Private Marriage, Secret Love-Chapter 185: Since You’re So Deeply in Love, Why Don’t You Go Accompany Her?

Chapter 185: Chapter 185: Since You’re So Deeply in Love, Why Don’t You Go Accompany Her?

The crisp sound of a slap echoed, followed by a fiery sting as Ethan Lancaster’s head was snapped to the side.

Raina Reddington’s palm was red and stinging. She had been wanting to land that slap for a long time, and now she’d finally gotten her chance.

She shot him a cold glare. "Sir, I’ll ask you to show some self-respect!"

Clear red marks appeared on Ethan Lancaster’s face, and it was already starting to swell. He fixed his gaze back on Raina Reddington. ’It’s her, all right. Her features haven’t changed a bit. Her hair is just longer, that’s all.’

’It’s impossible for two people in the world to look completely identical.’

Still not convinced, Ethan Lancaster reached out for her again. The nearby nurse and doctor could no longer stand by and watch. "What do you think you’re doing?"

"Exactly, isn’t that a little..."

"What do any of you know? She’s my wife."

Raina Reddington unclipped her ID badge and held it in front of Ethan Lancaster. "Who’s your wife? If you keep this up, I’m calling the police."

The name on the badge was Annabelle Ainsworth.

He reached for it, but Raina Reddington impatiently pushed his hand away again. "If you’re going to insist on preventing the patient from receiving treatment, then fine, I’ll process his discharge papers. But you will be fully responsible for all consequences."

She turned to leave, but there was no way Ethan Lancaster would let her go so easily. He gripped her wrist tightly. "What does changing your name prove?"

"Call the police," Raina Reddington instructed the doctor beside her.

The man quickly pulled out his phone, but Seth Sinclair stepped forward to stop him. "Young Madam, let’s just talk this through."

Raina Reddington wrenched her hand free. "Young Madam?" Her eyes swept over Ethan Lancaster’s face, and she drew out the word with deliberate slowness. "Oohh—I was wondering why you looked so familiar. So you’re the renowned Mr. Lancaster from Stoneworth? Didn’t your wife die three years ago? The rumor is you drove her to it, isn’t it?"

"She didn’t die," Ethan Lancaster said, taking a step toward Raina Reddington. "You are her."

Raina Reddington put on a look of feigned shock. "Don’t tell me, Fourth Master, that her dying once wasn’t enough to satisfy your hatred, so now you go after anyone who looks like her?"

"Satisfy my hatred? If you’re not her, how would you know that I hated her?"

Raina Reddington’s expression betrayed nothing. "You were husband and wife, after all. If it wasn’t out of hatred, why bother driving someone to their death? That’s what all the news reports said—the Young Madam of the Lancaster family jumped to her death from a cliff. No one could survive a fall from that height. Or does the Fourth Master think he ought to find her corpse and grind her bones to dust, just to be sure?"

Ethan Lancaster’s face grew increasingly pale. Raina Reddington’s words were like knives, stabbing into his heart one by one.

"Raina—"

"I don’t know you."

Seeing this, Seth Sinclair stepped forward and gently took Ethan Lancaster’s arm. "Fourth Master, let the doctor review the medical file first. Everything else... we can take our time."

’Now that she’s here, she can’t just vanish from under their noses again. Causing a scene will only make things more deadlocked.’

Raina Reddington walked into the lounge. Zion Lancaster’s test results and medical file were lying on the coffee table. She picked them up and began to study them intently.

Ethan Lancaster stood to the side, his eyes tracking Raina Reddington’s every move. He absolutely refused to believe this woman was merely a look-alike.

She was completely absorbed in her work. The test results were far from optimistic, and he watched her brow furrow tightly. No one dared to disturb her. The white coat she wore gave her a unique and captivating charm.

After a long while, Raina Reddington finally looked up at Ethan Lancaster. "Dr. Miller was right. At this stage, surgery is the only option, but the risk of infection is over ninety percent. My recommendation is to schedule the surgery immediately and deliver the baby at the same time."

The doctor beside them hesitated. "That’s an even greater risk. It’s not that we haven’t considered it..."

Raina Reddington closed the file, her expression grim. "It’s the only way to save the baby."

"But..."

’If the baby doesn’t make it, the family could raise a huge stink. And this Ethan Lancaster doesn’t look like someone you want to cross.’

"I trust her," Ethan Lancaster spoke up. "Do as she says."

The surgery was scheduled for the next day. Raina Reddington was busy until late in the evening, and only then did she get off work to head home.

She went down to the underground garage to get her car, only to see Ethan Lancaster leaning against it. He had clearly figured out all the details of her current life.

Raina Reddington walked over, her face cold. Ethan Lancaster didn’t move from his spot leaning against the car door. She barely lifted her gaze. "Excuse me. Please move."

"You had that illness... why didn’t you tell me?"

Raina Reddington had no desire to engage with him. "Get out of the way."

Ethan Lancaster hadn’t seen her in three years, and the longing in his heart had tormented him to the point of near madness. She had no idea how he’d managed to get through more than a thousand days without her.

Raina Reddington started to walk toward the passenger side, but Ethan Lancaster quickly pulled her back. "How did you survive? Are you well now? Did you find a suitable bone marrow match?"

Raina Reddington clenched her jaw and said nothing. Seeing her attitude, he grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her against the car door.

"Talk to me."

"So Mrs. Lancaster had leukemia, is that right?" Raina Reddington said airily. "Looking at you, Fourth Master, anyone would think you were deeply in love with her. In that case, why did you let her die?"

"You still refuse to admit it, don’t you?"

A cold smile spread across Raina Reddington’s lips. "It’s not that I refuse to admit it. I’m simply much luckier than Mrs. Lancaster. I am not her."

Ethan Lancaster leaned in closer, desperate to see something, anything, in her eyes—even hatred would be fine. "Do you think I’m helpless just because you won’t admit it?"

"Sir, this is harassment. You need to calm down."

"Raina!" Ethan Lancaster felt like he was being driven mad. "Can’t you just talk to me properly? Tell me how you’ve been these last few years. Where did you go? And why did you change your name?"

Raina Reddington stared at Ethan Lancaster’s face. Seeing him like this, she felt an immense sense of satisfaction.

"I’m not her."

"Yes, you are. If I say you are, then you are!"

A faint smile played on Raina Reddington’s lips. "Fourth Master, if I hadn’t read the news, I’d almost believe you were truly devoted to Mrs. Lancaster. This act you’re putting on is incredibly convincing, don’t you think?"

It was as if Ethan Lancaster had been viciously slapped across the face all over again.

There was shame, humiliation, and a profound, aching grief.

"Yes," Ethan Lancaster said, his arms pinning her shoulders, giving her no chance to leave. "My wife and I had a very good relationship. I... I never imagined she would take that step. If she had only told me she was sick, I wouldn’t have let her go."

’The chasm between her and Ethan Lancaster... how could dying once possibly be enough to bridge it?’

’He was only saying all this because he wanted to hear her admit, with her own mouth, that she was Raina Reddington.’

"Since Mr. Lancaster is so devoted, why didn’t you just die along with your wife when she did?"