Private Marriage, Secret Love-Chapter 122: Taking the Pill

Back at The Verdant Garden, Raina Reddington went upstairs by herself.

She took a change of clothes into the bathroom but stood in front of the mirror for a long time without undressing.

It felt like a thorn had lodged itself in Raina’s heart, too painful to touch. She washed her hands over and over with soap, the rising and falling laughter of those men echoing in her mind, impossible to banish. ’In reality, not a single one of them is clean.’ But they had the power to toy with others. Miles Hawthorne had lost, but in the end, it wasn’t because he wasn’t ruthless enough.

When she came out of the shower, the room was empty. Raina thought Ethan Lancaster had left.

She quickly pulled out her phone, but before she could dial, she saw someone standing on the balcony.

Startled, Raina quickly put her phone away. Ethan Lancaster, a cigarette between his fingers, turned to look at her.

"The Pine Creek Gardens, Building 39, Apartment 101. I heard that right, didn’t I?"

Raina forced herself to remain calm. "No. But I don’t think you’d go after a critically ill old woman, would you?"

Ethan took a deep drag from his cigarette. He didn’t usually smoke, but the more you did, the more addictive they became. He grabbed Raina’s hand, his fingers caressing the back of it. "So cold."

"I’m exhausted. I’m going to bed." Raina pulled her hand back and walked to the side of the bed.

She wrapped herself in the covers and lay down on her side of the bed. Only now, as she began to relax, did she realize she was still trembling.

Raina was terrified. Even though she could handle a scalpel, she had never witnessed such a brutal, flesh-pounding beating. If she closed her eyes, she could still see the blood staining the round platform.

Ethan reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder. Raina’s eyes shot open as if startled from a nightmare, and she curled into a ball.

"What’s wrong?"

"Nothing. I just had a nightmare."

Ethan saw how tightly she clutched the thin blanket, the veins on the back of her hand bulging from the force. He reached out to pull her into his arms, only to find her trembling grew more violent.

"Afraid of me?"

"I’m a little cold."

Ethan held her tighter. Raina resisted slightly. He tried to pull back her blanket, only to find that she was lying on top of it.

"You sleep like a caterpillar." Ethan tugged at the corner of the blanket near her collar. "Loosen up."

"It’s more comfortable and warm this way."

Ethan yanked it again. "Let go."

As Raina squirmed, the man yanked the blanket out from under her and slid in beside her.

They were both in thin pajamas. The moment their bodies pressed together, Raina was shocked by his scorching temperature and subconsciously tried to pull away. Ethan hooked an arm around her waist, locking her in his embrace.

Her head was no longer on the pillow but resting on Ethan’s arm. Raina held her head up stiffly, afraid to let its full weight rest on him.

After just a moment, her neck began to ache. Ethan felt that something was between them. No matter how intimate they were, it seemed they could never go back to how they used to be.

He pressed his face against hers. She was completely still, as if frozen. When Ethan’s hand pushed up her top, Raina realized with a start what was happening and quickly grabbed his hand. "What are you doing?"

"What do you think I’m doing?"

Raina grew flustered, her voice edged with panic. "I really don’t feel well."

"Where don’t you feel well?"

"I don’t know what’s wrong lately. I feel weak all over..."

Ethan cut her off with a cold laugh. "Did this start recently, or just tonight? Is it your body that doesn’t feel well, or your heart?"

"Do you have to be so caustic with your words?"

Ethan’s anger could no longer be contained. "I think you’re the one with the thorns in your heart! You’re worried about Miles Hawthorne, aren’t you? Go on then, ask him how he’s doing. Show him some concern right in front of me."

"Let me go." Raina struggled against his hold. "Let go."

"I refuse to let go. You said you don’t feel well? Fine. I’m about to see if you’re telling the truth or just faking it."

The hand she used to hold him back was thrown aside. Ethan sat up, grabbing the collar of her shirt and pulling her up with the force of his tearing.

"I’m not interested in you! If you want to blow off steam, go find someone else!"

Her words provoked him further. He shoved her shoulders, pressing her back down. "I’m having you right now. Don’t feel well, huh? Let’s just see if you can take it!"

Raina hadn’t just said it to refuse Ethan; she truly did feel drained. Just as she was now being forced to endure him, a sense of powerlessness and helplessness weighed down on her.

A long time later, Raina’s eyelids fluttered. The flush had not yet faded from her face. "Can you get off me now?"

Ethan rolled off and lay down beside her. She heard him get up to shower. When he came out, he didn’t get back into bed. Instead, he changed his clothes and left again.

Only then did Raina’s mind and body finally relax. As she was drifting off to sleep on her stomach, she heard footsteps again.

Ethan placed a glass of water on the nightstand. "Get up. Take this."

"My cold is better. I don’t need any more medicine."

The man opened the box and tossed the pill inside onto the bed next to her cheek. "Take it."

She opened her eyes and saw it was an emergency contraceptive pill.

Raina lifted her gaze to see Ethan’s silhouette enveloped in the honey-colored light of the bedside lamp. The man’s beauty was extreme, but it was also aggressive—like a slow-acting poison that, once touched, was impossible to quit.

Raina reached for the pill and put it in her mouth. She didn’t want to get up from her stomach, but she couldn’t reach the glass of water.

Seeing this, Ethan picked up the glass and handed it to her, watching as she swallowed the pill in one gulp.

’This was fine, too. It saved her the trouble of buying it herself tomorrow.’

After taking the pill, Raina went back to sleep. Even if she couldn’t, she had to keep her eyes closed. It was better than facing him.

The next day, she got up early. Ethan was still asleep. Raina didn’t wake him. She washed up, changed, and left the house.

She couldn’t get in touch with Miles Hawthorne now and couldn’t be sure if he was safe, but Raina couldn’t stop worrying about May Sullivan. She drove toward The Pine Creek Gardens.

Just as her car entered the complex, she heard the sound of an ambulance. Raina saw a crowd gathered in front of one of the apartment buildings. She quickly parked on the side of the road, got out, and ran over.

The fire department was there, too, and the acrid smell of smoke filled the air. Raina heard people in the crowd murmuring.

"How did a fire start out of nowhere?"

"Yeah, this complex has always been so safe. Quick, quick, they’re bringing someone out—"

Raina stood on her tiptoes and saw May Sullivan being carried out. She was so thin she was unrecognizable, nothing more than skin and bones.

She hurried forward. The paramedics were asking if any family members were present. Raina rushed to the ambulance. "I’m family. The Second Affiliated Hospital of Mercy Seas is the closest. Let’s go there."

"Okay."

Raina held May Sullivan’s hand. As if sensing her presence, the older woman’s eyelids twitched.

"Auntie," Raina asked softly. "Did Miles come back last night?"

May Sullivan shook her head. She couldn’t open her eyes, but a stream of tears flowed out.