Sir, Please Sign Here to Get a Divorce-Chapter 61: Angering Ethan Yardley

Everyone was at the dining table. Sylvia was about to feed Ethan again.

But Ethan suddenly stood up, avoiding Sylvia’s attempt. He glanced at Serena, who had her head down. When he saw she seemed completely unconcerned, he felt an inexplicable frustration building inside him.

He took the initiative to grab the bottle and start pouring drinks.

Quinn Gardner reminded him, "Half a glass for me, tops. I have to go with my wife to the family home to see the kids later."

Ethan paid him no mind, pouring a drink for everyone.

But when he got to Serena, he paused, glanced at her, and then put the bottle away without pouring her a drink.

Nina Thorne asked, "Why didn’t you pour any for Serena? She’s twenty, she can drink."

Nina Thorne took the bottle, pouring some for Serena as she said:

"Serena, let’s just have a little. To celebrate me moving in as your neighbor. Now we can see each other all the time."

Serena nodded, deeply moved by Nina’s kindness.

With everyone’s glass full, they stood around the dining table. Quinn Gardner was the first to speak.

"Two of our brothers couldn’t make it, but we won’t wait for them. Let’s raise our glasses. To a friendship that lasts a lifetime."

Everyone raised their glasses and clinked them together.

Ethan downed his drink in one gulp, then sat down and poured another.

Sylvia only took a small sip before sitting down and continuing to place food on Ethan’s plate.

She was acting for all the world as if she were Ethan’s woman.

In the eyes of the other three, Sylvia was Ethan’s fiancée, so no matter how intimate they were, it was perfectly normal.

But for Serena, the sight was suffocating, a sharp pain twisting in her chest.

She lifted her half-full glass and downed it in one gulp.

Julian Thorne didn’t have time to stop her. "Serena, why’d you drink it all? That stuff is really strong."

"COUGH..."

The liquor was harsh, and since it was Serena’s first time drinking, she immediately choked on it. The burn sent her into a coughing fit. "COUGH, COUGH..."

"That’s what I’m talking about. You should have just taken a sip. Who told you to chug it?"

Julian quickly poured a glass of water and handed it to her.

Serena took it and had a couple of sips, the burning finally subsiding.

Nina gave a wry smile from the side.

’It’s obvious my little brother is quite fond of Serena.’

’If they could actually get together, that would be even better.’

Quinn’s attention was entirely on his wife. He kept feeding her delicious morsels of food, completely oblivious to everyone else around them.

Sylvia, too, started trying to feed Ethan again.

Ethan, however, had no appetite. His gaze kept drifting to Serena across the table.

Seeing Julian leaning so close to her, serving her food and pouring her drinks—all of which she readily accepted without a hint of refusal—made him even more furious.

’Then there was that business with Gabriel Galloway,’ he thought. ’Getting pregnant and then taking pills to abort it, all because she was afraid I’d find out.’

’And when I confronted her, she denied it to her last breath.’

The more Ethan thought about it, the angrier he got.

But remembering this was his friend’s home, he couldn’t just lose his temper and spoil the party. So, he just kept pouring himself drink after drink.

He drank more than half of a limited-edition bottle of whiskey all by himself.

Just as he was about to pour the last of it, Serena suddenly snatched the bottle away.

Ethan stared at her coldly.

Serena paid him no mind. Feeling dizzy, she poured herself half a glass, then turned to the Thorne siblings, unable to stop the words from spilling out.

"Nina, Julian, thank you for how good you’ve been to me. Thank you for not looking down on me for being an abandoned kid. And thank you for letting me stay for this dinner.

You have no idea how happy I am to see you both again.

While you were gone, I missed you so much.

I don’t have any friends or family. I’m always being bullied, and the person who does it is so unreasonable."

That first half-glass of liquor had given Serena some liquid courage, and the emotions she’d kept bottled up finally burst forth.

Tears welled in her eyes. Sniffling, she continued in a choked voice:

"I didn’t do anything wrong, but he always says I did. He won’t listen when I try to explain. He even hit me because of someone else."

With that said, Serena tossed back the rest of her drink.

After she finished, her head spun even more, and she could barely stand.

She collapsed back into her chair and fell into Nina Thorne’s arms, sobbing wretchedly.

"SOB... Nina, it hurts... I’m in so much pain..."

Nina quickly wrapped her arms around the crying girl, her suspicious gaze fixed on Ethan. "What is this about? Did you hit her?"

’Serena has always been in Ethan’s care.’

’Ethan even told me he thinks of Serena as a little sister.’

’So the person Serena said was bullying her has to be Ethan.’

’If he really lays a hand on a woman, I could never forgive him.’

Ethan’s face was dark, his thin lips pressed into a tight line.

Watching her cry like an idiot in Nina’s arms, he didn’t feel any better himself.

But he was Ethan Yardley.

’How could he let his friends see he was upset over a woman?’

Feigning indifference, he shot back at Nina, "Shouldn’t people be punished when they do something wrong?"

"But she’s a girl! How could a man like you hit a girl?"

Nina was starting to see red.

Sylvia immediately jumped in. "Nina, don’t blame Ethan. Serena can be really disobedient sometimes."

"Even if she’s disobedient, that’s no reason to use your hands, is it?"

Julian’s face darkened too. He looked at Ethan. "Ethan, I’ve always looked up to you like you were some kind of god. I never thought you were the type to hit a woman."

’Just look at Serena crying. It’s obvious how much she must have to put up with from him.’

"Since when do I need your approval to discipline my own people?"

Thoroughly provoked, Ethan shot to his feet and yelled at Serena:

"Serena Yardley, get out of my sight. Right now."

Serena’s mind felt muddled. She had never touched a drop of alcohol in her life, so she probably couldn’t handle it.

Hearing Ethan’s furious roar, she defiantly stood up to confront him.

"Why should I have to disappear? This isn’t your house."

"You really must have a death wish."

Furious and embarrassed, Ethan grabbed her and began to drag her away.

The Thorne siblings moved to intervene, but Ethan paused and stared them down, his presence suddenly cold and menacing.

"What I, Ethan Yardley, do is none of your business. Even if I beat Serena Yardley to death, it would have nothing to do with you."

With that, he ignored everyone present and dragged Serena out.

The people left behind could only stare, dumbfounded and incredulous.

The Ethan they remembered, while a bit cold and aloof, was mature, stable, and carried himself with a refined grace. They never would have imagined he was a violent man who would hit a woman.

It was terrifying.

"Hey! Never mind those two. Sit down, let’s eat."

Quinn Gardner gestured to the others, speaking as if he knew more than he was letting on.

The Thorne siblings exchanged a glance. As much as they wanted to help Serena...

...she was, after all, under Ethan’s authority. To interfere any further would mean making an enemy of him.

Suddenly, they felt caught in a difficult position.

Sylvia deliberately lingered, playing the victim.

"You probably don’t know this," she began, "but Serena has always been this way. Ethan can’t control her. She’s always acting out, and she’s done many things that cross the line."

The implication was clear to anyone who knew the situation.

Sylvia continued:

"You all saw it just now. She acts like that without any shame, even at a gathering like this. You can just imagine how wild she must be in private. So, you should be able to understand Ethan, right?"

The other three were silent.