A Call That Changed Her Entire Life

A man's hoarse and deep voice came from the other end of the phone. “What can I do for you?“

“Mr. Gu, I would like to meet up with you tomorrow,“

said Ethan in a cold tone, though his voice could barely be heard in the bedroom.

The next day, Jacob found himself inside a private room of a bar.

He crossed his legs casually and leisurely took a sip of his tea. From the corner of his eyes, he cautiously glanced at the man in a suit who had been standing in front of the French window for quite some time.

“What do you want from me?“ Jacob asked and took another small sip from his cup.

Ethan finally turned around, but didn't move closer. Instead, he shook his head and said in a deep voice, “Mr. Gu, I want to terminate our agreement.“

The person that he loved the most was already by his side, and all that Ethan wanted was to stay with her for the rest of his life.

Jacob's expression remained nonchalant. He slowly put the teacup down and calmly responded, “Give me a good reason.“

Instead of looking at him, Ethan turned back around and continued to gaze out of the window. He watched the clear blue sky and the white clouds passing by before saying, “She doesn't want me to go through with it.“

With a contemptuous smile and raised eyebrows, Jacob reminded him, “If I recall, you were the one who came to me first and offered to cooperate with me. Now, you want to revoke our agreement just because of that?“

Silence filled the room when Jacob finished talking. After a while, Ethan finally murmured, “I'm so sorry, Mr. Gu.“

In Ethan's heart, there was nobody else more important than Estelle. She was the only thing that mattered.

Jacob did not refute him. Instead, he paused for a while. Then, he looked up at him and asked, “Do you think that Bill will let you go if you nullify our agreement now?“

Before Ethan could open his mouth to reply, Jacob continued, “I don't doubt that you know him better than me. You know what kind of person Bill is. He is the type of person who will vow to seek revenge even over the smallest of things. Even if you managed to somehow get out of this mess now, remember that he is a man who never forgets. He won't let you or the people you care about the most go so easily.“

Jacob stressed the last few words and made sure that Ethan understood what he was implying.

the sudden realization. He couldn't find

true that Bill was a cruel and merciless person. If it benefited Bill, then he would never let Ethan

did you become so naïve? How could you believe in such a foolish

this, Ethan's eyes

no ounce of self-preservation for yourself,

protect yourself from people who want to hurt you, then the people closest to you are also the ones who are most likely to get hurt.“ Despite Jacob's distant eyes

everything that he had now, there was no way that he could protect Estelle.

her get hurt because of his carelessness was something

back to me when you've made your final decision.“ It wasn't that Jacob was forcing Ethan to remain committed to their deal. But he just wanted the

the door, Ethan said, “I'd like to continue

as he heard those words. In his mind, he had already been expecting Ethan to change his decision. Ethan's weakness was that he always wanted to protect the ones he loved and he would never purposely put

was out of sight, Ethan

his pocket and stared at the familiar number in his address book. He was lost in thought as he

he took a deep breath and dialed the

a soft female voice answered. From the way she talked, Ethan could tell

I couldn't do

a moment of silence from the other end of the phone.

happened. I promise you,“ Ethan choked

reply. The silence from the

to do it?“ she finally asked.

anything for you. But I don't want to lose you again. Bill won't

as she answered with a faint smile, “I know, Ethan. It's okay. It doesn't matter anymore. I

woman's comforting voice made it even more painful for Ethan. It was as

his head and whispered, “I won't let anyone hurt

was getting warmer as the days went by. The wedding

the phone call in the early morning, she was still sleepy. If Jacob hadn't woken her up gently, she wouldn't have heard Cherish's excited voice on the phone.

I are getting married. Our wedding will be next week! You