Chapter 12
That night, Ethan got completely drunk at a bar, the floor of the dim room covered with empty bottles, while his phone thrown in the comer buzzed with hundreds of messages from the Smith family, the company, and friends.
But Ethan didn’t read any of them, just curled up on the sofa, numbly pouring alcohol down his throat as his thoughts. grew slower and hazier.
In his daze, he seemed to return to their wedding day, with Sophia in her wedding dress walking toward him step by step.
Her face glowed with happiness. “Ethan, I’m your wife now. Please take care of me for the rest of our lives.”
Just as he was about to respond, the scene suddenly changed.
Sophia’s face was paper-white, her pristine wedding dress soaked in blood. “You killed me! Why did you kill me?!”
Ethan felt his heart breaking.
He shook his head desperately. “No, Sophia, I’m sorry! I never meant to hurt you!”
He tried to hold her, but Sophia kept moving further away….
Just then, a voice pulled him back to consciousness. “Mr. Miller, sorry, but we’re closing soon. Should we arrange for
someone to take you home?”
A server stood at the door, carefully reminding him.
Ethan pinched his nose bridge, waved at the server, and stumbled out of the bar, but after walking only a short distance,
dizziness hit him and he leaned against a wall, hanging his head and breathing heavily.
Suddenly, he heard a girl’s terrified crying from an alley behind him. “I can give you money! I’ll give you all my money! I
won’t call the police! Please let me go!”
Her trembling voice overlapped with one in his memory.
In college, Sophia had been the campus beauty with countless admirers.
Once, after an internship, she was cornered by some thugs in an alley who tried to assault her.
He and his friends happened to pass by and heard her tearful voice….
Remembering Sophia’s tear-stained face then, rage surged through him.
Ethan rushed in, roaring, “Bastard! Let her go!”
Without hesitation, he threw himself at the thugs.
But there were too many of them, and he was drunk with little strength left. He quickly fell behind.
The men surrounded Ethan and the girl. The leader spat at him viciously. “Playing hero? Look at yourself! Today we’ll
teach you a lesson!”
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The others raised iron bars and started beating Ethan.
He held “Sophia” tightly in his arms, using his body to shield her from all harm.
The whole world seemed to go quiet. He saw “Sophia’s” tear-filled eyes overflow with terror.
Her mouth moved as if saying something, but he couldn’t hear a word.
In the second before losing consciousness, he covered “Sophia’s” eyes.
His voice was gentle. “Don’t be afraid, Sophia.”
When Ethan woke up, he was in a hospital room.
Ignoring the IV in his hand, he struggled to get up. His friend Marcus quickly stopped him. “Don’t move! You’re still
injured. I think you’ve lost your mind…”
Before he could finish, Ethan interrupted.
He gripped Marcus’s arm tightly, his voice panicked. “Where’s Sophia? She must be terrified. I need to comfort her!”
Marcus saw the undisguised urgency and heartache on his face and was about to say something when the door
suddenly opened.
A girl with red, swollen eyes rushed to his bedside. “Thank you for saving me! I have nothing to repay you with, but I’m willing to stay and take care of you…”
Seeing this unfamiliar face, Ethan pushed her away.
“Who are you? I don’t know you!” He turned to Marcus. “Where’s Sophia? Is she still angry with me? I’ll go apologize…”
He yanked out the IV and strode toward the door.
Marcus quickly stopped him, raising his voice. “Ethan! Get a grip! Sophia isn’t here. The girl you saved last night is her!”
Ethan froze, turning back to see the girl’s aggrieved face that gradually merged with the one from last night’s memory, and only then did he finally accept that Sophia had left long ago and the person he saved wasn’t her.
Seeing Ethan’s instantly dejected expression, Marcus felt deeply moved.
He wanted to say that if he knew it would come to this, why had he deceived Sophia in the first place?
But seeing Ethan’s defeated state, he ultimately stayed silent.
He sighed deeply. “Alright, let’s work together to find Sophia. We’ll definitely find her. Don’t worry too much.”
But hearing this brought Ethan no joy.
He covered his face in despair, his muffled voice hoarse to the extreme. “Sophia cancelled her identity records. I used every connection I have, but I still can’t find her.”
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The air around them seemed to freeze.
Marcus was silent for a long time before slowly speaking, “There’s one person who might know where Sophia is…”
The next day, Ethan arranged to meet with Caleb to discuss Sophia, and to his surprise, Caleb agreed without hesitation.
Suppressing his excitement, he eagerly went to the appointment, but was stopped by the receptionist at the company entrance. “Sir, Mr. Williams is in a meeting. Please wait downstairs.”
Though the girl smiled, her attitude was firm.
Ethan had been pampered since childhood and had never been treated with such disrespect.
But in the end, he endured it.
As long as he could find out where Sophia was, he’d give his life!
But for the next several days, Ethan waited from morning until dark, and Caleb never appeared.
The assistants and receptionists just brushed him off with “He’s busy with work, in meetings.”
After waiting a full week, Ethan finally lost patience.
He took a check to the security guard to ask about the CEO’s schedule.
“You’re looking for Mr. Williams?” The guard looked puzzled. “He went on a business trip days ago. He hasn’t been to the
company at all.”
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