After Ethan Hunt left me at the altar, I moved abroad and started a new life. Five years later, his father passed away, and I returned to the States to pay my respects. At the airport, he bumped into me holding a child. "Is this... our daughter?" His eyes turned red, and he reached out to hug us. I shook my head and stepped back. "Mr. Hunt, you must be joking. How could we possibly have a child?" 1 Ethan Hunt and I were childhood sweethearts. Our parents were best friends, our family backgrounds and education matched perfectly. Naturally, shortly after graduating college, we got engaged. On our wedding day, right as we were reading our vows, Ethan suddenly turned to me. "I'm sorry. I don't love you." He was holding a microphone. Everyone heard it. The wedding, obviously, didn't continue. The perpetrator strutted away, leaving me drowning in humiliation. Our families fell out completely, and my parents and I moved abroad. If my parents hadn't heard about Ethan's father passing away, I wouldn't have come back. After all, they were friends for most of their lives, so my parents asked me to return and pay respects on their behalf. I just didn't expect Ethan to come to the airport to pick me up. I hadn't seen him in five years. He was as handsome as ever, but with a more mature air than before. In the past, my heart would race just seeing him. Now, my heart was still as a pond. "Long time no see, Mr. Hunt." I held my daughter, Lily, and coaxed her to greet him. "Lily, be a good girl, say hi to Uncle Hunt." She had just woken up, eyes groggy, and murmured in a baby voice, "Hi Uncle Hunt." Then she leaned back on my shoulder and fell asleep. Ethan's eyes suddenly reddened. He stumbled forward, almost crashing into me. "Is this... our daughter?" He asked with a trembling voice, reaching out as if to hug me or Lily. I quickly stepped back, putting distance between us. "Mr. Hunt, you must be joking. How could we possibly have a child?" 2 "Sophia, this is the child from back then, isn't it?" Ethan seemed unable to understand human language, muttering nonsense to himself. I handed the child to the nanny, Mrs. Lee, behind me. Mrs. Lee had been taking care of Lily; having her around helped a lot. Besides Mrs. Lee, I also brought my assistant, Ava, to handle work matters. "Mr. Hunt, I am here on behalf of my parents to pay respects to your father. "We never got married, where would a child come from? I am married, please stop speaking such strange things." Although five years had passed, the blow of Ethan leaving me at the altar was significant. I really couldn't muster a polite tone with him. Ethan couldn't take it. He asked confusedly, "Why 'Mr. Hunt'? You used to call me Ethan." "I was too young back then, now I know I was wrong. "Sophia, you've worked hard raising the child alone for five years. From now on, I won't let you down." Sitting in the car, Ethan kept talking to himself. I thought he was seriously delusional. So I got out and squeezed into the other car with Mrs. Lee and Ava. Thinking about it, I opened the door again. "Ethan Hunt, I am married. You are also married. Please watch your words in the future, don't drag me into your mess." After saying that, I was about to close the door. Ethan suddenly grabbed my hand. "Sophia, you still care about Claire and me. "I can divorce her." When you are speechless to a certain degree, you really just have to laugh. I slammed the door shut and left. Back then, to marry me, he wanted to be with Claire forever. Now that he married his true love, he's still not satisfied. What a scumbag. 3 My family's villa in the suburbs was very close to the Hunt's. Because our villa hadn't been lived in for years and no one maintained it, it wasn't habitable for now. So, we stayed at the Hunt's villa. Originally, we wanted to stay in a hotel downtown, but we had to go to the cemetery the next day. Going back and forth was too troublesome, so we decided to make do for one night. Ethan's mother pulled me aside and chattered about the past. In the end, she lamented that Ethan had wronged me. "Sophia, would you still be willing to be the Hunt family's—" Daughter-in-law? Whoever wants it can have it. I quickly interrupted, "I forgot to let you see my daughter." "Daughter?" As we spoke, Mrs. Lee brought Lily out from the room. Lily obediently called her "Grandma Hunt," which delighted Mrs. Hunt so much she picked her up and looked her over. "She looks like you. Just like you when you were little, so lovable." After Mrs. Hunt finished, Lily tilted her head and looked at her. "I like Grandma Hunt too." Saying that, she planted a big kiss on Mrs. Hunt's cheek. This little girl was just like her dad, a smooth talker. She made Mrs. Hunt beam with joy. Ethan, who had been standing aside watching for who knows how long, suddenly interjected: "She looks like Sophia, beautiful. Her brain must be like mine, smart." He reached out and lovingly touched Lily's braided pigtails. Lily dodged, frowning at him, looking unhappy: "Why should I be like you? My daddy is the smartest, the most amazing." I also didn't like Ethan touching Lily, so I immediately signaled Mrs. Lee to take the child away. Seeing the atmosphere turn awkward, Mrs. Hunt tried to smooth things over: "So Sophia is married. Such a pity your Uncle Hunt and I couldn't attend. "Where is he from? Why didn't you bring him back to meet us this time?" Our families hadn't been in contact for five years, so naturally, I didn't notify them of my wedding. Besides, when I got married, I only invited our parents. "Mom!" Ethan said unhappily. "How could Sophia be married? Lily is my child." He turned to me again. "Sophia, I wronged you back then, but the child is innocent. She can't grow up without a father." I didn't know where Ethan's obsession came from, and I didn't care to know. I stood up and smiled at Mrs. Hunt. "I'm a bit tired today, I'll go rest first." I explained so many times that I was married and the child wasn't his, but this idiot just wouldn't believe it. Ethan wanted to chase after me but was stopped by Mrs. Hunt. Behind me, the sound of their argument could be heard. "Enough! Haven't you caused enough trouble for Sophia? "She's married! Don't you dare harass her again!" 4 Back in the room, I turned off airplane mode on my phone. Hundreds of messages and calls popped up instantly. "Wifey, wait for me to take Lily to visit my alma mater!" "Wifey, why are you ignoring me?" "Wifey, are you tired of me already—" ... I called back immediately, and a man's aggrieved complaint sounded from the other end. "You only remembered me now. No love left." I laughed. "No, I was chatting with the elders of the Hunt family and lost track of time." Julian Thorne sounded like he was facing a great enemy. "You didn't chat with that guy, did you?" That guy... meaning Ethan. I rolled my eyes. I really wanted to complain to Julian about Ethan's psychotic behavior. "What is there to say to him? By the way, when can you come back to the States?" Julian thought for a moment. "I'll fly over immediately after the shareholders' meeting tomorrow." We chatted on the phone for a while. The room was a suite. Lily and I slept in the inner room, Mrs. Lee in the outer one. Ava was in the guest room downstairs. Mrs. Lee was telling Lily a bedtime story. I instructed her to watch Lily closely these few days and not let anyone near her. "Especially Ethan Hunt. Don't let him near Lily." If I knew Ethan was this crazy, I wouldn't have brought Lily back. When Ethan ran away from the wedding five years ago, he claimed he loved someone else. My wedding dress was huge and heavy, and I chased after Ethan's resolute back in humiliation. Finally, I grabbed his sleeve. So many eyes were staring at me then—mocking, pitying gazes that felt like knives slicing me. Tears ruined my exquisite makeup. Through blurry eyes, I begged him to stay. At least, don't let my parents and me lose face in front of so many people. Ethan just shook me off in disgust. He said, "Don't do this. Being clingy only makes me hate you more. "I'm going to pursue my own happiness." So I let go of Ethan and let him leave. The words were still fresh in my memory. I never thought Ethan would pester me like a lunatic after I returned. Simply bad luck. 5 My phone rang again suddenly. A strange number. I picked up, it was Ethan. "Mom gave me your number. Can we talk?" "Nothing to talk about." The number I gave Mrs. Hunt was a temporary one for my return trip, so it didn't matter if Ethan knew it. As soon as I hung up, a text came. "I've been thinking about you for the five years you disappeared. "Reading the diary you wrote, I realized the biggest mistake I made was missing you..." Thinking about it, I blocked the number. Too annoying. The next morning, our group headed to the cemetery. Since Lily was still young, I left Ava and Mrs. Lee at the villa to take care of her. Among the people at the cemetery were old acquaintances of my parents. I spent some time greeting them. Learning that I was married abroad and had a baby, they were all curious about who the husband was. During the conversation, a female voice interrupted inappropriately. "Why did I hear Ethan say the child is his?" Claire took off her sunglasses and smirked at me. "Long time no see. Coming back this time to use the child to win back Ethan's heart? "Actually, you don't have to go through all that trouble. If you want him, I'll let you have him." Here it was again, that sense of public humiliation. In the past, I would have been furious at Claire's words. Now, I just smiled. "You're too kind. Unlike you, I don't specialize in recycling trash." Claire's face stiffened slightly, but she recovered quickly. "Heard you're staying at the Hunt's. Getting ready to bring the child back to the family?" Some people just push their luck. If I kept denying it now, it would seem suspicious. So I ignored Claire directly and said politely to the others, "My husband should be arriving tonight. We can gather tomorrow." The old acquaintances naturally agreed. The ceremony began, and everyone dispersed. Claire was relentless, chattering behind me, "Really married? Does your husband know about your past? "Does he know you chased another man relentlessly?" 6 My university was next to Ethan's. In college, our parents set the engagement. Claire was Ethan's classmate in the same major. The first time I heard the name Claire was when Ethan compared us. That day he forgot my birthday. I pretended to be angry and asked him to come out and have dinner with me. Ethan suddenly got angry, saying I always troubled him with trivial matters. "I promised Claire to work on our social practice project today. You called me out just to eat? "Can you be a little more mature?" In Ethan's mouth, Claire was a very cool girl. Smart, ambitious, hardworking. I felt wronged and punched him lightly. "Who is your girlfriend anyway?" Ethan apologized then. He explained that the assignment was important, which was why he lost his temper. Growing up, I was always chasing after Ethan. In my heart, he was a brother, a friend, and a lover. So him coaxing me made me happy enough, and I didn't pursue the matter of him and Claire. I didn't pay attention to Claire until the end of the second semester of sophomore year. Ethan said he was busy reviewing and would contact me after the break. I missed him so much I sneaked over to his school to see him. He wasn't in the dorm, nor the library. I saw him on the playground, walking with a strange girl. Somehow, the name "Claire" suddenly popped into my mind. The evening glow reddened my eyes. I chased after them and asked, "Is this your so-called reviewing?" Ethan was a bit panicked. He instinctively shielded Claire behind him. "What are you imagining now?" Ethan frowned. "Is it wrong for me to discuss knowledge points with a classmate? "Sophia, you're suffocating me." 7 "Suffocating" was the word Ethan used to describe his parents. The Hunt family elders were strict with Ethan. From childhood, whether it was daily routine or social interactions, his parents arranged everything for him. Perhaps because of the strict control at home, Ethan became increasingly distant and cold to others. He had few friends and could only confide in me when he felt wronged. Saying confide, it was actually just him occasionally showing me his vulnerable side. But this made me think I had a place in his heart. He once said he was most relaxed and happy when he was with me. I didn't react on the surface, but inside I was blooming with joy. This mutual secret crush, I thought he liked me too. In the end, Ethan said I made him feel suffocated. For a moment, I panicked. Clearly Ethan was wrong, but I panicked. I was afraid I really made him feel suffocated, after all, I looked forward to a future with him so much. But I also had my dignity. Since Ethan dared to hurt me with words to protect another girl, there was no need for this relationship to continue. I proposed a breakup then. Ironically, Ethan came to me with roses that night to apologize. He explained earnestly that he and that classmate Claire were only discussing academic matters. Since then, Claire seemed to disappear from Ethan's world. I never heard him mention her again. Until the wedding ceremony five years ago. Ethan said, "I want to pursue my own happiness. Claire is my happiness." Only then did I know that while dating me, Ethan was also warming Claire. To some extent, Ethan was good at disguising. He pretended for so many years, and then destroyed all the beauty at my happiest moment. I asked him why he chose the wedding day. Ethan said, "Claire is insecure. She can only be assured if there is absolutely no possibility of us being together." Because of such a ridiculous reason, I had to endure so much gossip.
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