Chapter 2
Early the next morning, Ethan came to the hospital.
He was carrying breakfast. The moment he walked in, he looked at me first.
“Why did you turn off your location sharing?”
I followed him out into the hallway.
The moment we stopped, he held out his hand.
“Give me your phone.”
I instinctively stepped back. “No.”
He reached for it anyway.
I tried to dodge him, but I was too slow.
He entered my passcode without hesitation, unlocked my phone, and reinstalled our couples’ location-sharing app.
Then he enabled another low-battery alert.
On the settings screen, I saw that the alerts were being shared with Vanessa as well as him.
I snatched my phone back, my voice trembling.
“Why does she have access too?”
Ethan’s tone was flat.
“If I’m in a meeting and can’t reach you, she can remind you to charge your phone.”
Just then, Vanessa walked over carrying a fruit basket.
“Claire, please don’t get the wrong idea. I don’t want to get involved either.”
“But Ethan worries about you, so I said I’d help.”
I looked at her, my chest tight with frustration.
Vanessa set down the fruit basket, then looked carefully at Ethan.
“Ethan, when I got home yesterday, I noticed someone had tampered with my door lock again.”
“I’m honestly a little scared.”
Ethan’s brows immediately drew together.
“Move into the new place for now.”
My head snapped up.
“That’s the home we bought for after we get married.”
Ethan looked at me, his voice indifferent.
“No one’s living there yet. Vanessa would only be staying temporarily.”
My fingers tightened.
“My parents paid half the cost of that house for me.”
His expression turned cold.
“Claire, we’re not even married yet, and you’re already keeping score?”
Vanessa hurriedly waved her hands.
“Forget it. I won’t stay there.”
“Claire doesn’t like me. I can’t let the two of you fight because of me.”
Ethan immediately took out the keys.
“Take them.”
The keys clinked into Vanessa’s palm. Voices blurred around me; all I could hear clearly was the metal striking her rings.
She stroked the keychain, tears still hanging on her cheeks.
But the corners of her mouth had already curved upward.
I reached for the keys.
Ethan stepped in front of her.
“She’s a woman living alone. If something happens to her, are you going to take responsibility?”
My mother’s urgent voice came from the hospital room.
“Claire, your dad doesn’t feel well!”
I rushed back inside.
My father was clutching his chest, his face gray-white.
The doctor arrived quickly and said he needed further tests immediately.
I called Ethan at once.
When he answered, the first thing he asked was,
“How much battery do you have?”
I couldn’t move.
“Forty-six percent.”
His tone hardened at once.
“I told you not to go anywhere when your battery’s below fifty percent.”
“Ethan, my dad needs tests right now. There’s emergency money on the bank card I left at home. It would take you ten minutes to drive over and get it.”
“Find somewhere to charge your phone first.”
I gripped the phone, my palm slick with cold sweat.
“My dad’s life is on the line.”
I couldn’t stop myself from shouting at him.
He was silent for a few seconds.
“You’re not the only family member at the hospital.”
Then he hung up.
I stood at the hospital billing desk, my vision dimming at the edges.
Half an hour later, I borrowed a charger from a nurse, and my phone finally turned back on.
Vanessa had posted a new Instagram story.
The photo showed the home Ethan and I had bought together.
She was wearing slippers, sitting on the sofa I had personally chosen.
The caption read:
“First night in my new home. He says nothing matters more than a girl feeling safe when she lives alone.”
I opened the photo.
A set of keys lay on the coffee table. Ethan’s hand was visible beside them.
He was unwrapping a new power strip with USB chargers for her.
Someone immediately asked in the comments,
“Is this the new place you and Ethan bought together?”
Vanessa replied,
“Don’t get the wrong idea. I’m only staying here temporarily.”
I stared at those words, feeling the warmth drain from my fingers.
My father was still lying in a hospital bed.
And Ethan was busy setting up my future home for her.