After My Husband Sent Me to Learn the Rules, He Regretted – Chapter 8
Ethan took leave, staying with me at the tea estate.
We picked and processed tea, life slowing into calm beauty.
Sometimes, he’d reminisce:
“Anna, remember the adults’ gala? I knocked over the champagne tower, crying in fear.”
“You rushed in like a hero, pounding your chest and telling me not to worry.”
I strained to recall:
“Vaguely. I said I did it, you said you did, and… we got locked up together.”
Ethan laughed, tears welling up in his eyes.
He hugged me tightly:
“I thought you were amazing, a glowing angel sent to save me.”
“You know, I’m not my father’s real son — just an adopted punching bag. Without you, he might’ve killed me.”
His warm embrace made me shiver.
He held tighter:
“You were so tiny yet so brave. I vowed to become as strong as you. Anna, you saved me.”
“I returned too late. I’m truly sorry.”
I hugged him back:
“Neither of us was wrong.”
Ethan’s work called him away.
Then Nathan appeared.
Seeing me, tears fell:
“Anna, I finally found you.”
His pain filled me with irritation:
“You know I don’t want to see you.”
No longer the proud man, he seemed fragile:
“I was wrong. I didn’t know it was like that.”
“Clara said it was just for you to learn calm.”
I shook my head:
“She said, and you believed, Mr. Sterling. Why are you here?”
Perhaps my sarcastic remark left him bewildered.
He pulled out the bracelet, offering it like a prize:
“Look, I brought it back.”
“I’ll never see Clara again. Anna, can you forgive me?”
I shook my head:
“It’s mine. You gave it to someone else, and now it’s back. Proud?”
His erect posture slumped, his eyes pleading:
“Anna, I know my mistakes are unforgivable, but if you forgive me, I’ll do anything!”
I looked at him, intrigued:
“Then die.”
“Take Clara and Mark with you.”
“And everyone who hurt me.”
A deep sense of despair filled his eyes:
“Anna, you weren’t like this before.”
I nodded casually:
“Before you, I was carefree.”
His face paled, standing rigid.
I had no interest in his regrets and simply shut the door.
Soon, Ethan returned with a will.
Nathan had asked him to deliver it.
I didn’t open it, handing it to my lawyer for asset settlement.
Later, I saw news on TV.
A wealthy man named Sterling poisoned the sanatorium’s food, killing all the elderly residents while they slept.
The sanatorium’s owner and his sister were found dead in the basement, gruesomely.
Sterling’s body was found too.
Seeing the blurred images, I frowned in disgust and quickly switched to an entertainment channel.
Ethan brought a fruit platter:
“Try to eat more. Your appetite seems off. Don’t let yourself get too thin.”
I smiled, popping fruit in my mouth, nestling into his warm, solid embrace.
Those who had hurt me could cause no more harm.
I’d forget that past, moving forward bravely as I once did.