Private Marriage, Secret Love-Chapter 167: Still Longing For Her

Raina Reddington glanced out the window. Jessica Jacobs was waving at them, so there was no way she could get out of the car now.

After the car had driven for a bit, Raina Reddington finally spoke up. "Just drop me off by the side of the road. I’ll get back on my own."

The driver didn’t dare respond. He wanted to ask Ethan Lancaster for instructions, but seeing him with his eyes shut tight and not saying a word, he could only continue driving forward.

Seeing that they were about to take a huge detour, Raina Reddington leaned over toward Seth Sinclair. "Any subway station will do."

Seth Sinclair looked troubled. "Why don’t you rest for a bit? After I drop off the Fourth Master, I’ll take you home."

"But it’s not on the way."

"It won’t take up too much of your time."

Raina Reddington swallowed her frustration. If she didn’t feel so utterly awful, she wouldn’t be this insistent on getting out. She had practically forced down everything she ate that evening, and now it was all threatening to come back up.

She tapped the window twice. "Let me out."

Seth Sinclair glanced at Ethan Lancaster. Since he wasn’t saying anything, Seth couldn’t act on his own authority.

"I get carsick. It’ll be a problem if I throw up all over the car."

Ethan Lancaster was texting on his phone, completely ignoring what Raina Reddington said. The car kept moving forward, and soon enough, it passed through the gates of the Northbay Community.

"Can you let me out now?" Raina Reddington didn’t want to set foot in this place ever again; she didn’t even want to look at it.

The car drove right up to the apartment building. The moment it came to a steady stop, Raina Reddington pushed the door open and got out.

Gwen Sharp was in her pajamas with a long overcoat thrown on top. When she saw Ethan Lancaster get out, her eyes visibly lit up. "You’re finally back. I’ve been waiting for you for so long."

"What are you doing waiting out here? Aren’t you cold?"

Gwen Sharp shook her head slightly. "Not at all."

She saw Raina Reddington standing by the car and greeted her in a low voice, "You’re here too."

"Shouldn’t you be calling me Mrs. Lancaster?" Raina Reddington said sarcastically. She felt much better after getting some fresh air. She glanced at Seth Sinclair in the front passenger seat. "Can I go back now?"

"Seth, you two can head back," Ethan Lancaster ordered. "Don’t worry about her."

The words felt numb to Raina Reddington’s ears. She didn’t need anyone to take her home anyway.

That last remark to Gwen Sharp had actually been for Ethan Lancaster’s benefit. ’She wondered if she could provoke him into blurting out, "What kind of Mrs. Lancaster are you? Once we’re divorced, you’ll be nothing."’

Raina Reddington wanted to make a clean break from him as soon as possible. That way, she would truly be all alone and could face the road ahead in peace.

She turned and started walking toward the exit. The community was huge; it would probably take her ten minutes or so to walk out.

Ethan Lancaster himself didn’t understand why he had insisted on bringing Raina Reddington here. It wasn’t as if he didn’t know she wouldn’t be hurt by it. ’Perhaps the better he understood, the more he felt compelled to double down. He just couldn’t accept it, could he?’

"Fourth Master, it’s cold out here. Shall we go inside?"

"What did you just say to her?"

Gwen Sharp froze for a moment. She thought for a long time; she had only said one thing to Raina Reddington. "I said, ’You’re here too.’"

"Remember your place. You have no right to speak here."

Gwen Sharp felt wronged. She hadn’t meant anything by it at all and didn’t know why Ethan Lancaster would say that to her.

’It seemed that no matter what she did, it was wrong in his eyes.’

Ethan Lancaster didn’t usually concern himself with her affairs. Bored out of her mind, Gwen Sharp started arranging to meet up with old friends.

She sat in a coffee shop and sent her location to a friend.

A new Chanel bag sat on the seat next to her, with clothes and jewelry to match. She hadn’t seen her old friends in a long time. ’They probably won’t even recognize me at first.’

Gwen Sharp picked up the bag, careful not to make any sudden movements for fear of scratching it.

The chair opposite her was suddenly pulled out. She looked up and saw Cameron Fairchild.

Startled, Gwen Sharp shot to her feet.

"What are you doing?" Cameron Fairchild gestured at her. "Sit down."

"Mr. Fairchild, what are you doing here?"

Cameron Fairchild pushed a file in his hand toward her. Gwen Sharp took it out, confused, and glanced at the contents. Her eyes gradually filled with shock and disbelief. She hurriedly stuffed the papers back in. "Why are you showing me this?"

"What do you think the Fourth Master would do if he knew Raina Reddington aborted the baby because she has *that* illness?"

Gwen Sharp’s lips turned pale. She said nothing.

"As for you, you’d definitely be out of the picture. He would do everything in his power to find a bone marrow donor for her. Their past troubles might just be wiped clean. They could go back to being as loving as ever—a happy ending for all."

Gwen Sharp swallowed nervously. "Then you should give this to the Fourth Master."

"He doesn’t care if Raina Reddington lives or dies right now. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been the one to investigate. If I were you, I’d seize this opportunity. Cooperate with me, and Raina Reddington will have no chance of making a comeback."

Gwen Sharp picked up her glass and took a sip of water. "He’ll find out sooner or later."

"No, he won’t. He doesn’t want to hear any news about her. Since that’s the case, I’ll make sure not a single whisper reaches his ears."

’He could do it.’ Gwen Sharp knew that much.

The man picked up the folder and stood up. A bitter feeling welled up inside Gwen Sharp. "Why did you have to let me know?" 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

"Because I want us to be in the same boat. I’m also quite curious about what you’ll do. Will your conscience get the better of you and make you tell the Fourth Master?"

A look of discomfort crossed Gwen Sharp’s face. She didn’t dare to look at Cameron Fairchild.

For other people, the days passed quickly. But for Raina Reddington, they were an agonizing ordeal.

She sat in the doctor’s office, the hood of her down jacket still pulled over her head. "After the last round of chemo, my hair started falling out."

"That’s normal..."

"Doctor, this is too hard to bear. If a matching bone marrow donor can’t be found, am I going to die sooner or later?"

The doctor glanced at her—such a young, beautiful face. "Don’t be so pessimistic."

"I used to be a doctor. You don’t need to comfort me." Raina Reddington had already thought it through. ’It would be better to die with dignity than to waste away horribly.’ The doctor’s words, both spoken and unspoken, had already revealed the truth. Her condition was critical, a bone marrow transplant was the only solution, and it had to happen fast. She couldn’t wait any longer.

Chinese New Year was just around the corner. Ethan Lancaster sat in the car, gazing at the streetscape outside the window.

He remembered this time last year. Raina Reddington was still by his side. They would occasionally go to the mall together, shopping for New Year’s gifts for the elders in their family.

The driver headed toward Northbay. Ethan Lancaster closed his eyes to rest, a buzzing in his head that sounded like someone was calling his name.

He hadn’t seen Raina Reddington in a long time. A very, very long time. He couldn’t even count how many days it had been.

Ethan Lancaster had been drinking tonight. He sat up and suddenly said to the people in the front, "Go back to The Verdant Garden."

Seth Sinclair turned his head. "Fourth Master, to The Verdant Garden?"

"Yes."

Sitting beside him, Gwen Sharp’s face tensed up. For all this time, Ethan Lancaster had never mentioned a word about Raina Reddington. She thought he had completely forgotten her.

’If he goes back so suddenly now, will he find out that Raina is seriously ill?’