He looked at her intently and told her how he truly felt at that moment. "If you had asked me four months ago, I don’t think I would have hesitated to say I love you. But right now, I can’t even see my own heart clearly. It’s true... after more than a decade of feelings suddenly coming to nothing, I can’t just sweep all that love away. I admit it. I’m still not completely over you."

Jean Grant threw her arms around him, tears streaming down her face. "Ethan, give me a chance. I know I was wrong. I’ll never let go of your hand again. Let’s be together, for real. My heart won’t waver anymore, okay?"

Ethan Ellsworth had rarely seen Jean Grant expose her weaknesses like this.

When he remained silent, Jean Grant let go and stared at him. "You do love me, Ethan. I know you do. It was my fault for hurting you, for making you lose hope. But I won’t do it again, you know? I regret it so much now. I envy Zoe. She married Herman, someone who knows her inside and out, and he’ll be good to her. I was too stubborn, and I missed my chance with you. I keep thinking, if I hadn’t married Marlon Marshall... Ethan, imagine how happy we would be right now. You’ll give me that chance, won’t you?"

Ethan Ellsworth’s heart felt as if it were caught between ice and fire. Her words tonight had taken the flame he thought had died and given it a flicker of hope, a chance to burn again.

"Jean, you’ve always treated me as a backup plan. And even though I knew it, I stubbornly held on. Tell me, are you just playing with me again this time?"

Countless days over more than a decade... just as he’d said, he couldn’t completely erase her. He had thought time was a great healer that would help him fade the memories of her.

But he never expected things to take a new turn.

"I wouldn’t dare," Jean Grant said firmly. "Ethan, I won’t. You’ll agree to be with me, right? You will, won’t you? I know you will. Right? Tell me!"

She seemed desperate to know the answer.

As Ethan Ellsworth opened his mouth to speak, a knot formed in his heart. ’You can’t have your cake and eat it too.’ He knew that. But the more that was true, the more he knew he couldn’t let this drag on.

Meeting her expectant gaze, he spoke. "When are you going to get a divorce and clean up your own messy affairs?"

Jean Grant said, "Within two weeks. I promise I’ll get it all sorted out completely."

Ethan Ellsworth studied her face in the moonlight. "Two weeks? Are you sure?"

"I’m sure."

"Okay." He finally said the word.

What did that single "okay" represent? He couldn’t quite figure it out. The tables had turned. The girl he had liked since he was a teenager was finally coming to be by his side. ’But why do I have this indescribable feeling inside?’

Jean Grant’s face was filled with delight; it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say she wept with joy. She threw her arms around Ethan Ellsworth’s neck and exclaimed happily, "I knew you’d come back to me, Ethan! I knew you’ve always loved me! This is wonderful!"

Ethan Ellsworth’s arm went around her, but in contrast to her excitement and joy, his expression was silent and cold.

Chloe Marshall sat alone on the living room sofa. The longer she waited, the more anxious she became.

So much so that even after three in the morning, she was still sitting there.

The distinct sound of footsteps stopped at the door. She immediately turned to look as the door opened and his figure appeared in the entrance.

He closed the door behind him and, with a CLICK, turned on the light.

Seeing her sitting there, his brow furrowed unnaturally. "Why aren’t you asleep yet?"

"Boss Ellsworth isn’t asleep, so how could I possibly sleep?"

His gaze drifted away. "From now on, you’ll have to get used to it."

Chloe Marshall slowly stood up, her voice trembling slightly. "Boss Ellsworth?"

Her anxiety grew heavier. She was terrified that he was about to sever their newly sprouted romance.

Ethan Ellsworth’s voice was low as he stared at the floor. "Chloe, the show has wrapped. You should take a good long rest. I’m giving you a vacation. Go travel somewhere."

"Boss Ellsworth, why would I suddenly go on a trip? It’s no fun to go by myself if you’re not going."

"Chloe—" he said her name. "Let’s just leave it at that."

Chloe Marshall lowered her head, staring at her shoes. His words repeated in her ears as if in a dream. No explanation. Just those few words to end her first love.

Her tears fell, drop by drop, onto her bunny slippers. Then she looked up at him. "Okay. Let’s leave it at that. I once said that as long as it’s what Boss Ellsworth wants, anything is fine. That’s still true now. Whatever you want is fine."

She walked past him and went into the bedroom.

She opened the window, and cold air rushed in, nearly freezing the tear tracks on her face.

’In the end, I was just being delusional.’

But even after thinking that, why did her useless tears keep streaming down? The lump in her throat felt uncontrollable, a gut-wrenching sorrow.

Ethan Ellsworth heard the faint sound of crying. His emotions wavered, but he still walked out the door.

Nora Ainsworth woke up a little after four and started getting dressed. Quentin Grant wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. "It’s still early."

She removed his hands and said, "I just had a bad dream. I’m going to check on Chloe."

Hearing this, Quentin Grant said in surprise, "You can’t treat a dream like reality. Should I go with you?"

Nora Ainsworth waved his offer away. "No need. Tonight, Ethan Ellsworth and Jean were hugging and holding hands. She must be heartbroken. After all, Chloe and Ethan were dating for a few days, weren’t they?" 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

"Alright, you go then."

Nora Ainsworth zipped up her down jacket, went downstairs, out the main door, and walked toward the house across the way.

She took out her key and opened the door.

She called out twice, but there was no answer. She hurried to the bedroom.

It was empty. No one was there.

The closet was open, and one look told her Chloe’s clothes were gone.

Startled, Nora Ainsworth went back to the living room. A sheet of white paper lay quietly on the table.

A few sentences were written on it: *Nora, Zeke and I have left. Thank you for taking care of my brother and me. Nora, we can’t stay by your side anymore. You have to take good care of yourself.*

The color drained from Nora Ainsworth’s face, and she rushed downstairs.

The moment she was downstairs, she called Quentin Grant. "Quick, get people to the bus station, the train station, and the airport to stop Chloe!"

Quentin Grant immediately did as she asked. He also got up, went out the door, and drove Nora Ainsworth to Chloe’s old home in Alveria first, but they found no one there.

Then, they headed to the train station.

Before they even reached the station, Quentin Grant received a call. They had intercepted Chloe Marshall at the west section of the train station and were not letting her leave.

Only then did Nora Ainsworth feel relieved.

The car sped to the entrance of the train station.

Nora Ainsworth threw open the car door, ran out, and hurried to the waiting hall.

Because it was early morning, it wasn’t very crowded.

So, she spotted Chloe Marshall and Zeke Marshall at a glance.

"Chloe!"