Mr. Sterling, Mrs. Sterling is Multifaceted!-Chapter 279: Never Loved You

The phone fell into silence again, the time stretching so long that Seraphina Redgrave almost thought the call had been disconnected.

Then came Ethan Sterling’s steady voice, much calmer compared to Nathan Ayers, "How many did you take?"

Ethan knows about YJ520 too.

"Not many, just one." Seraphina lied.

Her voice revealed extreme exhaustion, but at least it didn’t sound painful. Of course, this assumption could only hold without seeing her white-knuckled fingers and the way her entire body was tense with pain.

"Does it hurt?"

Ethan asked again, his voice like electricity, coursing through every nerve of hers.

Just like before, he always liked to use his large hand to ruffle her hair and then ask, does it hurt.

"It’s okay."

Seraphina kept her responses brief, afraid that saying too much would expose her pain.

"Then hang on a bit longer, I’ll be back soon." Ethan promised her, such promises from this man were hard not to believe.

Seraphina gently stroked the fawn’s head, exhaled, and gripped her thigh tightly with one hand, forcing her voice to sound more normal, "Ethan."

"Hmm? If there’s anything you want to say, just say it." Ethan responded, his tone uncharacteristically gentle, "Take your time."

He knew she must be in significant pain.

Although she claimed everything was fine, he knew her nature was to share her joys but not her troubles.

Seraphina paused, then started, "I originally planned to wait until I successfully rebuilt Veridian Isle to tell you, but now I realize I won’t live that long, so there are things I need to say now."

"No, I don’t want to hear it now." Ethan chuckled softly, clearly in a good mood, "Hold back your words and wait until I come back."

Seraphina ignored him, speaking clearly and steadily, "Ethan, I never really loved you."

She tried her best to suppress her pain, making her tone light yet earnest.

So earnest that Nathan Ayers and Miles Harrington, present at the scene, would need time to discern whether her words were real or a merciful lie.

The other end of the line fell silent, with only increasingly heavy breathing to be heard.

Unbothered by this, Seraphina continued, "During this period, you’ve been good to me, but there were also many moments that chilled my heart."

"You took me away from Veridian Isle, but back when we were there, you tacitly allowed your people to shoot and kill the innocent islanders, even though I knew you never considered the people there as humans. You always provided for me, gave me the best of everything, but what you wanted most was for me to forever stay in the Hibiscus Garden as your caged bird. You blocked an arrow for me, but you also almost broke my leg once."

"..."

In Y Nation, Ethan, who had successfully escaped from the hotel in secret, stood by the seaside.

For this escape, he had specially ordered his men to buy clothes from the smugglers, clothes reeking of rotting fish and shrimp. His face was smeared with mud, rendering his original handsome appearance unrecognizable.

Not too far away were many refugees waiting for the smuggling boat to arrive; they huddled together, the sea breeze carrying a moldy stench that made one nauseous.

After hearing Seraphina’s words, Ethan’s eyes went wide, the hand holding the phone trembling, feeling like the phone weighed a thousand pounds, about to slip from his grasp.

"You really make it hard for me to develop feelings for you. I’ve thought it over before: once I rebuild Veridian Isle, I’ll leave you far behind. As for the little kindness you have shown me, there are ways to repay it, which is better than staying by your side forever."

Ethan listened quietly.

"Now it’s good, I’m going to die, no need to stay by your side anymore. You don’t have to come back either, otherwise saving me might tarnish your reputation, which wouldn’t give me peace even in death, it’s really annoying."

Seraphina licked her dry lips.

"Yes, it’s because I have no feelings for you at all that I don’t want to owe you anything even in death, do you understand? So don’t come back, let me go in peace."

She spoke with such seriousness that it felt as if these weren’t lies, but words she had long wanted to say.

"Pfft."

The lighter in Ethan’s hand was still alight, he didn’t notice, burning his palm directly, but he didn’t let go.

Just like last time, it seared his palm.

In a moment, his palm became a bloodied mess, the smell of burnt flesh lingering.

Yet he seemed not to feel it, still holding the lighter.

He looked at the distant cargo ship slowly approaching, his gaze gradually hardening, then he asked, "So I’ve made you feel burdened, right?"

"Exactly." Seraphina replied crisply, "Everything you’ve done, whether good or bad, puts a lot of pressure on me, so as fulfilling the wish of a dying person, could you not appear before me again?"

"Oh."

Ethan said again, casually, "Then hold on, hold on until I come back."

The person on the other end froze, unable to respond, not expecting Ethan to still want to come back after everything, he could almost imagine Seraphina’s expression of helplessness, just as usual.

"Ethan, do you not understand, or..."

"I said hold on, don’t you understand?" Ethan retorted back.

He lowered his voice, but one could still hear the fury, restraint, and bitterness within.

The flame in his palm had long extinguished, yet the scalding metal of the lighter still pressed tightly against his hand.

Seraphina had nothing to say.

After yelling that last sentence, Ethan seemed to deflate, his bloodshot eyes didn’t seem as frightening as before, his tone turned humble.

"Seraphina, please, hold on until I return."

He was pleading with her.

A tone so lowly it didn’t seem like something Ethan would say.

"Just take it as a plea from me, okay?"

Ethan’s voice turned faint, like he had lost his spirit.

Seraphina sat there dumbly, her body against the cold floor, her heart colder than the ground.

A wrenching pain rose in her heart.

Hurting more than any pill could.

He is Ethan, the unstoppable Ethan.

How could he utter the word "beg"?

He is the proudest person in the world, no one can make him bow his head.

Her lips moved but Seraphina truly didn’t know what to say.

Before she could respond, the call was directly cut off.

Listening to the busy tone on her phone, Seraphina chuckled bitterly, this was likely her last call in her life, yet there was no goodbye, no farewell.

But a farewell was unnecessary because they couldn’t possibly not see each other again.