Private Marriage, Secret Love-Chapter 182: Raina, You’re Not Dead

Fear crossed Gwen Sharp’s face. She tried to get up, but Ethan Lancaster kicked her in the shoulder, forcing her back to her knees.

"Fourth Master..."

"Just what I’d expect from someone who came from a place like that. You’re utterly shameless. You see a man and you just have to climb on top of him, is that it?"

Gwen Sharp frantically shook her head. "No, of course not."

"Since you love this sort of thing so much, wasn’t it a waste to let you leave that place?"

Gwen Sharp’s expression grew uglier at his words. Terrified, she reached out to grab his leg.

Ethan Lancaster kicked her away in disgust. "Get lost."

"Fourth Master, you should know what I want."

Ethan Lancaster leaned forward, his gaze locking onto hers. "You want a man?"

"I want you. You got me out of that place, and I’m so grateful. Everyone says they envy me, that I have you to dote on me, but only I know the truth... you’ve never even touched me."

Ethan Lancaster had drunk a lot tonight, and his temples throbbed as if being pierced by needles. "I give you good food and a nice place to live. You’re not satisfied with that?"

"Fourth Master, please let me stay with you. I don’t want anything else."

"I never should have taken you out of that place."

Gwen Sharp’s heart sank. When she saw Ethan Lancaster pull out his phone to make a call, she lunged for it, but he simply moved it to his other hand.

Just then, a call came in from Seth Sinclair. Ethan Lancaster swatted Gwen Sharp’s arm away.

"Hello."

"Fourth Master, are you alright?"

"Come upstairs and get her. Take her back to The Regalia Palace."

Seth Sinclair asked no questions. "Yes, sir."

Hearing this, Gwen Sharp’s face went paler than a sheet of paper. That place was a nightmare. Besides, if she went back now, wouldn’t she become the laughingstock of all Stoneworth?

She dropped to her knees again. She had never had any dignity in front of this man, and this time was no exception.

Gwen Sharp repeatedly knocked her head on the floor. "Fourth Master, please spare me! It’ll never happen again! I’m sorry, I’m sorry—"

Ethan Lancaster methodically did up his buttons. Seth Sinclair arrived moments later. The bedroom door was ajar, and he knocked on it lightly. "Fourth Master."

"It was Mrs. Lancaster who saved me. She’s a good person. I know I shouldn’t have gone with you, but I just couldn’t stay in that place. Fourth Master, for Mrs. Lancaster’s sake, please... forgive me this once..."

Ethan Lancaster pressed a hand to his forehead. "She saved you, yet you accepted my offer right in front of her. Did you ever stop to think how that must have made her feel?"

"It was my fault. When Mrs. Lancaster saved me in the restroom, she told me to protect myself and never go back to a place like that. She... she wouldn’t want to see me sent back there."

’She knew Raina Reddington must have regretted helping her long ago. If Raina were still alive, she’d probably be eager to throw me back into The Regalia Palace herself.’

Seth Sinclair walked in and stood before Gwen Sharp. "Let’s go, Miss Sharp."

"No, I’m not going!" Gwen Sharp scrambled backward.

Ethan Lancaster got to his feet. As he passed Seth Sinclair, he said quietly, "Let’s go."

Seth Sinclair shot Gwen Sharp a cold glance before turning to follow Ethan Lancaster out.

The car was parked downstairs, but neither man got in. Ethan Lancaster stood outside and smoked a cigarette.

Seth Sinclair was disgusted by Gwen Sharp’s behavior. "Fourth Master, you haven’t set foot in this place for three years, yet her expenses have continued unabated. Why not just deal with her once and for all?"

Ethan Lancaster stared into the distance, lost in thought. He couldn’t quite put his finger on why he had kept Gwen Sharp around.

’Was he waiting for the day Raina Reddington came back, just so he could tell her, "See? I never touched her. I only insisted on taking her with me back then because I wanted to make you miserable"?’

’How utterly absurd.’

Ethan Lancaster stubbed out the rest of his cigarette, pulled open the car door, and sat inside.

Gwen Sharp knew that no one in the Lancaster Family would ever accept her, much less speak up on her behalf. The only opening she could think of was Zion Lancaster.

Zion Lancaster was good-natured. Even though she clearly disliked Gwen, she was too polite to blatantly chase her away.

She hadn’t expected Gwen Sharp to be so persistent as to follow her all this way. Now, they were both sitting on a high-speed train. Zion Lancaster, heavily pregnant, had two assistants with her.

"Zion, would you like some water?"

"Or some fruit?"

Zion Lancaster waved a hand dismissively. "No, thank you."

"You’re pregnant. You really shouldn’t be traveling for work."

A faint smile touched Zion Lancaster’s lips. "A woman has to have her own career. Otherwise, is she supposed to depend on a man for her entire life?"

Gwen Sharp’s face flushed. ’Zion is probably talking about me, isn’t she?’

The wind battered the train window. Zion Lancaster’s expression suddenly changed as a sharp cramp seized her abdomen. She gently rubbed her belly a few times, but the pain only grew more intense.

Seeing that something was wrong, Gwen Sharp shot to her feet and yelled for a crew member. "Help—"

The next stop was still about half an hour away. A crew member quickly made an announcement over the intercom, asking if there was a doctor on board. In a car further up, a woman opened her eyes, set down her bag, and prepared to stand.

Miles Hawthorne grabbed her hand. "Where are you going?"

"I’m going to check it out."

He knew she wouldn’t be able to just sit by. Miles Hawthorne’s grip on her hand loosened. "Be careful."

"Don’t worry."

When Raina Reddington arrived, she saw a crowd gathered around the commotion. No one had seen a situation like this before, and they were all terrified.

Zion Lancaster’s last pregnancy had been difficult, so she had been extremely cautious with this one. She wouldn’t have made this trip if it hadn’t been an emergency.

Raina Reddington pushed through the crowd. "Excuse me, please let me through. I’ll take a look."

Gwen Sharp was the first one to get a clear look at her face. She stumbled back, bumping hard against the side of the train car, her eyes wide with shock and terror. "You—"

Raina Reddington saw the pregnant woman in the seat. Her expression remained neutral as she took Zion Lancaster’s right hand. "What are your symptoms? How many months along are you?"

"Raina?" Zion Lancaster squeezed her hand back, her voice filled with disbelief. "Raina?"

"I’m sorry, you have the wrong person." Raina wasted no words. "Is it abdominal pain?"

"Yes, it hurts terribly. I’m seven months along..."

Raina gently pressed on Zion’s abdomen in a couple of spots. The pain made Zion grip her hand tighter. "Raina, is something wrong with my baby?"

"Does it hurt here?"

Zion, overwhelmed by the pain, nodded repeatedly. "Yes."

"It’s likely acute appendicitis." Raina turned to a crew member. "Please contact an ambulance to meet us at the next station. She needs to get off there."

"Okay."

"Raina, is the baby okay?"

Raina gently patted her on the shoulder. "It’ll be alright. Don’t be scared."

Zion Lancaster was desperate to say more. "Raina, you’re really alive? Do you have any idea that we’ve all been looking for you?"

Raina forcefully pulled her hand away. "You really have the wrong person. And I don’t know any of you."

She turned and pushed her way back through the crowd. Zion reached for her but grasped at empty air.

She frantically dug her phone out of her bag and immediately called Ethan Lancaster.