I didn’t expect to meet a familiar face so quickly after returning to Yardville.
Ethan was supposed to be abroad, but he came back unexpectedly and in a very unique way.
I accidentally bumped into him when I went down to buy something. He seemed to have returned deliberately for me. When he saw me, there was a tinge of agitatedness in his eyes.
“Why didn’t you tell me that you’ve been through things like this? Are you planning to go through all of this alone?” Ethan’s tone was slightly chiding and laced with concern.
As he made his way quickly toward me, the emotions in his eyes were complex.
I was slightly taken aback and realized that he might have learned about what I had been through recently through other methods. His sudden concern shocked me.
“I don’t want to worry you. Also, you have no say in any of my matters anyway.” I replied softly, my heart was in turmoil.
The relationship Ethan and I had always been between friends and family. His appearance had always brought me a sliver of warmth, but at that moment, I would rather he kept his distance so he wouldn’t be pulled into this complicated battle.
He sighed, his gaze was firm. “We should be looking out for each other, facing difficulties together. I feel very helpless if you are to carry this burden all by yourself.”
I looked at him as warmth with a shade of bitterness surged in my heart.
I knew I couldn’t deny his kindness, but I needed him to understand that the difficulties I was facing at that moment weren’t just some simple, usual difficulties. This was something that could endanger lives.
“I don’t know what your purpose of returning is, but you Graysons aren’t as simple as you seemed to be.”
Ian had spent many efforts trying to strengthen the social standing his family held. Of course I would know what he wanted.
“Even if you’re back, you can’t change anything. It’s impossible to salvage the relationship between us.”
I didn’t know if he had come back because of me or for someone else, but for him to reappear before me gave me a bad feeling.
“I know you’re still contemplating
about the Grayson family. I’ve asked
and gotten to know that this had
nothing to do with the Graysons. It was people who were affiliated with the Graysons causing trouble pretending to be us.”
Ethan seemed a little down. He was afraid that I would misunderstand so he quickly explained the situation to me. Sadly, his explanation was too weak, and the reasoning he gave was too implausible.
I looked intently at him to find sincerity and urgency in his gaze as he tried to dispel the doubts and uneasiness in my heart.
However, after going through all of these, I was no longer the girl who would easily believe in surface-level things.
I shook my head gently as my tone wore a subtle coldness. “We’re both clear that things are very much more complicated than what we see. Even if you had sincerely wanted to help me, the stance we held had long made all of these not as simple as it seemed.”
He could only see the tip of the iceberg, and it was the side that others wanted him to see instead of what he genuinely could have seen.
“I can no longer stay uninvolved with the Grayson family, or the background forces behind your family. But I’m more unwilling to see you sucked into the deeps of the mess because of me.”
He heard what I had said and his expression contorted a little. He wanted to retort, but he didn’t know where to start.
After a moment of silence, he
responded quietly, his voice low but
l.ne
firm. “I admit that the Grayson family is complicated, Eve, but I can promise you that I’ll try my best to not let the darkness affect you.
“My return was not just solely because of you. I came back for me as well. I needed to prove some things.”
I didn’t know how to feel about what he had said.