Chapter 6

Autumn Lancaster POV

Adrian looked at me and suddenly smiled.

"That's good." He said. "I'll take this case."

When we left the law office, it was already dark.

Maya held my hand, walking and asking. "Mommy, is that man your friend?"

"Mm, he's Mommy's old classmate."

"He's a good person. He gave me candy."

I smiled, saying nothing.

Waiting at a crosswalk for the light, a black Mercedes slowly stopped beside us.

The window rolled down, and Ethan's face appeared.

He'd lost a lot of weight, eyes sunken, unshaven, his suit wrinkled-a far cry from his high spirits three days ago.

"Autumn." His voice was hoarse. "Get in."

Maya shrank behind me.

I stood still.

"You want to talk here?" He glanced around. "Fine by me, as long as you don't care about being seen."

"I don't care." I answered. "I have nothing left. What is there to care about?"

Ethan pushed open the car door and stepped out, standing before me.

"Come back with me."

"No."

"Autumn!" His voice rose. "What exactly do you want? I said I'd take care of you, I said I'd look after you for life. What more do you want?"

I looked up at him.

That face. I used to know it so well.

I'd watched it countless mornings when I woke up, secretly kissing his brow while he slept.

I once thought we'd grow old together, watch our daughter grow up, become elderly together.

But now, I only felt he was a stranger.

"Ethan," I said, "do you remember what you said the day we went to City Hall to register our marriage?"

He froze.

"You said that for this lifetime, you'd protect me completely, never let me suffer even the slightest grievance."

I smiled slightly. "Do you remember?"

He didn't speak.

"And in fact, that night you were at Sylvia's."

I stared at him intently.

"The night we celebrated our wedding, I waited for you in our room while you were out drinking with friends." I said. "I sat on the bed waiting all night. You didn't come back. The next day you explained it was a company emergency. I believed you."

"Autumn..."

"Later I learned that night Sylvia had returned to New York."

"She called you, said she was at the airport with her child, alone with nowhere to go. You went immediately, then stayed at her place all night."

Ethan's face went white.

"You've been lying to me ever since." I said. "Five years. A full five years."

"That's not true." He grabbed my wrist. "Autumn, let me explain. There's really nothing between Sylvia and me. She's just... she's just a friend I grew up with. When she's in trouble I can't ignore it. I don't have those kinds of feelings for her..."

"Don't have those feelings?" I shook off his hand. "Then tell me, why was the necklace you bought her the exact one I looked at three times in the boutique but couldn't bring myself to buy? Why did you tell me you had a business dinner on her birthday? Why did you tell me you were on a business trip when you took her son to the aquarium?"

He didn't answer.

"Speak."

"Autumn, those were all things she requested. She's raising a child alone, it's not easy. Sometimes she complains to me and I just soften for a moment..."

"Soften?" I laughed. "Ethan, who have you ever softened for? Me? The day Lancaster Industries went bankrupt, where were you? You were with her. The day your company went public, where were you? Still with her. When I had complications delivering Maya, where were you? You were at the airport picking her up."

"That day she'd just gotten off the plane with Noah. No one was there to meet her. She didn't know anyone..."

"So?" I interrupted. "So her convenience is worth more than my life?"

Ethan stood stunned.

"Ethan," I said, "let's get divorced."

Ethan stood motionless.

I took Maya's hand and walked around him, continuing forward.

"Autumn!" He called from behind. "If you leave, the Lancaster family is truly finished! Lucas is still in there. Who'll pay for your father's medical bills? You..."

I stopped, turned around, and looked at him.

"Ethan," I said, "do you think I'm still that Autumn you could manipulate at will?"

I pulled out my phone, opening that report email.

"I've already sent this material to Adrian Cooper. You should still remember him, right? Harvard Law graduate, now one of the top lawyers."

"If anything happens to me, he'll send this email immediately. Want to guess whether the federal authorities would be interested in your public company after seeing this?"

Ethan's face went completely white.

"You... you've been prepared all along?"

"I told you," I smiled slightly, "these eight years, I wasn't just some foolish woman revolving around you."

"Everything you've done, I've kept track of. Including evidence of you seizing Lancaster assets, including all your transfer records with Sylvia, including those materials you forged when finding bone marrow matches for Noah."

He stepped back.

"Autumn..."

"Ethan," I looked at him, "game over. You won against Lancaster Industries, but you haven't won against me yet."

With that, I turned and left.

This time, he didn't chase after me.