Chapter 5

The next morning, Ethan showed up at the hospital again.

He smoothly laid out the food containers on the table.

There was also a fresh bouquet of roses.

"You must be hungry. I made this at home. They're all your favorites. You're still weak, so you need to eat well."

Seeing my gaze linger on the flowers, he said softly:

"I didn't know you liked these things. I thought you were different from other girls and didn't care about romance..."

I smiled faintly.

To be fair, Ethan had been good to me during our relationship.

He remembered all my preferences, and when I was sick, he would stay by my side without leaving.

His lack of romance was his only flaw, but in my eyes, it had been a charming quirk.

If he didn't know how to be romantic, I could be the one to do it.

But it turned out he had just played me for a fool.

It wasn't that he didn't know how to be romantic—he just didn't want to be romantic with me!

Holding back my tears, I asked, "How did you and your ex actually break up? Was I the other woman?"

Hearing this, he panicked and denied it.

"Of course not..."

I looked into his eyes, speaking slowly and clearly.

"Ethan, are you going to keep lying to me?"

"I'm giving you one last chance."

He finally set down his utensils and looked up at me.

"Listen to me, it's really not what you think."

"We were just in a gray area back then. We weren't officially together, so you weren't the other woman. She and I had already lost feelings for each other."

I laughed bitterly, finding it incredibly ironic.

"But had you actually broken up with her back then?"

He opened his mouth, but once again, fell silent.

I pulled out the photos from my bag and threw them at him.

My voice was as calm as if I were talking about someone else's life.

"Why didn't you answer my calls the night I got sick?"

"Were you with her?"

His pupils contracted sharply.

The photo showed them checking into a hotel lobby.

And they had booked only one room.

Ethan shook his head in a frantic panic.

"Let me explain! She was threatening suicide that night. I went to check on her out of pity."

"But absolutely nothing happened between us that night, I swear..."

Is that so?

I looked at him and smiled mockingly.

"Did you know? That was the night I was rushed to the ER. I almost didn't make it."

"And where were you? You were with her, while lying to me that you were on a business trip."

His lips trembled, unable to utter a single word.

My tears finally spilled over, rolling down my cheeks.

Ethan frantically grabbed some tissues to wipe them away.

"I'm sorry, Elena. It's all my fault."

"I love you so much. I want to be with you forever."

"I was just so afraid you'd leave me if you found out, so I kept it from you..."

The love in his eyes didn't look fake.

But that only made it hurt more.

I already knew the answer.

Yet, a tiny, foolish part of me still held onto a sliver of hope.

"If I ask you to cut off all contact with her right now, can you do it?"

Ethan looked conflicted, explaining carefully:

"Elena, this is a debt I owe her. I can't break my word."

"Can you just give me another six months? It's only six months until the five-year mark. Once the agreement is fulfilled, we will never speak again."

"Didn't you say you wanted a beach wedding? We can get married then, okay?"

I looked at him, finding it hilarious, yet my heart felt completely cold.

"Ethan, that's a debt *you* owe her. It has absolutely nothing to do with me."

His face lost all color.

He wanted to say something, but realized he had no defense.

He could only stare at me in silence.

My hands shook slightly, but my voice was firm and clear:

"Ethan, let's break up."