Chapter 267

The weight of realization crushed Ethan Caldwell.

He felt like the biggest fool alive. All this time, he had been chasing the wrong woman.

Ethan pressed his palms against his face, his fingers trembling as tears escaped. Regret consumed him.

For years, he had drowned himself in reckless indulgence, numbing the pain with alcohol and empty distractions. But in those rare moments of clarity, the void inside him only grew deeper.

He loved Evelyn Carter. He couldn’t let her go.

No amount of liquor could erase that truth.

That was why tonight—with Alexander Whitmore summoned away by his grandfather—Ethan had seized his chance to confront her.

Before arriving, he had downed enough whiskey to blur his inhibitions. There were words he’d never dare speak sober.

But drunk? Nothing held him back.

"Evelyn, come back to me!" The plea tore from his throat, raw and desperate.

Evelyn froze.

Her mind reeled. What did he just say?

"Ethan?" She took a step back, her voice laced with disbelief. "Snap out of it. Look at me—really look. You’ve got the wrong person, haven’t you?"

Confusion twisted her features.

Ethan’s breath hitched. His vision swam, but his heart refused to accept the truth.

He had lost her.

And it was all his fault.

"I recognize you perfectly well! Evelyn! Return to me! Leave Alexander, and I swear I can offer you a far superior life!"

Evelyn stood frozen, her lips parted in shock.

This was insane.

Had the entire universe lost its mind?

The same Ethan Caldwell who once treated her with contempt was now on his knees, pleading for her affection.

"For God's sake, I'm your uncle's wife. Are you listening to yourself? Is this how you address me? What in the world is wrong with you? Did Vanessa betray you?" Evelyn demanded.

After a moment of consideration, this was the only logical conclusion she could reach.

Ethan shook his head violently. "I'm ending things with Vanessa. She's a liar—she manipulated me from the start."

Evelyn was rendered speechless once more.

Ethan and Vanessa had never legally married. Their union had only been ceremonial.

Eleanor had vehemently opposed Vanessa from the beginning. When Ethan stubbornly insisted on marrying her, Eleanor had confiscated his identification documents, refusing to release them.

In families like theirs, it was customary to settle all financial and inheritance matters before formalizing any marriage.

Ethan Caldwell wasn't just any man—he was the heir to the Aniston fortune, with wealth that stretched beyond imagination.

Sorting through his vast assets took time, pushing back their marriage plans even further.

But none of that mattered now—because Ethan no longer wanted Vanessa Hart.

"Vanessa pretended to be you, knowing exactly how much the cellist means to me."

As he spoke, Ethan suddenly seized Evelyn Carter's hand and pressed it against his forehead.

"Evelyn, have you forgotten? That car accident—it was because of you. The head injury, this scar—it's all because of you. Do you remember?"

Beneath her fingertips, Evelyn felt the raised ridge of the scar, and her breath caught.

The accident had left Ethan comatose for weeks, the traumatic brain injury nearly taking his life.

He had driven through a storm to reach her, rain slashing against the windshield. Then, in one terrible moment, he lost control.

The car skidded, slamming into a utility pole. The impact shattered the window, sending a shard of glass flying straight into his skull.

Doctors had removed it, but the wound remained—a permanent reminder of that night.

The jagged scar on my wrist still ached sometimes, a cruel reminder of that night.

Before the accident, Ethan had adored me. His eyes would light up whenever I entered the room. His hands, warm and steady, would always find mine.

But after the crash—everything shattered.

When he woke from the coma, it was as if I no longer existed. His gaze slid past me, landing only on Vanessa. His voice, once so tender when speaking to me, now dripped with devotion for her.

I should have seen it sooner.

The way Vanessa's lips would curl into a smug smile whenever Ethan praised her. The way she'd subtly shift closer to him, her fingers brushing his arm. The way she'd whisper in his ear, her words dripping like poison.

It wasn't love.

It was theft.

Every glance, every touch, every promise that should have been mine—she stole them all.

And I let her.

The realization hit me like a physical blow. My breath caught, my hands trembling.

Vanessa didn't win Ethan's heart.

She stole it.

And I would take it back.