no danger with it at all. So, how could his mom die from it?

"Ethan must have forged this death notice just to make me feel guilty. It must be fake!"

Just then, Caleb suddenly rushed in with Lily. He first saw the torn-up marriage certificate on the ground, and a hint of joy flashed in his eyes.

Shortly after, he saw the torn-up death notice on the ground.

Caleb instantly felt so happy that he could barely hide his smile.

In truth, he had to pinch his thigh hard to stop himself from laughing out loud.

By the time Vanessa looked over, his expression changed to one of worry.

"What's wrong? Vanessa, did I take things too far at the hospital just now?" he asked. "But I couldn't help it. I'm fine with Ethan attacking me, but he has hurt our daughter again and again. I was angry.

"That's why I did that. I just wanted to teach him a lesson. If Ethan is really bothered by it, I should go and apologize to him.

"But what's this on the floor? Also, how could Ethan just tear up the marriage certificate like that? If it were me, I definitely couldn't bring myself to tear it up."

After he finished speaking, Caleb covered his mouth, looking as if he had misspoken.

Instead of paying attention to his act like she always did, Vanessa just stared blankly at the torn-up marriage certificate and the white papers scattered on the ground.

After a long while, she said with a grim expression, "This is Ethan's mother's death notice."

When Caleb heard what she said, his expression darkened for a moment. Never did it cross his mind that Ethan would leave Margaret's death notice behind.

'Ethan must be trying to gain Vanessa's compassion with this death notice, so that he can find an opportunity to reconcile with her later,' he thought. 'Well, too bad for him because I will never allow him to return to this home this time!'

A shrewd glint flashed through Caleb's eyes.

Then, he frowned and said, "Although it's inappropriate for me to say this, I think Ethan really has gone a bit too far."

As soon as Caleb said that, Vanessa immediately looked up at him.

Seeing this, Caleb continued, "How could Ethan have been so relaxed all this time if something had really happened to his mother? Plus, he didn't even ask you to handle the funeral. So, no matter how you look at it, it just doesn't seem very likely.

"Honestly, I think Ethan probably felt threatened because you've been nicer to Lily and me lately. Maybe that's why he forged this death notice in hopes that you would care about him."

Caleb laughed as he spoke.

Seeing that his words had clearly struck a chord with Vanessa, he seized the chance to keep criticizing Ethan.

"Vanessa, everything will be fine. You know how he is. Once he thinks it through in a couple of days and realizes that this trick doesn't work, he'll probably come crawling back. By then, he should be much more sensible."

After saying that, Caleb looked at Vanessa with a smile.

As for Vanessa, she did indeed take his words to heart.

The thought of losing Ethan caused her unbearable heartache.

So, if this was only him throwing a tantrum, she believed he would eventually come back. Once he did, everything between them would return to the way it had been before.

This time, however, she knew Ethan was deeply hostile toward Caleb and Lily.

So, to calm his anger and make up for everything he had endured recently, Vanessa made up her mind. Once Ethan returned, she would send Caleb and Lily far away.

After thinking it through, she suddenly felt relieved.

She picked up the torn-up marriage certificate from the ground, clutched it tightly in her hand, and prepared to leave.

Just as she turned around, Caleb suddenly pinched Lily's arm. Immediately, Lily burst into tears.

Upon seeing Vanessa look over, he apologized, "She hasn't seen you for too long and wants to spend more time with you. That's why she can't bear to see you leave and cries."

Vanessa sighed, put the marriage certificate in her arms, and picked up Lily.

'Since Ethan is still throwing a tantrum, I might as well take advantage of this time to spend some quality time with Lily,' she thought. 'After all, she will have very few chances to see me when Ethan comes back.'

At the thought, a trace of heartache appeared in Vanessa's eyes, so she carried Lily and took her out to different places.

That evening, Caleb came into her room with Lily in his arms. His face was pale as he told her Lily would be frightened if she could not see her.

Since Vanessa had compromised once for Lily's sake, she would definitely compromise a second time.

Before long, Caleb and Lily naturally moved into the master bedroom.

That night, he wore white sleepwear that hung loose on his frame, revealing just enough to make his intentions obvious.

He took the sleeping Lily out of Vanessa's arms and traced circles over Vanessa's chest.

"Vanessa, Ethan isn't here," he murmured. "He won't know. You liked it before. I can make you feel even better now."

With that, Caleb tried to lean over and pin Vanessa down.

A flicker of desire crossed Vanessa's eyes. However, the moment she touched Caleb, Ethan's lifeless gaze flashed into her mind. He was looking at everything before him calmly as if he had expected her infidelity all along.

That still, empty gaze burned Vanessa's outstretched hand. 

She abruptly shoved Caleb away. Then, she forced her eyes shut. "Get out!" she shouted.

"Vanessa, is everything okay?"

Caleb still refused to give up, whispering her name beside her ear.

The next thing he knew, Vanessa grabbed him tightly and dragged him out of the room mercilessly.

Caleb called her name twice from the doorway but received no answer. Thus, he had no choice but to leave reluctantly.

Once everything quieted down, Vanessa leaned against the door and slumped onto the floor.

For some reason, Ethan was all she could think about at this moment. 

She remembered the way he used to smile at her. The way he nodded gently whenever she spoke. The way he tolerated her again and again. The way he stayed gentle, even when everything hurt.

And she remembered the utter despair in his eyes when she refused to acknowledge him as her husband at the hospital.

At that moment, Vanessa finally had to admit it. She truly regretted hurting Ethan.

'I shouldn't have done that at the hospital that day,' she thought. 'Or rather, my life and Ethan's life began to take different paths gradually from the moment Lily was kidnapped.

'Frankly speaking, I don't want things to be this way. After all, I had said that I would only love Ethan for the rest of my life. But his heart seemed to have been locked away from me ever since I screwed up three years ago. I just wanted…'

Vanessa paused because even she no longer knew what she wanted.

After waking up the next day, Vanessa wandered around the villa like a lost soul.

It had already been a month since Ethan left after that humiliating incident at the hospital.

She thought he would come back soon, but a month had passed, and Ethan still had not appeared.

At this point, Vanessa could no longer deceive herself and keep letting things drag on like this. Like a wild beast that had lost its mate, she searched everywhere for any trace of Ethan, but she found nothing. 

No matter where she looked, there was no trace of Ethan's existence.

Ethan's belongings had gotten fewer and fewer ever since Caleb moved in.

For that reason, everything he left behind in the house was gone for good now.

Vanessa sat blankly on the couch, clutching the marriage certificate in her hand. She had already restored the marriage certificate to its original state the day after Ethan left.

Even so, she did not expect that their marriage certificate would be the only thing Ethan left behind.

As she stared intently at Ethan's name and signature on the marriage certificate, her mind was filled with memories of his voice and smile over the past few years.

Vanessa had considered calling Ethan, but he blocked her number the day after he left.

In truth, he still didn't answer even after she called him from a new number.

Even now, she had no idea where he had gone.

She sent a message. "Use all Hartwell Group's resources. We must find Ethan, no matter what!"

In the days that followed, she stopped going home and stayed at the company instead, frantically searching for any news of Ethan.

A month later, her assistant suddenly rushed over anxiously. "Ms. Hart, we have information about your husband!"

Vanessa quickly looked up, her eyes filled with joy.