Chapter 5
Aria's POV
After Ethan said he was going back to work overtime that day, he didn't come back for three or four days straight.
The next time I saw him was on a screen.
He was representing the prosecutor's office at a press conference, giving a legal education presentation to the public.
Except this time, Chloe was sitting beside him.
A reporter even captured their little hand-holding interaction when they stepped off the stage.
Everyone knew how formidable Prosecutor Shaw was.
Every case that passed through his hands was won. But in all these years, he'd never been this intimate with any woman in public.
The live stream comments were all praising them as a perfect match, congratulating Chloe on her good fortune for winning over this iceberg.
I turned off the news.
Since Ethan wasn't home anyway, I had some peace and quiet. I spent the whole day handling the remaining cases at the law firm.
By the time I finished work, it was evening.
Suddenly Ethan's secretary called me.
"Aria, something's wrong! Something happened to Mr. Shaw. Get here quickly!"
I pressed my lips together.
But in the end, I went.
Not because I was worried about Ethan, but because I happened to have case files from the law firm that needed to be delivered to the prosecutor's office.
As soon as I arrived, I saw chaos in front of the prosecutor's office.
A criminal that Ethan had sent to prison had been released and came back for revenge. He was holding Chloe hostage at the entrance to threaten Ethan.
"Ethan Shaw, you destroyed my marriage and family! Now I'm going to kill your woman right in front of you and make you suffer for the rest of your life!"
The man was extremely agitated. A six-inch knife was pressed against Chloe's throat. She was crying, her whole body trembling.
Ethan stood in front of the crowd with an ashen face.
The police would need at least ten more minutes to arrive.
The man was emotionally unstable. Chloe's life could be in danger at any second.
He couldn't stall that long.
I stood in the middle of the crowd, calmly watching it all. I was just about to turn and leave when I made eye contact with Ethan.
Watching him walk quickly toward me, my heart jumped. Before I could react, I was already pulled out.
"Look carefully! This is my fiancée!"
"I'm letting her be your hostage. Let my assistant go."
I stared at him in disbelief, eyes wide.
"Ethan Shaw, are you insane? Let go of me! I don't want to!"
But Ethan's eyes were bloodshot. He clearly wasn't listening to anything.
The man laughed coldly.
"Ethan Shaw, do you think I'm an idiot? If she's really your fiancée, would you be willing to push her out? This morning I saw you kissing and touching that slut backstage! I saw everything!"
"Blame your bad luck for getting mixed up with Ethan Shaw. Pray you don't meet him in your next life!"
The man raised the knife to strike.
Chloe screamed.
The next second, Ethan shoved me hard from behind, making my whole body lunge toward Chloe.
The knife plunged into my chest. The pain nearly made me pass out.
Chloe immediately pushed me away and ran straight into Ethan's arms.
"Ethan, I was so scared..."
"I'm here. Don't be afraid. I'll get you out of here first."
Hearing their conversation, my heart twisted violently with pain.
The man's eyes had turned red with killing intent. He pulled out the knife and stabbed me twice more in the abdomen.
Just as the last knife was about to plunge into my throat, I was in too much pain to struggle anymore. I could only close my eyes in despair.
Fortunately, the police arrived in time and successfully shot the assailant dead.
I collapsed on the ground.
From excessive blood loss, my vision started going dark and blurry.
My life flashed before my eyes.
But it was all just Ethan's cold face.
I couldn't even remember anymore how gentle Ethan had been to me at the beginning.
The moment my eyes closed completely, I had only one thought.
If there really is a next life, I will never be with Ethan Shaw again.