I Uncovered My Boyfriend's Double Life and Started to Fight Back novel Chapter 3

My heart turned to ash.

I threw his smartwatch into the trash, my eyes burning.

I bit down on my trembling lip, holding my breath. 

I was afraid that if I breathed, the tears would start falling uncontrollably. 

Ethan didn't come home all night.

Unlike before, when I'd come home from work and find him missing, I didn't go out searching for him like a madwoman, worried he might do something reckless because of his so-called disability. 

Now it was clear—I was the fool. 

All the money I'd earned from my jobs, I'd given to Ethan's doctor, begging him to treat Ethan well, to help him regain his confidence. 

In my free time, I'd take Ethan to the park, afraid he'd feel lonely at home, lost in his thoughts. 

He'd always seemed so calm and gentle, his gaze deep and adoring, making my heart flutter. 

He was even more knowledgeable than I'd imagined, well-versed in everything from astronomy to geography. 

When I asked him about it, he said he'd loved reading since he was a kid, so he knew a lot. 

I believed him.

I believed everything Ethan said, unconditionally. 

Without waiting for him to come home, I left early the next morning and quit all my jobs. 

I'd worked so hard before because I wanted to help him get better.

But now that I was leaving the country, it was time to say goodbye to my bosses. 

When the orphanage told me my birth parents had found me, I'd initially thought about meeting them and turning down the offer to move abroad.

But now, it seemed leaving was the better choice. 

For once, I had some free time.

I sat in a café, sipping a latte, planning to sublet the apartment. 

But I didn't expect Chloe—the Chloe his friends had mentioned—to find me first. 

The afternoon sunlight filtered lazily through the café's stained-glass windows, casting patterns on the wooden table.

When I looked up, a familiar figure caught my eye. 

She was breathtakingly beautiful, with a high nose and lips that didn't need lipstick to look red. She was eyeing me with a sneer, her expression cold. 

"You're Lila Harper?" 

She pulled out five hundred dollars from her purse and threw it at me.

"This should be enough for you to leave Ethan, right?" 

"Ethan…" 

My heart sank. I turned around slowly. 

A tall figure brushed past me.

Ethan rushed over, helping Chloe up from the floor. 

He turned to glare at me, furious.

"Lila! Are you out of your mind?"

"Why would you hurt Chloe?" 

"Apologize to her right now!" 

Chloe bit her lip, tears streaming down her face.

"It's okay. Lila asked me to meet her."

"She said she knows you're from the Carter family and that we're getting married."

"She admitted she only got close to you for your money."

"Now that you've fallen for her, she's almost succeeded."

"She asked me to step aside so she could marry you."