Chapter 5

At the restaurant, Ethan naturally pulled out a chair for me and ordered many dishes I loved.

We sat facing each other, just like when we were madly in love.

Except his gaze no longer lingered on me. He kept glancing at the phone on the table.

"Ethan, do you still remember the first time we met?" I asked softly.

He paused, then nodded. "Yeah, I remember."

"Three years ago you proposed to me here too. Though Stella was cursing up a storm at the time, she was still wiping away tears while recording video for us."

At the mention of her, his handsome features couldn't help but fill with affection:

"I never thought someone like her would actually cry. It was really rare."

Memories vividly surfaced. The corners of my mouth unconsciously curved up, and I instinctively reached for the ring on my ring finger.

My gaze fell on his hand—empty.

Ethan became aware of my stare. His expression froze slightly, and he smiled with difficulty:

"I was afraid of losing the ring, so I put it away carefully. I'll put it back on when we get home."

I lowered my eyes and nodded.

The conversation died again. I could only talk by myself about our journey from first meeting to falling in love to getting engaged—all the hardships, all the unforgettable moments.

At first Ethan would still smile, but the more he listened, the lower his head hung.

After a long while, his voice choked:

"Yeah, we've come such a difficult road."

My chest felt tight. I nodded.

But if it was so difficult, why would you easily change your heart?

The second half of the meal, he ate very quietly. My favorite dishes became tasteless.

It seemed that as long as I didn't actively find topics, we had nothing left to say.

After the meal, we walked to the riverside park. Ethan suddenly stopped, hesitating:

"Luna, Stella doesn't know anyone here. Isn't it a bit inappropriate to let her move out and live alone?"

I paused, my tone forced to sound casual. "Then what do you want to do? Have her stay?"

"Can I?!" His voice suddenly rose, hope igniting in his eyes.

I looked into those eyes. My chest felt like a boulder was pressing down on it, so stuffy I couldn't speak.

The air grew scorching with my silence.

He waited a few seconds. The light in his eyes dimmed bit by bit.

When he spoke again, his tone had grown cold:

"Luna, she came here because of you. Haven't you always said she's your best friend, even like a sister?"

"The house is so big. It's not like there's no room for her."

I fell silent for a moment, then forced out a smile:

"Of course she can stay. Just promise me you two won't bicker anymore if she stays."

Ethan's face lit up with joy. He almost immediately turned and got in the car, gripping the steering wheel:

"Then let's go pick her up and bring her home right now! She'll be so happy when she finds out this good news!"

I took a deep breath and smiled, shaking my head:

"You go. The company has something urgent. I need to go check on it."

Before I'd even finished speaking, he'd already hit the gas and driven off.

I turned and went to the company, quickly completing the paperwork for a permanent transfer to Switzerland.

My supervisor said in surprise:

"Luna, I remember you said you were getting married, which is why you kept refusing the overseas assignment?"

I smiled and shook my head:

"I'm not getting married anymore."

Perhaps the baby in my belly also sensed that neither of his blood-related parents wanted him. Suddenly there was a sharp pain.

My face turned pale. I clutched my stomach tightly. Just as I was about to hail a car to the hospital, I suddenly collapsed to the ground.

I pulled out my phone wanting to call Ethan for help, but he called first, shouting anxiously:

"Luna! Stella didn't leave a new address and her phone keeps going to voicemail. Something must have happened to her! Send me the address quickly!"

My heart jumped. Enduring the wrenching pain, I sent him the address.

Just as I was about to ask him to call an ambulance for me—

The phone went to a busy signal.

Intense pain struck. I completely lost consciousness.