Private Marriage, Secret Love-Chapter 192: The Second Person in the Room

Raina Reddington stared at the garish red banners, fighting the urge to curse.

"How thoughtful of you, Fourth Master."

Her tone was flat, betraying no emotion, and Ethan Lancaster couldn’t tell if she was displeased or moved.

"Is that all you have to say?"

"I suggest you show some self-respect, Fourth Master. I’m sure if Mrs. Lancaster knew, she wouldn’t want you tossing the title ’Mrs. Lancaster’ around so casually. Besides, I’m unworthy of the honor. Please, stop disturbing my peace."

It was one thing not to get a word of thanks, but to get an earful instead was too much. Ethan Lancaster’s voice was laced with annoyance. "Don’t play dumb with me—"

"I appreciate your kind gesture, Fourth Master, and I’ve accepted the banners. You really don’t need to waste any more of your time on me."

And with that, she hung up.

Ethan Lancaster said, "Hello? Hello?" into the dead line. The abrupt hang-up was more than a little embarrassing. He slammed his phone down on his desk.

Seth Sinclair placed a stack of organized files on the desk. "Fourth Master, Miss Sharp called eight times today."

Ethan walked over and picked up his phone again. Seth Sinclair’s next words were clearly pointed. "Fourth Master, if you’re just trying to make it up to the Young Madam, I’d forget about it."

"What do you mean?"

"From the looks of it, she has no intention of accepting your compensation."

Ethan Lancaster retorted viciously, "Why would I need to compensate her?"

The words slipped out, and he immediately regretted them. His heart was aching, but he refused to admit it.

"Then what’s your reason, sir?"

"I..." Ethan Lancaster was at a loss for words, as if he couldn’t give himself a clear answer either. "I can’t accept it. She’s my wife. Why is she acting like she doesn’t know me? She even changed her name!"

"But don’t forget, Fourth Master, when she jumped off that cliff, she was determined to die. If she had actually died in the sea and never returned, you probably wouldn’t be feeling so aggrieved right now, would you?"

Ethan Lancaster’s expression darkened. "Seth Sinclair. Shut your mouth."

Having said his piece, Seth Sinclair wisely fell silent.

Raina Reddington had a conference that afternoon. The hospital auditorium was packed. The surgery she had performed on Zion Lancaster was being presented as a case study, and Ethan Lancaster was sitting in the audience, listening to Raina detail the procedure from the stage.

A recording of the procedure was playing. He watched Raina Reddington stand before the projector, radiant and confident. Her every gesture broadcast a complete command of her craft. Ethan Lancaster watched, mesmerized. He had to admit, this version of Raina was the most captivating of all.

Thunderous applause filled the auditorium as the hospital director personally presented Raina with her certificate of appointment. Ethan Lancaster reached over to the adjacent seat and picked up a large bouquet of flowers.

He rose from his seat in the crowd and, under the watchful eyes of everyone present, strode confidently toward the stage. A murmur rippled through the audience; whoever this was, his relationship with her was clearly anything but ordinary.

"Who is that? He’s so handsome."

"Dr. Ainsworth’s boyfriend, maybe?"

"No, no, no, I heard he’s her husband..."

"No way. Dr. Ainsworth already denied it."

Raina accepted the certificate, but the smile on her lips froze when she saw Ethan Lancaster. He approached with a dazzling presence, an effortless smile, and an innate arrogance. The flowers in his hands were vibrant and gorgeous, but to her, the red roses looked like splattered blood. The air around Raina grew thin, and she felt as if she couldn’t breathe.

He walked toward her through the swelling applause, and her vision began to blur. In her mind’s eye, Ethan Lancaster’s figure morphed into a hideous devil, baring its fangs and claws.

The man stopped in front of her, holding out the flowers. "Congratulations."

’This man stripped me of everything, and now he has the gall to congratulate me?’

Raina let out a cold laugh, her gaze fixed on the bouquet. She made no move to accept it.

"Say yes! Say yes!" a group in the audience, misunderstanding the situation, began to chant playfully.

Just then, another person walked in through the entrance, also holding a bouquet of flowers. Ethan Lancaster’s gaze shot over, his eyes instantly turning grim.

It was just a deliveryman from a flower shop, still in his work uniform. He walked straight up to Raina Reddington. "Excuse me, are you Dr. Ainsworth?"

"I am."

"I have a flower delivery for you. I just need your signature."

"Of course." Raina took the pen to sign. Ethan Lancaster’s face was livid. "Don’t you dare take those."

Raina glanced at the bouquet, though in her heart, she knew exactly what was going on. "Who sent these?"

"The order was placed online. I don’t have the specific details."

Raina glanced back at Ethan Lancaster, then reached out and took the flowers from his hand. The tight line of his lips relaxed into a smile, but then he watched as she took a few steps forward and tossed the bouquet away.

The bouquet was large and heavy, so it didn’t fly far. A young doctor caught it with open arms.

"Dr. Ainsworth, how generous! These flowers must have cost a fortune!"

"They’re for you. Help purify the air or something."

"Oh, that’s wonderful! Ladies, let’s split them up!"

Ethan Lancaster stood frozen to the spot, watching as Raina Reddington accepted the other bouquet from the deliveryman. She cradled it in one arm, gently stroking a bud with her other hand, an involuntary smile gracing her lips.

’He wanted nothing more than to storm over there, snatch the flowers from her hands, throw them to the ground, and grind them into a pulp under his heel!’

’But when you care, you hesitate. He couldn’t bear the thought of humiliating her like that, not after she had finally, miraculously, come back.’

She walked off the stage cradling the bouquet, and the crowd soon dispersed. Ethan Lancaster watched as a few doctors gathered together, dividing up the flowers he had given her.

After a while, a janitor came in. "Are you leaving? I need to lock up."

Ethan Lancaster snapped out of his daze, the bleakness in his eyes impossible to conceal.

After the conference, Raina Reddington went straight home. Worried that Ethan Lancaster would show up and cause more trouble, she specifically told the security guard at the gate not to let him into the complex.

But when Ethan Lancaster wanted to go somewhere, who could possibly stop him?

The next day, Raina Reddington was jolted awake by the doorbell. Her alarm hadn’t gone off yet, which meant it was still early.

She covered her ears and burrowed under the covers, wanting just a little more sleep, but the ringing was immediately joined by a loud banging on the door.

’Who else could be this relentless and inconsiderate but Ethan Lancaster?’

At that thought, Raina’s eyes flew open, all traces of sleepiness instantly gone. She’d almost forgotten—Ian Sinclair was also in the apartment.

She threw back the covers and jumped out of bed, not even stopping for slippers. She rushed to her bedroom door, flung it open, and saw Ian Sinclair already at the front door, his hand just about to turn the knob.

"Don’t!" Raina cried out, rushing toward him. "Don’t open the door."

Ian Sinclair pulled his hand back. He had heard her, which meant Ethan Lancaster, on the other side of the door, had heard her too.

It suddenly went silent on the other side of the door. He had heard it all clearly—the sound of footsteps approaching the door from inside, followed by Raina’s voice calling out from deeper within the apartment. She had told someone not to open the door, which could only mean one thing: there was someone else in there.