Private Marriage, Secret Love-Chapter 171: Can’t Live, Just Can’t Live

"Ethan Lancaster, you can hate me, but please don’t take it out on my family."

Ethan Lancaster was very perceptive. He raised an eyebrow at her words. "Hasn’t the Reddington Family disowned you? You still care if they live or die? What, did you call me over tonight to plead for them?"

"The Reddington Family still has my grandmother, doesn’t it? She lives alone in the countryside. When she gets older, she’ll definitely move here. You should go visit her more often then."

Ethan felt that she was acting a bit strange tonight. "Does Grandma even acknowledge me? You know perfectly well who she likes."

If she found out how he’d dealt with Miles Hawthorne, she’d be lucky not to beat him to death with a broom.

"We’re married, after all. How could she not acknowledge you?"

Raina was completely devoid of her usual temper today, which was really because she was in a good mood. Ethan Lancaster stared at her, not wanting to miss a single expression on her face. "I’ve always wanted to ask you something, Raina. Have you ever liked me?"

He knew his place, so he didn’t dare ask if she had ever loved him. ’We’ve been together for this long,’ Ethan thought. ’There must have been some fondness, right?’

Raina remained silent, her head lowered. All she knew was that she had cast everything aside just to see him before the surgery. Ethan Lancaster was the only person she wanted to see. ’Does that count?’

He didn’t get his answer. The words were on the tip of Raina’s tongue when she heard a phone ring.

Ethan couldn’t hide the disappointment on his face as he answered the call. "Hello?"

"Fourth Master, where are you?"

"I’m at The Verdant Garden. Don’t call me unless it’s important."

Listening to Ethan’s tone, Raina guessed the person on the other end must be Gwen Sharp.

Cameron Fairchild was leaning against a car, his voice tinged with urgency. "We’ve found Miles Hawthorne."

"What?" Ethan’s gaze instinctively shot toward Raina across from him, but he quickly looked away. "Where?"

"I’m sending the address to your phone. Get over here, quickly."

"Okay." Ethan agreed without asking for details, afraid that Raina might get suspicious.

After hanging up, Raina saw him about to stand up. "Something urgent?"

"Yes."

In the end, they couldn’t even finish a single meal together. The table full of food was practically untouched. Raina had worked so hard for so long, yet it couldn’t stand up to a single phone call that she assumed was from Gwen Sharp.

A certain sorrow bloomed in her heart. This was the difference between being cared for and being ignored. He spent every day by Gwen Sharp’s side, yet he seemed to feel that sparing even a little time for her was a waste.

Ethan pushed his chair back and stood up. "Something urgent came up suddenly..."

"Go on."

The man didn’t hesitate any longer. This was The Verdant Garden; he could come back anytime. But if he failed to catch Miles Hawthorne, the consequences would be endless.

Raina sat where she was, watching Ethan’s figure quickly depart. There wasn’t the slightest hesitation in his steps. ’Is this what men are like?’ she wondered. ’So ruthless and uncaring when they decide to be.’ She had deliberately dimmed the lights tonight to prevent him from noticing anything was wrong. He had neglected her for so long. Raina had to admit that if Ethan had ever bothered to have someone look into her, he wouldn’t still be in the dark about her grave illness.

The door slammed shut. Raina snapped back to reality, all her strength seeming to crumble in an instant. She slumped weakly onto the table.

Seth Sinclair hadn’t expected Ethan Lancaster to come out so soon. The man got into the car and told the driver to head to the address Cameron Fairchild had sent.

The place was quite far and rather remote. It took about an hour to get there.

When Ethan Lancaster got out of the car, he saw Cameron Fairchild leaning motionlessly against his own vehicle, a cigarette between his fingers. He strode over. "Where is he?"

"He slipped away," Cameron Fairchild said nonchalantly.

"Slipped away?" Ethan’s gaze swept over the row of houses in front of them. "You had so many men stationed outside. How could you possibly let him escape?"

"The guy’s got a better nose than a bloodhound; he can sniff out the slightest disturbance." Cameron Fairchild tossed the remaining half of his cigarette to the ground and crushed it under his heel. "He’d better hope I don’t catch him."

"If he slipped away, then what did you make me rush all the way over here for?" Ethan took a step as if to leave.

Cameron Fairchild stopped him in time. "Where were you just now?"

"None of your business."

"Don’t tell me you were with Raina Reddington."

The color drained from Ethan Lancaster’s face. If Cameron Fairchild hadn’t taken a call from Gwen Sharp, he wouldn’t have had to drive all this way to put on this act.

He walked over and rested a hand lightly on Ethan Lancaster’s shoulder. "There’s something I need to discuss with you, get your opinion on it."

"What is it?"

"You know how you’ve always wanted to work with the Knight Family? Well, that Mr. Knight has been impossible to get a meeting with lately. There’s a major crisis at home—his childhood-sweetheart wife is critically ill."

Ethan had no interest in other people’s domestic affairs. "And?"

"Leukemia. But I got word today that they’ve found a bone marrow match. The thing is, someone else got to it first. Missing this chance means missing the chance to save a life. With the Knight Family’s standing, Mr. Knight wants to just take it by force, but the old man at the top won’t allow it. If this whole thing gets exposed, the entire Knight Family will be finished."

Ethan leaned against the car next to him. "Then take it. Or buy it. Donations are supposed to be voluntary, sure, but you could just give the person a sum of money and have them designate the donation for the Knight Family, couldn’t you?"

"That’s a good method, of course, but isn’t it inconvenient for the Knight Family to make a move themselves?"

Ethan understood what Cameron Fairchild was getting at. "It’s just a small matter. You could handle it for him easily."

"But this is a life-and-death favor. If Mr. Knight is going to be indebted to someone, it should naturally be you."

"Fine," Ethan said, pulling his gaze back from the distance. "You can get the donor’s contact information, right? Give it to me. I’ll go myself."

"It’s just that the hospital seems to have already notified another patient."

Ethan didn’t pay it any mind. "Last-minute changes happen all the time. That’s just fate. You can’t fight it even if you don’t like it."

Cameron Fairchild nodded in agreement. "True. She can only blame her own bad luck. Maybe heaven will take pity on her and let her wait for a second donor."

Ethan leaned against the car, his expression blank, his mind filled with the image of Raina. She wasn’t good at cooking, yet today she had prepared a whole table of dishes for him. Ethan felt like he was seeing a glimmer of hope, a feeling that if they just gave each other a little more time, things might just turn around.

Raina spent the next two days tidying up at home, doing what little she could. She cleaned the bedroom until it was spotless.

She had also packed everything she would need for her hospital stay. Raina was just waiting for the hospital to call and tell her to come in.

That afternoon, as she sat in the sun-drenched courtyard, the call she had been waiting and waiting for from the hospital finally came.

But the tone on the other end was clearly off. There was no other reason given, just a single sentence: the donor had backed out at the last minute, and the surgery had to be canceled.

Raina felt as if she’d been struck by lightning. If she hadn’t been gripping the ropes of the swing with one hand, she might have actually fallen.

But what could she do? If she wasn’t meant to live, she wasn’t meant to live.