Chapter 243: Chapter 241: As Long as You Live in His Heart, You Are the Winner (9)

"Jean."

She walked forward slowly. "Ethan Ellsworth."

The moment she said his name, her body went limp. Ethan quickly wrapped an arm around her waist. "What did you just do?"

He noticed that her once-swollen belly was now completely flat.

"The baby’s gone."

Ethan didn’t understand, but he didn’t ask any questions. "Come on, I’ll take you back."

She shook her head. "I don’t want to go back. Ethan, take me somewhere no one will find us. I want to talk to you."

He took her ice-cold hand. "Okay, I’ll take you."

They got in the car, and Ethan drove away. Her face was pale, but she remained silent.

The car pulled into Ethan’s residential complex. They walked into the building, one after the other.

He reached out and pressed the elevator button. The doors opened, and they both stepped inside.

Under the light, Ethan finally got a clear look at Jean Grant’s face. She looked terrible. Her lips were ashen, her eyes were red and swollen, and her face was drained of all color.

He grabbed her by the shoulders. "Are you okay?"

Jean Grant seemed to daze for a moment. "I’m fine. Ethan, I know it might be too late for me to say this, but I still have to tell you."

Ethan had a feeling he knew what she was about to say. He asked, "What is it?"

"This version of me... tell me, do you still love me?" she asked, looking at him with tears in her eyes. "I know it’s shameless of me to ask, but if I don’t, how will I know if you’ll still give me a chance?"

"I have a girlfriend now."

The elevator doors opened. Jean Grant pressed her lips together and said nothing until they were inside the apartment.

"But I know you don’t love her."

Ethan helped her to the sofa and draped a blanket over her. He then turned on the heat and said, "Jean, tell me what happened."

She leaned against his shoulder. "I was always going to divorce Marlon Marshall and pay the price for my impulsiveness. Ethan, his mother took me for an ultrasound before... they said it was a girl. But when I went to get rid of it tonight, the doctor told me it was a boy."

Tears streamed down Jean Grant’s face like giant raindrops, and she sobbed uncontrollably. "I just... I feel so awful. If he had been your child, maybe he would have joyfully awaited his arrival into this world. But he was conceived by the wrong person. He shouldn’t have been born. He would only suffer if he came into this world, so it was better to stop it from happening. Besides, his father is Marlon Marshall. As a father, he doesn’t deserve this child!"

Ethan looked at her and asked, "Did he do something to wrong you?"

Jean Grant closed her eyes. "Don’t ask me. I don’t want to hear that question. All I know is that I, Jean Grant, am not someone to be trifled with. Now that the baby is gone, I won’t go easy on him anymore."

"If you want to do something, you don’t have to get your hands dirty. I can help you. Or you could have your brother do it."

Jean Grant shook her head. "Don’t tell my brother. Besides my mom and you, no one knows about this. Keep it a secret for me for now. I have to do this myself. It was my choice, and it won’t be complete until I end it myself."

Ethan fell silent. He sat there, thinking how quickly time passed.

In the blink of an eye, he had gone from a boy to a man, from an innocent crush to this state of mind.

’He wasn’t even sure if his heart would still beat for her.’

’He had thought that even if she got married, he would still be ecstatic if she just said she wanted to come back to him.’

But at this moment, he didn’t feel that happy.

Just a little regretful.

"You just had a procedure. You need to rest in bed. Are you hungry? I’ll go downstairs and get you something to eat."

He had just stood up when she grabbed his hand. Ethan froze and looked down, meeting her gaze.

"Ethan, don’t go."

He had no choice but to bend down, pick her up, and carry her into the bedroom.

He placed her on the bed, then half-lay down beside her.

’This was the first time he had been this close to her. But wasn’t it a little too late?’

She leaned into his embrace, looking completely at ease.

"I never knew, Ethan... your embrace... it makes me feel so warm. Ethan, can you hold me tighter? I’m cold." He wrapped his arms around her.

"Go to sleep. I won’t leave. I’ll stay right here with you."

A small smile touched her lips, and she soon drifted off to sleep.

But Ethan couldn’t fall asleep, no matter how hard he tried.

After seeing she was sound asleep, he quietly got up and tucked the covers around her.

He walked out to the living room, took out his phone, and called Chloe Marshall.

She picked up almost immediately.

"Boss Ellsworth."

"Hey. Are you asleep?"

Chloe Marshall mumbled, "I was."

Ethan actually laughed. "You can talk in your sleep?"

"I’m sleep-talking."

"Alright, go back to sleep. I’ll be back tomorrow morning."

Chloe Marshall clutched her phone, hesitating for a moment. Suddenly, she said, "Boss Ellsworth, you’re not sleeping next to me tonight, and I can’t sleep. I really miss you."

Ethan snorted. "You just said you were asleep, and now you’re saying you have insomnia. You little idiot, I knew you were lying."

But he couldn’t deny it—hearing her say she really missed him made his heart skip a beat. For a moment, he felt an incredible sense of accomplishment.

"I’m going to sleep now. Good night, Boss Ellsworth." Before he could reply, she hung up.

Ethan glanced at his phone, a little annoyed, and muttered, "That brat. I didn’t even get to say good night, and she hung up so fast."

He turned and went into the other bedroom to sleep.

*

Marlon Marshall had originally planned to go home early tonight. He felt he had been neglecting Jean Grant lately. But after his class that afternoon, Carol Young cornered him at the main gate.

"My mom wants to invite you to dinner. It seems she knows we’re together," she said, beaming.

Marlon had no choice but to say, "If your mother is inviting me, how could I refuse? Alright."

Hearing this, Carol quickly got into the car and chattered endlessly, "My mom, you know, every time she sees me now, she says how great you are. She’s always talking about bringing you home to meet them. My dad hasn’t met you yet."

"We should buy something then. I can’t formally meet your parents empty-handed."

Carol’s eyes lit up. "My mom likes this one handbag. I was just about to buy it for her. This is the perfect chance to give it to her, don’t you think?"

"Sounds good."

The two of them bought the handbag and some other gifts before heading to the Young family’s home.

When Mrs. Young heard that Marlon had bought it for her, she was beaming and absolutely loved it.

That evening, Mrs. Young cooked a full spread of dishes, and Marlon Marshall stayed for dinner.

After dinner, Marlon didn’t seem to have anything to say. Mr. Young chatted with him for a while before returning to his own bedroom.

Mrs. Young said with a chuckle, "Carol, dear, you sit here for a bit. I’m going to have him take a look at my stocks for me."

Carol Young nodded. "He knows how."

Marlon went into her bedroom and asked casually, "Ma’am, how much did you invest?"

"Not much. Around two or three hundred thousand."

Hearing this, Marlon was stunned.