Broken Memories, Intertwined Hearts

Chapter 74

"Then just fall for me."

Ethan was staring at Ines, his eyes full of determination. "I'm a bossy guy. I don't want just a wife, I want someone I love and who loves me to be by my side."

"Ethan, can we not do this? Let's just keep things the way they were when we got married."

Ethan held Ines by her waist and pulled her closer. "No, Ines, that's not happening. I don't want to go back to how things were."

"Did you know? My dad was once my grandfather's favorite student. He was from a humble background, and at first, my grandparents didn't agree to them being together. They knew my mom was too proud, not someone who could tolerate anything, easily hurt. It was not until three years ago when my grandparents' health deteriorated, and my aunt took me to see them that I learned from them. The reason they opposed their relationship was not just because of his background. The most fatal reason was that the man didn't have pure intentions towards her. They were afraid my mother would fall too deeply in love and ultimately get hurt."

Ethan listened quietly as Ines paused before continuing, "Sure enough, she chose to end her life by suicide after learning that he had cheated on her after their marriage. I saw in her diary her naive love during her teenage years, and the growing distance between them after marriage. She cried because of his indifference, and finally lost control completely when his mistress and daughter came to her door. That man didn't even know that his wife had unknowingly developed depression. For six years, as her husband, he didn't notice at all. If he had discovered it earlier, maybe things wouldn't have ended like this."

Ines felt a chill at the corner of her eyes and realized that tears had unknowingly fallen. She didn't know what was happening to her.

Back in B City, she could stay calm, even treating the events recorded in the diary as just a sad story. But everything changed when she got to A City. She seemed to have lost control over her emotions. Seeing Hunter and Shirley, the rage from the bottom of her heart surged like a tidal wave, quickly drowning her. The hurtful words just slipped out of her mouth, and she found herself wanting to laugh at their pain, feeling an unprecedented relief.

For a moment, she even had the illusion that maybe the car accident seven years ago was really her doing.

Ethan leaned down to gently kiss the tears off Ines's face. "Izzy, don't do this. You can't doubt me because of what happened to your parents. We're not them. It won't end like that for us. Have some faith in me, give it a chance, okay?"

Regarding Ines's mother's suicide, he only knew the basics, but not the details. He certainly didn't know that the main reason for her suicide was six years of depression.

Ines didn't respond, just buried her face in Ethan's chest, sobbing silently. Soon, Ethan felt a wet spot on his chest.

Ethan didn't force her. He believed that one day he could help her move past the shadow of her parents. He gently patted her back, his eyes full of compassion.

Not until he felt the person in his arms stop crying did Ethan speak again. "One night, I took a call for you. It was him. I know you don't want anything to do with the Galeana family anymore, so I didn't tell you, and I blocked his number."

Knowing Ines didn't like Hunter, Ethan used 'him' instead.

Ines nodded, indicating that she understood. She didn't feel repulsed by Ethan's actions, but rather relieved.

"What did he want?"

Ines smirked coldly. "He wanted me to go back to work at the Galeana Group. I could choose between the positions of purchase department manager and marketing director."

Ethan's eyebrows raised slightly, his eyes deepening. "He's quite generous, offering you such good positions. What did you say?"

Ines stiffened. "I refused and said some other things that pissed him off."

Ethan suddenly understood. The handprint on her face must have been left then. After that, she must have left the Galeana family in a fit of anger, forgetting her bag and phone.

"So you walked back?" No wonder her heels were rubbed raw. Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

Ines nodded, and Ethan couldn't help but pinch her nose in anger. Ines, in pain, looked at him with innocent eyes.

Ethan scolded her softly, both angry and helpless. "How could you be so silly, walking such a long way. Didn't you meet anyone on the way? Couldn't you borrow a phone and call me?"

Listening to his scolding tone, Ines felt a long-lost feeling. The first time they met after getting their marriage certificate, he also lectured her like a head of the family.

Her heart was instantly filled, a sense of satisfaction she had never felt before. She wasn't unloved, there was still someone who cared and worried about her.

Just as Ines was about to speak, Ethan cut her off. "Don't tell me you don't remember my number. I know how good your memory is and how sensitive you are to numbers."

Ines pouted. This man seemed to have mind-reading abilities, guessing exactly what she was thinking.

"You could've taken a taxi back home. Even if you didn't have money, you could've asked the guard to pay for you temporarily. Even if you reached home and didn't have a key, you could've called me from the guard's place or waited for me in the duty room. Why did you have to go out in the cold?"

"I just wanted to clear my head." Ines murmured defensively, hanging her head. Ethan wanted to say something, but seeing her hanging her head, looking as if she had been greatly wronged, he couldn't bring himself to. In the end, he sighed, "Are you trying to torture yourself or me?" It had been many years since he last worried so much about someone. He really fell hard this time.

But falling for his own wife, that's actually a blessing.

A long sigh echoed from above, and Ines found herself totally incapable of arguing with what he had just said. Her mind was a complete blank at that moment, refusing to think or communicate with anyone, even the simplest things didn't cross her mind. "Izzy, sometimes you're sharp as a tack, but other times, you're so clueless it worries me. Can you promise me to never let something like last night happen again? Can I be the first one you think of when something's up? Can you run to me first when something's wrong?" Ethan gently stroked her face, his eyes filled with indulgence and tenderness.

Can you run to me first when something's wrong? This passionate question hit her heart like a violent rainstorm, and wrapped around her heart like a curse. So much so, that years later, she still remembered this sentence and stayed true to it.