My Amnesic Ex Married My Sister, So I Married His Uncle-Chapter 89: Stella Sterling, Write Me a Letter
After asking this, Leo Quinn felt a strange sense of nervousness. He swallowed, his eyes fixed on Ethan Rhodes’s face, which was marred by a furrowed brow and minor scrapes.
As someone who had witnessed the history of Stella Sterling and Ethan Rhodes’s relationship, Leo Quinn had once been one of the few people who hoped Ethan would quickly regain his memories.
But now, Ethan and Stella had completely gone their separate ways.
If he were to recover his memories at a time like this, Leo honestly couldn’t say whether it would be a good thing or a bad thing.
Meanwhile, Ethan, leaning back against the hospital bed, heard Leo’s words and felt unreal images flash through his mind.
The images were like old, dust-covered photographs, too blurry to make out clearly.
Ethan himself probably didn’t even realize that Stella had only mentioned the letters to him once.
He just hadn’t paid any attention at the time.
But now, he had a vague awareness, a strange feeling that this "correspondence" had gone on between them for a very long time.
It was strange, a feeling of unfamiliar familiarity.
Ethan clutched his head in pain, slowly curling into a ball.
"Ethan, are you not feeling well?" Seeing how much pain he was in, Leo turned to leave. "I’ll go get a doctor."
Ethan sat on the bed with a vacant stare as the images in his mind gradually came into focus.
He and Leo had been in the same class since elementary school. Their families visited each other, and the two quickly became friends.
Leo was very popular, knowing plenty of people, from the sixth-graders down to the other classes in their grade.
So, when Leo learned that another one of his "little bros" in the sixth grade had received a note from a girl, he had exaggeratedly challenged Ethan, "Hey, Ethan Rhodes, I hear all the charming guys are getting little love letters. Want to compete?"
As little squirts in the third or fourth grade, they were at that competitive age where they’d say things like, "My big brother dares to eat poop, does yours?" just to win a stupid argument. Ethan immediately accepted the challenge.
So, the next time Stella came to the Rhodes’ house with her parents and asked him what he wanted for his birthday, he said, "Stella, write me letters!"
Meeting Stella’s questioning gaze, Ethan thought for a moment and explained, "It’s in my English book. Let’s be pen pals!"
Stella, thinking Ethan genuinely wanted this gift, readily agreed. "Okay!"
’Her vacant gaze slowly cleared. What Stella said was true...’
That time in Lumina, when Stella first asked him where the letters she wrote were, he had just assumed it was an excuse she made up on the spot to keep pestering him.
’I can’t believe it was real...’
’It feels like I’ve forgotten something very important.’
’Did Stella really write me letters?’
’And what about me? Did I write back?’
By the time Leo returned to the room with a doctor, Ethan was long gone.
Leo ran a hand through his hair in frustration and quickly called Yolanda Thorne.
When Yolanda heard over the phone that her grown son was missing, she was so anxious she was on the verge of tears.
Just as she was about to take the driver and go look for him, Ethan appeared at home, still in his hospital gown.
Yolanda’s heart settled. "Ethan, why did you suddenly come back from the hospital? You haven’t recovered yet. Didn’t the doctor say you still needed more tests?"
Ethan hastily and clumsily changed his shoes, answering distractedly as he headed for his room.
Yolanda watched as her son came home and immediately started tearing the place apart, searching meticulously. He didn’t miss a single corner, looking as if he wanted to pry up every floorboard to check underneath.
She couldn’t help but ask, "Son, what are you looking for? You haven’t fully recovered yet. Listen to me, go back to the hospital and rest, okay?"
Ethan was in no mood to listen to her. He was completely focused on his search and didn’t even reply.
After he had finally turned his room upside down and then searched the study with lingering desperation, he slumped to the floor and blankly uttered a single word: "Nothing..."
"Nothing what? Son, what on earth are you looking for? Tell Mom, and I’ll help you find it."
Ethan seemed to grasp onto a sliver of hope. "Mom, did you know that Stella used to write me letters? Where are they? She asked me about them before, but I’ve never seen them."
Yolanda frowned and just said, "Ethan, you... are you starting to remember something?"
She was his mother, after all, so Ethan let his guard down and nodded.
"I’m remembering some things, but it’s all very blurry. Mom, Stella said she wrote me letters before. Do you know anything about that?"
For a moment, Yolanda didn’t know what to say.
She knew. But those events were from so long ago—so long ago that she and Ethan hadn’t even moved out of the Rhodes Estate with Jonathan Rhodes yet.
Stella had written a few letters, but that was ages ago.
’Besides, the kids were still in elementary school back then. What would he want with those things?’
’No matter why he wants them, the engagement party is over now. I absolutely will not allow Stella to tarnish Ethan’s reputation in any way.’
In the end, Yolanda just said, "Didn’t you pack up all of Stella’s things and return them to her a long time ago? There wouldn’t be anything of hers left in the house. Son, are you sure you’re not misremembering?"
’Am I misremembering?’
Ethan himself didn’t know.
Seeing him silent, Yolanda helped him up from the floor. "Alright, son, stop thinking about this. In two days, we have to go back to the Estate for a family dinner. You need to get well before then, understand? Don’t play games with your health."
And just like that, with a mix of concealment and coaxing, Yolanda sent Ethan back to the hospital.
As soon as Yolanda returned, she immediately instructed the household staff to do a thorough search for any letters or similar items while cleaning, telling them not to miss the utility room or the storage room.
...
「Meanwhile.」
Although Owen Rhodes had said he wasn’t angry with Stella, she was still as timid as a quail as he led her by the hand out of the Qillian Club, not daring to make a sound.
His face was grim, and his eyes, usually so full of warmth, were now exceptionally dark, a tornado brewing within them.
In the time she had known him, Stella had never seen him truly angry.
’But this must be what it’s like,’ she thought.
A single look from him could scare a person speechless.
Owen walked quickly, and Stella struggled to keep up, but she didn’t dare ask him to slow down.
It wasn’t until they were in the car that Owen noticed Stella’s occasional, timid glances and realized his expression must have been too grim, that he had probably frightened her.
He sighed, softening the look on his face.
Their fingers were still intertwined. He tightened his grip slightly, and the twinge of pain made Stella turn her head to look at him.
"Aren’t you going to say something?"
Stella obediently lowered her head and admitted her fault. "I’m sorry. I’ll never come here again. Please don’t be angry..."
Owen looked at her docile, obedient demeanor, but the image of her in the private room, holding a broken bottle to Felix Hollis’s eye, kept surfacing in his mind.
"I don’t mean to restrict your freedom."
’She’s a grown woman. I can’t just lock her up. That’s not what I want to do.’
’Besides, what happened tonight wasn’t Stella’s fault. It was the fault of the man who had lecherous intentions and tried to commit a crime. If anyone should be locked up, it’s him.’
’Why should a menace to society like that be allowed to roam free while an innocent person is forced to stay home? It makes no sense.’
His deep eyes reflected her image. "No matter what happens, you have to tell me right away, understand?"
