Chapter 270: Chapter 268: Will You Be Responsible for a Lifetime (19)

It was the first time she had called him by his name.

The sound of it made his heart clench.

"Chloe."

"Don’t call me that." Chloe Marshall turned and walked toward the bedroom. "I’m going to sleep."

Ethan Ellsworth grabbed her. "Chloe!"

He pulled her forcefully into his arms. "That man today doesn’t love you at all. It’s good that you broke up."

"He doesn’t love me, but does that mean you do?"

He held her tighter and blurted out, "I love you."

The moment the words were out, they both froze.

"What... what did you say?"

In the impossibly quiet night, they could feel each other’s heartbeats.

The tremor between them was so palpable.

"Boss Ellsworth... you can’t joke about things like this—"

His fingers wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes.

"I’m not joking. I’ve never been more serious in my life." His breath washed over her face.

It felt as if her heart was about to leap out of her chest.

She was too nervous to speak; tears just kept streaming down her face.

"Don’t cry. Let’s go to sleep."

Lying side-by-side in bed, neither of them could sleep.

Their hands were clasped together, holding on tight.

It seemed they were both trying to adjust to this sudden change.

Somehow, they eventually fell asleep during the night.

「The next morning」

When Chloe Marshall opened her eyes, she was met with a face, magnified and close.

It was him.

’Waking up and immediately seeing him... it feels really good.’

"You’re awake?"

"Mhm." Chloe Marshall’s face flushed slightly.

"Hurry and get up. Let’s go downstairs for breakfast. Don’t bother cooking. After we eat, we’re going home."

"Home?" Chloe Marshall sat up.

"Don’t you want to tell my mom the good news?" he said with a smile.

Hearing that, Chloe Marshall quickly grabbed a clean set of clothes to change into. After washing up, the two of them left together.

Just as they closed the door, they ran into Zeke Marshall, who lived across the hall.

"Sis? Boss Ellsworth? You two?"

Ethan Ellsworth put his arm around Chloe Marshall’s shoulder. "From now on, you should call me something else. Brother-in-law, got it?"

Zeke Marshall looked them up and down. "Are you two sleepwalking? Still not awake yet?"

"I’m serious," Ethan said.

Zeke Marshall looked at Chloe Marshall. "Sis, are you two back together?"

"Mhm."

Zeke Marshall looked slightly surprised. "Boss Ellsworth, do you really love my sister?"

"What do you think?" Ethan retorted.

"Well, in that case, I hope you won’t make my sister cry again."

Ethan Ellsworth nodded. "Haven’t eaten breakfast yet, have you? Join us?"

Zeke Marshall’s face instantly lit up. "Sure!"

The three of them sat down at a breakfast stall downstairs.

They were completely without pretense.

The three of them sat facing each other.

Deep down, Chloe Marshall still couldn’t quite believe they were back together.

The shock to her already jaded heart was immense.

After they finished eating, Zeke Marshall went back upstairs, and the couple prepared to drive back to the Ellsworth Residence.

Just then, Jean Grant’s car sped up and screeched to a halt next to Ethan Ellsworth’s.

She got out, her face pale and her dark circles heavy.

"Ethan Ellsworth, I waited outside your house all night. You never came back. Did you sleep with her?"

Ethan Ellsworth looked at her calmly. It was as if he was seeing her from years ago—that stubborn, headstrong, and distinctive little girl who had shyly confessed her feelings to him.

Perhaps those memories that still tugged at his heart had long since been scattered to the wind; neither of them had just realized it yet.

"Chloe and I are dating now. Jean, it’s time for you to let go of this knot in your heart. All this time has only proven that we’re just not right for each other."

Jean Grant’s eyes turned red. "This is all my fault. Ethan, please, just forgive me one more time, okay?"

"This isn’t about forgiveness. It’s about something we were both oblivious to while stubbornly pushing forward. Jean, turn back. I’ve completely let you go. Don’t make it so we can’t even be regular friends."

"No! Ethan, I won’t accept this! I won’t let it end like this! We were just getting started."

"Maybe, in the years to come, I’ll always remember that there was once a woman who made my heart skip a beat, who made me hold on to a hopeless situation. But when we finally stood face-to-face, we were destined to only gaze at each other from across a vast sea, never able to truly enter each other’s hearts. Jean, I wish you happiness."

With that, he opened the car door and got in.

The car drove away.

It disappeared from Jean Grant’s sight.

Her eyes blurred as she let tears of regret stream freely down her cheeks.

’I never knew I could be so humiliated, so utterly disgraced in a love that was just about to begin.’

For someone with her pride to grovel like this, only to have him ignore her completely...

’Was it all because of his little assistant?’

She got back in her car, drove to her house, and sat there for a long time without getting out.

’Does he need me to die before he’ll come back to me?’

Jean Grant finally got out of the car and stumbled through her front door.

She sat in the wine cellar.

Dead drunk, Jean Grant staggered out of the wine cellar and tried to call Ethan Ellsworth. His phone was still off, and she didn’t know his new number yet.

Finally, she called Zoe Ellsworth’s cell phone.

"Hello, Zoe? It’s Jean."

"Have you been drinking?" Zoe Ellsworth asked.

"Your brother’s phone is off. He won’t answer my calls. Zoe, tell me, if I died, would he even be sad?"

Zoe Ellsworth quickly put on her shoes. "What nonsense are you talking about? What happened between you two now?!"

"I made a mistake, and he broke up with me. Zoe, I’m in so much pain."

"Where are you? I’ll come find you."

"Don’t bother. I’m going to the bridge to feel the cold wind."

With that, she hung up.

Zoe Ellsworth immediately called Ethan Ellsworth’s new number. "Brother," she said urgently, "Jean just called me! It sounds like she’s drunk a lot. She said she’s going to a bridge to ’feel the cold wind’ and asked if you’d be sad if she died. I’m scared she’s going to do something! You have to go find her, quick!"

Hearing this, Ethan Ellsworth shot to his feet. "Mom, Jean is threatening to kill herself. Chloe and I are going to find her now."

At these words, the happiness Mrs. Ellsworth had just been feeling was washed away. "Okay, you two go on ahead. I’ll go find Mr. and Mrs. Grant, and then we’ll join you."

Ethan Ellsworth nodded. "Okay."

He then took Chloe and drove off to find Jean Grant.

He guessed there was only one place Jean Grant would go.

He rushed there first.

Sure enough, not far from the bridge, he saw her leaning against the low railing, looking as if she could fall at any moment. Her hair was blowing wildly, obscuring her face, and she looked utterly desolate.

Ethan Ellsworth got out of the car and slowly walked toward her.

Jean Grant spotted him and screamed, "Don’t come any closer! If you take one more step, I’ll jump from here right now!"

Ethan Ellsworth did as she said and stopped. "Jean, are you really going to be that foolish?"

Completely wasted, Jean Grant stared at him. "You overestimate my ability to handle this, Ethan! Why do you have to abandon me too? I’ll change, I told you I’ll change! Why don’t you believe me?!"