Chapter 14
“I’m one of the parties involved. Why wasn’t I consulted directly?” Ethan roared, his eyes bloodshot. “What kind of lawyer are you? Don’t you even know the basics of your job?”
The lawyer, Gabriel Marchetti, was startled. “Mr. Hale, please calm down. Let me check.”
Gabriel flipped through the documents.
Then, he looked up at Ethan, his voice trembling. “Mr. Hale, since you had signed the agreement before Ms. Sullivan and the division of assets was made very clear, there was technically no need to contact you regarding the divorce…”
“I don’t agree to the divorce!” Ethan crumpled the divorce papers. “Where’s my wife? I want to see her.”
“I’m sorry. I don’t know.” Gabriel shook his head.
Ethan grabbed him by the collar. Emotions spiraling out of control, he punched Gabriel hard. “Tell me where my wife is!”
“Mr. Hale, I can’t reveal that to you due to client confidentiality,” Gabriel stammered, blood dripping from his nose and mouth. His glasses were shattered. “But… But I can try to pass on your message to her.”
“Give me her contact information.”
“Mr. Hale, even if you kill me, I can’t share her whereabouts with you. Whatever you want to say, I’ll pass it on.”
Ethan relented and composed a long message. Then, he asked Gabriel to send it to Faith.
Faith was stunned when she saw the message.
She never expected Ethan to reach out to her, let alone apologize. The message was filled with Ethan’s remorseful words.
“Faith, Callie, I was wrong. I always thought you were dispensable, but the truth is, I can’t live without you.
“Faith, there’s nothing between Nicole and me. I thought I still loved her, but I’ve fallen in love with you without even realizing it. “Give me a chance to make up for the pain I’ve caused you. I’ll be a good husband and a good father.”
“Where are you? I miss you so much.”
Tears welled up in Faith’s eyes as she clutched her phone tightly.
1
Callie walked over with a drawing she had just finished and saw Faith crying. She reached up to wipe away Faith’s tears. “Mommy, what’s wrong?”
Sniffling, Faith handed the phone to Callie. “How much of this can you read?”
Callie stared intently at the words on the screen, her eyes sparkling. Soon, her eyes turned red in tears.
“Was that from Uncle Ethan?” she asked, looking at Faith. “Did he really say he misses us? Did he really promise he’ll be a good father to me?” Faith shook her head. She had no idea.
“It’s probably not true,” Callie said, lowering her gaze. She was completely disillusioned with Ethan. “The woman he loves is right by his side.” Faith deleted the message and hugged Callie tightly. “Let’s just pretend we didn’t see it and keep living happily. Okay?”
Callie nodded and picked up her drawing again. She tried explaining it to Faith.
Neither mother nor daughter paid any attention to Ethan’s apology, nor did they know he was waiting anxiously for a reply. He was scared to fall asleep for fear of missing her response.
Three days passed, but Faith’s reply never came.
Exhausted, Ethan dragged Himself to meet with Gabriel again.
“Mr. Hale, I’m sorry. My client has indicated she won’t respond and doesn’t want to hear from you anymore. I’m sorry I can’t help you.”
Ethan, who had barely slept for days, looked haggard. His bloodshot eyes were terrifying.
He took out a checkbook, filled in his name, and handed it to Gabriel. “Tell me where she is. Write down whatever figure you want.”
Gabriel hesitated while adjusting his glasses. “I only have Ms. Sullivan’s contact information, but not her address.”
“Fine.”
.” Ethan tossed the check to Gabriel and immediately called Faith.
“Hello?”
Faith answered the phone, but Ethan was too nervous to speak.
He opened his mouth several times but couldn’t muster a sound.
“Mommy, who is it?” Callie’s voice came through the phone. Ethan’s eyes reddened
Chapter 14
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“It’s a call from Lothania. I don’t know who it is,” Faith replied.
She greeted the caller again, “Hello, can I help you?”
“Faith…” Ethan finally spoke.
Faith’s hand trembled, and she hung up immediately. He called again, but she didn’t answer.
Callie looked at Faith, then at the phone. She asked cautiously, “Mommy, was it Uncle Ethan?”
“Yes.” Faith was truthful. “Do you want to talk to him?”
Callie shook her head. So, Faith rejected the call and blocked the number.
Ethan tried calling from several different numbers, but Faith rejected the call each time and blocked him. His messages also went unanswered. He finally had a taste of the unbearable pain of being left on read.
Ethan stared at his phone with a bitter smile. He had been such a jerk, and this suffering was payback.
He had truly lost Faith and Callie.
From that day on, Ethan stopped going to the office. He spent his days sitting in Faith’s room, holding Callie’s teddy bear and staring into space. Callie had left a note inside the bear, hoping Ethan would let her call him “Dad” and hug her every day.
He was consumed by regret, tormented both physically and mentally.
Mathias found him at the villa and was shocked by his appearance.
“Mr. Hale, there’s trouble at the company.” Mathias had no time to spend on pleasantries. “Someone has leaked our company secrets, and our business deal was called off.”
Ethan’s expression didn’t change at all. He stared blankly at Mathias. “Handle it yourself.”
“Mr. Hale, it’s a multi–billion–dollar project… The company could collapse. If that happens, how will you provide a comfortable life for your wife and daughter?”
That finally elicited some reaction from Ethan. Focusing on Mathias, he asked, “Have you found them?”
“I believe they’ll come back,” Mathias said with a pang of guilt.
In truth, he had been searching for Faith, but the search yielded nothing. When Faith left, she bought tickets to multiple destinations, making it impossible to trace the exact flight she had taken.
“You’re right. I need to give them a better life,” Ethan’s eyes regained their spark. “Let’s head back to the company.”
