Chapter 229

Ethan froze, his piercing gaze locked onto Vanessa in utter shock.

She had always maintained perfect poise around him, every movement calculated to preserve her flawless image.

His dark eyes narrowed slightly, a storm of thoughts brewing behind them.

Vanessa stood paralyzed, her face draining of color. Before she could process what happened, the initial horror gave way to an unsettling relief.

She had just soiled herself.

Ethan's expression turned icy.

He was notorious for his obsessive cleanliness. The way he looked at her now was nothing short of disgust.

Never in her life had she felt such humiliation—especially not in front of the man she adored.

She wanted the ground to swallow her whole.

Face burning, she clutched her skirt and hobbled away without another word.

Ethan remained rooted in place, struggling to reconcile this moment with the pristine image he'd always held of her.

To him, Vanessa had been untouchable—elegant, composed, immaculate.

Now, that illusion lay shattered at his feet.

But now, his perception of her shattered completely.

She had soiled herself right in front of him.

Ethan Caldwell exhaled sharply, pulling a cigarette from his pocket and lighting it with a flick of his lighter. The bitter taste did nothing to soothe his irritation.

He couldn’t forgive Vanessa Hart.

Not just for the humiliation—but for the deception.

She had never been the cellist from all those years ago. That woman had been his soulmate, the one he had bared his heart to. Every moment of vulnerability, every shared secret—it had all been built on a lie.

His attention, his affection—none of it had ever belonged to Vanessa.

It should have been Evelyn Carter.

The realization struck him like a physical blow.

For years, he had poured his emotions into the wrong woman.

His jaw clenched as frustration coiled tight in his chest. The cigarette burned between his fingers, but the smoke did nothing to ease the storm inside him.

The woman he had loved didn’t exist.

Vanessa had crafted an illusion, and he had fallen for it.

Now, all that remained was the bitter taste of betrayal.

In his mind, she had always been innocent and pure.

But she had been lying to him all along.

He felt like a fool, manipulated by her carefully crafted deception.

Ethan suddenly recalled how he and Vanessa had gotten married. That night, he had drunk too much, and she had taken him to a hotel.

When they woke up the next morning, reporters swarmed the entrance, cameras flashing. To protect their reputations, they announced their marriage publicly.

Now, he realized it had all been her plan. She had orchestrated everything, pulling strings to become his wife.

She wasn’t the naive woman he had believed her to be.

What else had she hidden from him?

Three years ago, his relationship with Evelyn had ended abruptly.

At the time, Vanessa had been kidnapped by a group of criminals. When he rushed to the abandoned warehouse where she was being held, he found her tied up, trembling.

Her eyes were red from crying, her wrists raw from the ropes.

The men surrounding her had leered, their intentions clear.

Had that been staged too?

A cold realization settled in his chest.

If she had faked her own kidnapping, what else was she capable of?

Ethan's protective instincts surged like wildfire.

He dashed forward without hesitation, wrapping Vanessa in his arms just in time.

Vanessa tearfully accused Evelyn of conspiring with the thugs, claiming she had paid them to assault her.

Blinded by rage, Ethan struck Evelyn across the face.

How could the woman he once trusted stoop so low?

Was this all because of petty jealousy?

Evelyn sobbed, insisting she was innocent—that Vanessa had staged the entire scene.

A flicker of doubt crossed Ethan’s mind.

But then Vanessa dropped the bombshell—Evelyn had slept with the gang leader to guarantee their cooperation.

Ethan’s world shattered.

She was his fiancée. How could she betray him like this?

The memory became an open wound, one Vanessa alone had whispered to him.

Determined to uncover the truth, he launched a private investigation.

The results left him reeling.

The crime boss openly confessed to sleeping with Evelyn and taking her virginity.

Ethan Caldwell stubbed out his cigarette with a sharp twist of his wrist, the memory gnawing at him.

Evelyn had given herself to a criminal, while he—her former fiancé—had never even tasted her lips.

Bitterness had driven him into Vanessa Hart's arms, using her as a weapon against Evelyn's betrayal.

But now, a chilling possibility struck him like lightning.

What if Evelyn had been set up all along?