Private Marriage, Secret Love-Chapter 22: Your Fourth Master Is in Trouble

Ethan Lancaster stared down at Raina Reddington. "If you and he are innocent, what’s there to be afraid of?"

"And what if we’re not?"

Ethan Lancaster’s voice was as sharp as a razor’s edge. "Say that again?"

"You draped his clothes over me right in front of Miss Lynch. Do you think I can ever clear my name after that?"

"You’re the one who got yourself into this mess. You didn’t even stop to think... why I had his clothes in the first place..."

Raina Reddington snatched the glass from the table and threw its contents at Ethan Lancaster. Most of a glass of lemonade splashed across his face. He was completely unprepared and hadn’t expected Raina Reddington to be so bold. The man wiped his face, the collar of his shirt now soaked through. Droplets of water ran down his firm jaw.

In his entire life, he had only had water thrown on him twice, and both times were courtesy of Raina Reddington.

Ethan Lancaster’s eyes were closed, but he still shot out a hand and seized Raina Reddington’s wrist. The strength in his fingers was astounding, as if he meant to snap her hand clean in two.

Raina Reddington struggled, but she couldn’t pull her hand back.

A server, about to bring their food over, saw the situation and was too frightened to approach.

Ethan Lancaster yanked his arm back, stood, and dragged Raina Reddington away. They headed down from the second floor. Seth Sinclair was still waiting downstairs, and one look at Ethan Lancaster told him something was wrong.

He quickly called the driver to bring the car around. Ethan Lancaster strode straight to the passenger side, yanked the door open, and shoved Raina Reddington inside.

Seth Sinclair hurried after Ethan Lancaster. "Fourth Master..."

The man strode to the other side of the car. Seeing this, the driver scrambled out. Ethan Lancaster slid into the driver’s seat, started the car, and sped away.

Seth Sinclair called out twice, but it was no use. The driver hurried over to him. "This... Nothing bad is going to happen, right?"

"It’s hard to say. Fourth Master is usually so stoic, but it seems that’s not the case at all when it comes to Mrs. Lancaster."

The black sedan tore down the express lanes of Stoneworth like a roaring beast, cutting through the most congested commercial district at an increasingly reckless speed.

Raina Reddington watched the needle on the speedometer shoot up. Her heart raced, and she instinctively tightened her grip on the seatbelt. Her face grew paler by the second. She hadn’t eaten much earlier, and now a wave of nausea washed over her.

After they had driven for a while, traffic congested the road ahead. Ethan Lancaster slammed on the brakes.

The car lurched forward from the momentum, finally skidding to a crooked stop on the side of the road.

Raina Reddington quickly rolled down the window and stuck her head out. ’I can’t take it.’ Her stomach was churning, but as much as she wanted to vomit, she couldn’t.

At the end of her rope, she turned and snapped at Ethan Lancaster, "Are you insane?"

"Want to go again, is that it?"

There was no reasoning with him. Raina Reddington tried to push the door open, but he pulled her back.

She was genuinely furious now. ’Besides, I’m the biggest victim in all this!’

Raina Reddington looked out the window and noticed traffic police up ahead conducting DUI checks. ’No wonder it’s so backed up.’ Without a second thought, she stuck her head out again and shouted, "There’s a drunk driver over here! Hurry up and check!"

Furious, Ethan Lancaster reached out and dug his fingers into Raina Reddington’s leg. Not to be outdone, she slapped the back of his hand hard.

Hearing the shout, a traffic officer started walking briskly toward them.

With one hand on the steering wheel, Ethan Lancaster’s voice dripped with displeasure. "I have never met a woman more vile than you."

She was slumped against the open window, her stomach churning, unable to muster a rebuttal.

The officer reached Ethan Lancaster’s side and knocked on the window. Reluctantly, Ethan lowered it.

"What’s going on here?" the officer asked, glancing between the two of them.

"Nothing, just a couple joking around."

Forcing down her discomfort, Raina Reddington spoke up. "He’s... been drinking."

The officer held a breathalyzer out to Ethan Lancaster. His brows knitted together, his expression turning ugly. "I haven’t been drinking."

"A quick test will tell us that. Blow into this."

Ethan Lancaster’s face darkened. "That thing of yours isn’t clean."

"Stop making excuses and blow."

’He’d terrified her on purpose, and her legs still felt like jelly. Raina knew he hadn’t been drinking; she just wanted to use this as a chance to stall him. As soon as she felt a little better, she’d leave. Ethan Lancaster couldn’t very well force her to stay in front of a cop.’

The officer was clearly new and taking his job very seriously. Not wanting the man to be a nuisance, Ethan Lancaster went ahead and complied with the test.

The results were predictable: no alcohol was detected.

As Raina Reddington reached for the door handle, Ethan Lancaster saw her and yanked her back.

"What do you think you’re doing?" The officer sensed something was off and looked at Raina Reddington with concern. "Are you all right?"

"Shouldn’t you be checking for DUIs instead of meddling in other people’s domestic affairs?"

"You. Show me your driver’s license."

Raina started to worry. ’What if she was accused of wasting police resources? After all, she knew he hadn’t been drinking; there was no actual DUI.’

She was about to say something, but then she saw the muscle in Ethan Lancaster’s jaw tighten. The officer noticed as well and repeated more insistently, "Your license!"

"Who’s the commanding officer in this precinct?"

"What for? Trying to pull some strings? Let me tell you, it won’t work. I’m telling you for the last time, get out your license."

"I don’t have one."

Raina Reddington’s jaw almost dropped. She thought she must have misheard and shot a glance at Ethan Lancaster.

But he didn’t look the least bit guilty. Even the officer was taken aback. "No license?"

"None."

Raina Reddington swallowed hard. ’It’s over. This has gotten way out of hand.’

The young officer’s expression was one of stern justice. "Alright, step out of the car. The vehicle is being temporarily impounded. And on top of a fine, you could be facing detention, so you’d better be prepared."

Ethan Lancaster had no patience for this kind of trouble. "Who’s your superior?"

The young officer felt deeply insulted. "Don’t even think about trying to buy your way out of this! I’ve seen plenty of people like you. Your best bet is to cooperate!" 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Raina Reddington was stunned by the whole exchange. She watched as the young officer called for backup. Both she and Ethan Lancaster were asked to get out of the car, and shortly after, Ethan was led away.

Before he was led away, he turned back to look at Raina Reddington. It was too late for her to back down now. The way Ethan Lancaster looked at her, it was as if he wanted to eat her alive.

Standing in the cold wind, Raina Reddington thought of Ethan Lancaster’s vengeful personality and couldn’t help but shiver.

She quickly pulled out her phone to call Seth Sinclair. The phone had barely started ringing when he answered. "Mrs. Lancaster."

"Your Fourth Master is in trouble."

Seth Sinclair was startled. "What’s wrong with the Fourth Master?"

"Does he really not have a driver’s license?"

"That’s correct."

’The nerve of him. Driving without a license and still tearing through the streets like that. Who else were they going to arrest?’

"The traffic police caught him."

"Where?"

Raina Reddington glanced at a street sign and gave Seth Sinclair the location.

"Understood. Please don’t worry, Mrs. Lancaster. I’m on my way to handle it now."

Raina thought to herself, ’I’m not worried in the slightest. It would be great if they locked him up for a few years.’ But she knew Ethan Lancaster had the power to get out in no time. And when he did, her peaceful days would likely be over.