Chapter 5

Back at the hospital, I immediately arranged for Stella to be transferred.

The Julian family's efficiency was remarkable; they not only arranged a private jet but also secured a spot at New York's top private hospital, complete with a leading medical team.

Sitting in the car en route to the airport, watching the Los Angeles nightscape recede outside the window, I let out a long, heavy sigh.

This city, which had trapped me for five years, which held all my humiliation and despair, I was finally leaving it.

"Jade, are we really going to New York?" Stella leaned on my shoulder, her voice still weak. "That person… Mr. Julian, will he really be a good person?"

"No matter who he is, as long as he can protect you, I'm not afraid of anything," I said, stroking her hair, my eyes firm.

I had nothing left to lose.

The worst-case scenario was simply death.

At the same time, in Los Angeles's most luxurious five-star hotel, Ethan's engagement party was being prepared.

Ethan sat in the VIP lounge, toying with the velvet box Mark had just delivered.

"She really said that?" Ethan's face was cold, his brows furrowed as he listened to Mark's report.

"Yes, those were Jade's exact words," Mark said, cautiously observing Ethan's expression. "Mr. Ethan, it seems Jade is truly determined this time. She even returned your black card."

Ethan violently opened the box.

A pair of dazzling pink diamond rings lay quietly inside, next to the black card he had given her five years ago.

The card was spotless, without a single scratch, as if in these five years, she had never once touched his world.

A strange irritation inexplicably filled Ethan's chest.

He slammed the box shut, letting out a cold laugh. "Playing hard to get. She thinks by returning the card, I'll beg her to come back? Dream on!"

"She'll definitely come tomorrow," Ethan's tone was assertive. "She loves me so much she's thrown away her dignity. How could she possibly stand by and watch me get engaged to Chloe? She's just trying to force me to give in this way."

"You're right, Mr. Ethan," Mark quickly agreed. "A woman like Jade, without you, she wouldn't even be able to eat. How could she truly leave?"

Ethan leaned back on the sofa, closing his eyes, trying to suppress the strange panic in his heart.

Yes, she couldn't leave him.

With just a flick of his finger, she would crawl back to him, begging, just like before.

The next evening, the engagement party officially began.

Almost all the prominent figures in Los Angeles were present.

Chloe, in a dreamy wedding dress adorned with pavé diamonds, looked like a true princess, walking arm-in-arm with Ethan, accepting everyone's blessings.

Ethan, in a tailored suit, was exceptionally handsome.

But his gaze kept sweeping towards the ballroom entrance.

Time ticked by.

The ballroom was filled with a glamorous atmosphere, clinking glasses, and dazzling lights, yet the familiar figure never appeared.

"Ethan, what are you looking for?" A friend walked over with a drink, following Ethan's gaze, and chuckled knowingly. "Waiting for Jade? Don't bother. I bet she wouldn't dare to come today. She'd only humiliate herself."

"Exactly, Ethan has a legitimate fiancée now. How could a hidden mistress have the nerve to show up at an event like this?"

The surrounding crowd chimed in, their words full of contempt for Jade.

Ethan said nothing, his face growing darker and darker.

It was almost time for the ring exchange.

Was she really not coming?

How dare she not come?!

"Ethan, it's time, we should go up," Chloe reminded softly, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

Once he put the ring on her finger, she would be Mrs. Ethan, officially.

Ethan took a deep breath, suppressing the anxiety in his heart, and walked onto the stage with Chloe.

The emcee delivered an enthusiastic speech, then announced: "Now, please, the groom-to-be will place the engagement ring, symbolizing love, on the bride-to-be's finger!"

Ethan took the velvet box from Mark and slowly opened it.

Under the lights, the pink diamonds shimmered dazzlingly.

He took out the women's ring, about to slip it onto Chloe's finger.

Suddenly, his gaze froze on the inside of the ring.

There, engraved in tiny letters, were two initials: G.D.

Go to Death.

Ethan's pupils contracted sharply, and his face instantly turned ashen.

"Ethan? What's wrong?" Chloe, seeing his hesitation, asked with a hint of confusion.

Ethan slammed the ring box shut and roughly pushed Chloe aside.

"The engagement party is canceled!"

He tossed out the words, then strode off the stage amidst the stunned gazes of the entire room.

"Ethan! Where are you going?!" Chloe cried out frantically from the stage, tears instantly streaming down her face.

Ethan ignored her. He grabbed Mark by the collar, his eyes bloodshot. "Find out! Find out where Jade is immediately! Bring her back to me!"

Mark trembled in fear, quickly pulling out his phone to make calls.

A few minutes later, Mark, pale-faced, rushed back to Ethan, his voice shaking.

"Mr. Mr. Ethan… Jade… she's not in Los Angeles anymore."

"What do you mean?" Ethan's hand clamped around his throat.

"She canceled her apartment lease, and the hospital said she transferred her sister… Immigration records show that she… she flew to New York last night!"

New York?!

Ethan was struck as if by lightning, freezing in place.

She was gone.

Gone completely, without a trace of lingering affection.

She had even slapped him hard at his most anticipated engagement party.

"Jade…" Ethan muttered her name, gritting his teeth, and a sharp pain suddenly pierced his chest.

He thought everything was under his control.

But only at this moment did he realize, with horror, that the string tying Jade to him had broken.