Chapter 3 “Ellie isn’t my sister anymore.” The second Ethan recognized the caller, he frowned and said coldly. “Don’t use her as an excuse to contact anyone in the Caldwell family again.” It was my biological mother on the phone. Maybe because she was dying. Maybe because she was ashamed. Maybe because guilt finally crushed her. After a pause, she choked out, “I’m the one who was wrong. I never should’ve switched Ellie and Finn. But Ellie is innocent. Can’t you… treat her like you used to?” Ethan laughed under his breath. Cruel. Dismissive.
“You mean I should go back to watching her act obedient and pitiful so she can use me? Low tricks really do run in the blood. Otherwise how would she even think to use feelings to control her own brother?” Then a nurse’s voice came through the phone. “Bed three. If the hospital fees aren’t paid, we’ll have to stop the medication… That was enough for Ethan. He decided what it meant all on his own. “So that’s it. Ellie didn’t come here for a doctor. She came here to ask me for money for you.” Then he hung up. No hesitation. No mercy.
Auto-added to the Library Then he opened his messages and typed. [Don’t come over.] [I’m not giving you a cent.] I wasn’t here for money. I wasn’t going to ask for his money ever again. Even though he couldn’t see me, I still stepped back from him. Because I could feel it so clearly. He truly hated the version of me he had chosen to believe in. “She’s not coming. Let’s go.” Ethan didn’t wait for my reply, He stormed out. An ambulance screamed into the hospital driveway just as he got in the car. A stretcher under a white sheet was rushed inside.
Ethan caught sight of it in the rearview mirror. Then he looked away. The Rolls-Royce started moving again. But before it could leave, the driver stopped. Someone knocked on the rear window. Ethan rolled it down and saw the ER doctor who’d bumped into him earlier. Chapter 3 Lera Romance romântico e fantasia INSTALL 33.33% “Sorry. Is this yours?” In the doctor’s hand was a cuff link. Black onyx. Matte platinum. The one I’d given Ethan for his birthday last year. He recognized it at once. “Yes.” The doctor apologized and said it had probably come loose when they ran into each other.
Ethan took it back and thanked him. Then the window went up. The car pulled away. Finn kept talking during the drive. Ethan barely answered. Just short replies here and there. But his hand stayed closed around that cuff link the whole time. I sat off to the side and looked at his face past Finn’s nonstop talking. And I wondered if he was remembering that birthday too. The cuff link came from a famous independent designer in New York. It cost an insane amount.
I wanted to buy it with money I earned myself, so for six months before Ethan’s birthday, I painted until I practically dropped and sold every piece I could. At midnight, I slipped into his study. He was frowning over financial reports, but the second he saw me, he smiled. I stood in front of him and said in my bossiest voice, “Serious. No smiling.” Then I told him to close his eyes. He did. But the smile stayed on his mouth anyway. The room went still. I stared at his face too long. So long I got lost in it.
I could hear blood rushing in my ears and couldn’t even tell whose heartbeat I was hearing. “Ellie?” He must’ve gotten impatient, because he called my name. Flustered, shoved the velvet box at him and said, “Okay. Open them.” He opened it and looked genuinely surprised, “Put them on for me,” he said with a smile. I took one out. My fingers were trembling. So I panicked, stuffed the whole thing into his hand, blurted out, “Happy birthday,” and ran. Back in my room, I lay there replaying the scene over and over. Maybe I hadn’t hidden my feelings well enough. Maybe I hadn’t acted mature enough.
Maybe I’d made everything too obvious. Then there was a knock on my door. Chapter 3 L Lera Romance romântico e fantasia INSTALL 33.33% ( Ethan came in pulled me out of the blankets, and said with that fond little smile. Why’d you run? I looked up at him. He handed me a huge box inside was the custom paint set I’d wanted forever. And an antique paintbrush Either one cost more than the cuff links. Outside, it was a New York autumn night, and the smell of maple drifted in through the window. “Do you like them?” He smiled and ruffled my hair until it was a mess. His eyes were so open.
So unguarded. Like he was giving me everything without holding back. “I do.” I whispered. I was too scared to say it louder. By the time the Rolls-Royce reached the Caldwell estate, Ethan’s mother was already waiting outside. The woman I’d long since started calling Mom in my heart. She asked right away. “How is Finn? Is she okay? Ethan said she was fine. Finn did what she always did and leaned into her, saying she still didn’t feel good. Mom comforted her awkwardly and sent her inside. But her own expression still looked off. So Ethan asked. “Mom, do you feel sick?
She touched her chest and frowned. “Finn is clearly fine. So why do I still feel uneasy? Why do I feel like something happened to Ellie? Chapter 3 L Lera INSTALL Romance romântico e fantasia 33.33% George Orwell
