Chapter 4

His silence had simply been the way I convinced myself to keep hoping.

“So…” Lily began, probably wondering what I planned to do next.

I took the tissue from her and wiped my nose.

“If he wants me to stop clinging to him, then I’ll stop. It’s not like he’s the only man in the world.”

But how was I supposed to forget the way Ethan had treated me?

For more than twenty years, he was the only person who had ever made me feel this way.

Lily had transferred into our class during her senior year of high school. She looked sweet and easy to fool. I was naturally outgoing, so I approached her without hesitation.

I helped her get her textbooks, took her to the cafeteria, and showed her around the campus store.

Lily really was soft and adorable. She trusted everyone. After knowing me for only a month, she started bringing me home.

Ethan was there for dinner that day, along with Lily’s parents.

After we finished eating, Lily’s mother asked Ethan to drive me to the entrance of my apartment complex.

“Is this the place?” Ethan asked after parking the car.

“Yeah. Thanks, Ethan.”

Back then, I was still a polite girl who respected my elders.

After thanking him, I got out and hurried into the complex.

Around Halloween, the neighborhood was filled with the scent of candles and incense. It gave the night an eerie atmosphere.

I had always been timid, and I was even more frightened around Halloween.

I walked faster and faster. Then I heard footsteps behind me, following at a steady distance.

It was terrifying, and I couldn’t help breaking into a run.

Something grabbed the strap of my backpack.

“Why are you running? You left your phone in the car!”

It was Ethan.

I broke out in a cold sweat.

“Which building do you live in?”

Still dazed, I pointed it out to him.

“Let’s go.”

Ethan tilted his head, indicating that I should lead the way.

When I was a senior in high school, Ethan was only twenty-five, seven years older than me. Even then, he quietly knew how to take care of my childish fears.

Ethan had always been thoughtful.

After I graduated high school, Ethan happened to leave town for work.

Lily insisted on going with him. After he agreed, she shamelessly begged him to take me too.

Ethan couldn’t resist her. He ended up taking the two of us little burdens along on his business trip to Seattle.

On our first night there, I got my period. The cramps were so bad that I couldn’t even stand up straight, so I stayed in the hotel all day.

Lily, on the other hand, had endless energy. She spent the entire day running around outside, then collapsed onto the bed after eating her fill without caring whether I lived or died.

When I was so hungry that my stomach felt glued to my spine, Ethan knocked on our door.

I dragged my weak body out of bed to answer. Ethan handed me a box.

“Late-night snacks.”

He was practically my savior. When I opened the box, I found desserts from the restaurant Lily and I always went to.

Seeing how pale I was, he asked, “Are you feeling sick?”

I stuffed dessert into my mouth and waved him off.

“It’s nothing. Those days every month are always rough.”

He stood in the doorway and thought for a while. He seemed to be trying to come up with a solution, while I waited and chewed my dessert.

After a long moment, he looked up and told me, “Drink more hot water.”

He had completely short-circuited my brain.

Still, for the next week, whenever I ate with Ethan, there was never anything cold on the table.

His care was quiet and constant, like a gentle rain sinking into the earth.

And Ethan didn’t treat everyone that way.

One year, Lily invited her closest college friends to her birthday party. One of the girls was bold enough to carry a drink over to Ethan and flirt with him openly, making it perfectly clear that she thought she would be easy for him to win over.

Ethan was always polite to people who approached him with a smile. He humored her for the evening, then turned around and ordered Lily to stop associating with her.

Compared to that, Ethan had already been incredibly indulgent with me.

He bought me gifts, took me out to eat, drove me home, and did so many other things…

I thought I was special. I thought that was why he treated me so well.

But today at the hospital, Ethan said the only reason he treated me differently was because I was Lily’s best friend.

When had things between Ethan and me become so hostile?

During my junior year of college, Ethan was twenty-eight. He still hadn’t settled down, and Lily’s grandmother was frantic. She began arranging dates for him.

I heard about it at my family’s dinner table. My father was an amazing cook, and Lily spent most of her winter break at my house.

After hearing the news, I devoured two bowls of rice and even ate the one that was supposed to be Lily’s.

She finally lifted her head from her bowl and stared at me.

“Ava, what’s gotten into you?”

I motioned for her to finish eating first. As soon as she swallowed her last bite, I dragged her into my bedroom and asked awkwardly, “Can you stop your uncle from going on blind dates?”

“Ava, that’s ridiculous! Do you really think he’ll listen to me?” Lily stared at me as if I had lost my mind. “Besides, what does my uncle going on a date have to do with you?”

I covered my flushed face and boldly declared, “I want to be your aunt.”