Chapter 28 – Vivian Protects Her Man
Zach froze in place.
His mouth opened.
It felt as if cotton had been stuffed into his throat.
He could not make a sound.
No matter how he thought about it, he could not understand why Derek Lowe would kneel to an unknown young man like Ethan.
Noah staggered over with one hand covering his bleeding nose.
"Fly," he asked carefully, fear clear in his voice, "why is Mr. Lowe kneeling to him?"
Zach turned and glared at him.
His expression said clearly:
You want to know? I want to know too.
For a moment, Zach suspected he was seeing things.
Or maybe Derek's shoes did not fit and he had tripped on a pebble.
Yes.
That had to be it.
Derek Lowe was the Lowe heir, worth billions. How could he kneel to a young man like Ethan?
Zach inhaled deeply, forcing down the unease in his chest, and walked toward Derek.
After reaching him, Zach bent down and forced an awkward smile.
"Mr. Lowe, let me help you up."
He would not miss a chance to show loyalty and grow closer to a wealthy heir.
But Derek answered with a cold roar.
"Get lost."
He slapped Zach's hand away hard enough to make him stumble back several steps.
Zach's unease grew violently.
His smile stiffened.
Before he could think further, Derek straightened and barked at the bodyguards behind him.
"Beat them. Beat them hard. Break their limbs."
His eyes were ruthless.
Derek knew better than anyone that if he showed mercy now, the entire Lowe family could become history.
Then he turned toward Noah, not forgetting him.
"That one too. Don't let him go."
The bodyguards moved at once, surrounding Zach and Noah.
Derek looked at the two trembling men and snarled, "What are you? Who gave you the courage to oppose Mr. Cole?"
After saying that, he turned back toward Ethan.
The ruthlessness on his face disappeared instantly, replaced by a humble smile deep in the bones.
"Mr. Cole, I truly didn't know this idiot offended you. If I had known, even with ten thousand lives, I wouldn't have dared come here."
He bent low, hands at his sides.
"Please don't lower yourself to my level."
Ethan looked down at him without speaking.
Derek lifted his eyes tentatively.
The moment he met Ethan's gaze, his heart dropped, and cold sweat soaked his back.
He knew clearly that the Lowe family was nothing but an ant in Ethan's hand.
The pressure was terrifying.
On the other side, when Zach and Noah heard Derek call him Mr. Cole, they finally understood.
They had not kicked an iron plate today.
They had kicked a mountain.
Their hearts turned to ash.
Then the screams began.
The bodyguards closed in without mercy.
Fists and feet fell densely onto Zach and Noah.
The sound of bones cracking came one after another, crisp as firecrackers.
"Stop. Please stop."
Zach curled on the ground with his hands over his head, crying for mercy.
Noah was worse.
Two bodyguards held him while another punched his face again and again.
His once-decent face quickly swelled beyond recognition.
"Mr. Cole. I was wrong. I was blind. Please spare me."
Zach screamed toward Ethan.
Unfortunately, Ethan did not even look at him.
Derek remained kneeling.
Sweat kept pouring.
He secretly glanced at Ethan and saw that the man still showed no expression.
His heart grew more uncertain.
He understood now.
Simply punishing Zach and Noah was not enough.
If Ethan stayed silent, it meant he was not satisfied.
Derek gritted his teeth and made a mad decision.
He called one bodyguard over.
"Give me the pipe."
The bodyguard hesitated.
"This..."
"Give it to me."
"Yes."
The guard handed over a steel pipe.
Derek gripped it, weighed it once, then, under everyone's shocked gaze, raised it and slammed it down on his own left wrist.
Crack.
The sound of bone splitting was sharp and clear.
Derek hissed through his teeth.
His face turned white at once.
Blue veins rose on his forehead, and sweat rolled down his cheeks.
He clenched his jaw and swallowed the scream.
His wrist twisted at an unnatural angle.
Derek nearly stumbled, but he forced himself to lift his head toward Ethan.
"Mr. Cole... will this... earn your forgiveness?"
His voice trembled with every word.
"I promise. This is the last time."
Ethan finally moved.
He raised his hand and patted Derek's face lightly twice.
"If there is another time, you and your father do not need to exist."
Ethan's smile looked more terrifying to Derek than any demon.
Derek could feel it.
Ethan was not joking.
He truly dared.
"Yes. Yes. Mr. Cole, please rest assured. There will never be another time."
Derek knocked his forehead against the ground again and again.
"Go."
Ethan withdrew his gaze.
Derek rose as if pardoned, clutching his broken wrist, and ran without looking back.
The bodyguards stopped as soon as their master fled and disappeared after him.
Only Zach and Noah remained on the ground, no longer looking human.
The fangirls in the spectator seats had watched the entire scene.
It had played before their eyes like a movie, real and spectacular.
The two girls looked at each other and saw deep shock.
"Handsome, skilled, and powerful..."
One held her hands to her chest.
"How can such a perfect man exist?"
The other stared at Ethan.
"Girls, I think I'm in love."
"Stop it. You said the same about Noah last time. I am the true love here."
They argued, already forgetting they had cheered for Noah not long ago.
Lina did not join them.
She stood quietly, eyes following Ethan.
When he finished handling everything and turned toward the spectator area, her heartbeat suddenly quickened.
She took a deep breath, gathered courage, and walked toward him.
One step.
Two.
Three.
She drew closer.
Lina opened her mouth, about to speak.
Then another figure moved faster.
Under everyone's gaze, Vivian rushed past her and threw herself into Ethan's arms, wrapping both hands around his arm.
"Darling, you worked hard."
Vivian lifted her face with a bright smile.
"Are you hurt?"
She checked him carefully, touching his sleeves and shoulders as if searching for wounds.
Ethan let her fuss with him and smiled.
"Don't worry. Those two wastes couldn't hurt me."
Vivian rolled her eyes.
She did not want Ethan getting hurt because he was too confident.
Then she turned her head.
At an angle Ethan could not see, her eyes landed on Lina not far away.
Those beautiful eyes carried clear warning and hostility.
Lina met that gaze.
As another woman, how could she not understand it?
She lowered her head and quietly stepped back.
All the words she had wanted to say were broken and swallowed.
A person needed self-awareness.
In figure, face, and presence, she was far behind Vivian West.
If Lina were a man, she would choose Vivian without hesitation too.
Besides...
Lina secretly looked back.
Vivian stood close against Ethan, smiling like a flower.
That face was enough to make even another woman wonder what it would feel like to be intimate with her.
Author's Note:
This story will continue updating here.
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Thank you for reading.