Chapter 29 – Wife
After Derek left with his people, Ethan looked at the two modified cars parked nearby.
One belonged to Noah.
The other was Zach's professional race car.
Ethan had little use for them.
So he turned toward the racetrack manager, who had arrived at some point and was standing there pale and silent.
Ethan beckoned.
The manager trembled and hurried over, bowing repeatedly.
"Mr. Cole, what can I do for you?"
Ethan pointed at the cars.
"These two aren't useful to me. Can you handle them?"
The manager nodded quickly.
"Of course. Our track happens to need a few rental race cars. We can buy them at double market price. Would that be acceptable?"
He wiped sweat as he spoke, terrified Ethan might be unsatisfied.
The manager understood very well.
This was someone even Derek Lowe had to kneel to.
How could a small racetrack manager offend him?
As for whether Noah and Zach would come later to demand the cars back?
In the manager's view, even if they had a hundred guts, they would not dare.
If word reached Ethan, they would lose more than skin.
Ethan looked satisfied.
"Sensible."
That single word made the manager's face bloom with joy.
"Please wait, Mr. Cole. I'll handle the paperwork immediately."
He ran off and returned in less than five minutes with a bank card held respectfully in both hands.
"Mr. Cole, thirteen million total. Please accept it. The extra one million is our apology for letting this trouble happen at our venue."
Ethan accepted the card and casually put it in his pocket.
The matter was not over.
He walked toward Noah, who was still on the ground.
Noah saw Ethan approaching and desperately tried to shrink away, too frightened to speak.
Ethan crouched in front of him with a harmless smile.
"The five million you promised earlier. Did you forget?"
"No. No."
Noah trembled, wanting to take out his phone, but his limbs were useless now.
"Mr. Cole, my hands and feet are ruined. Could you trouble yourself to transfer it?"
Ethan sighed.
"Fine. What can I do with you?"
He took the phone from Noah's inner pocket, unlocked it with his face, and completed the transfer steps.
Noah cooperated fully.
Ding.
After hearing the notification, Ethan checked his phone.
Five million received.
Then he lost interest in Noah completely and stood.
It was not that Ethan was especially principled, only taking the promised five million.
It just happened that Noah had exactly five million in his bank account.
Ethan had emptied him completely.
Noah lay there like mud, watching Ethan walk away.
Only one thought remained.
He had to leave Northbridge.
Far away from Ethan Cole.
...
"Let's go."
Ethan returned to Vivian and slid one hand around her waist from behind.
Vivian naturally leaned into him as they walked toward the supercar Leonard had gifted.
They got in.
The engine roared.
Soon, the car pulled away and disappeared down the road.
In the stands, the fangirls stared at the fading taillights for a long time.
After a while, one sighed.
"Sure enough, good men are always taken."
Another rested her chin on her hand, unwilling.
"They're so young. They probably aren't married yet, right? I should've tried just now. Maybe I had a chance."
Lina's quiet voice came from beside them.
"I advise you to give up."
She was looking down at her phone.
On the screen were search results about Vivian West.
"That man isn't someone at our level."
Lina's expression was serious.
"And that woman is not someone you or I can challenge."
The two girls looked at each other, not fully convinced.
"Is she that powerful? I don't believe it. Isn't she just a pretty vase being kept?"
Lina said nothing.
She handed them the phone.
When the two saw the screen, their eyes widened.
"Vivian West..."
One repeated the name, then suddenly shivered.
"Vivian West. She's that business queen worth billions?"
After learning Vivian's identity, all three fell silent.
After a few seconds, they gave embarrassed smiles and gave up completely.
Lina was right.
Vivian West was a terrifying existence they could not challenge.
The gap between them was several hundred realms.
"So the handsome guy is the pretty boy being kept?"
Lina held a different opinion.
"No. If he were just a kept man, do you think a billion-dollar business queen would be that obedient and gentle with him?"
The other two nodded.
That made sense.
Unfortunately, the matter had exceeded their understanding.
They could not imagine Ethan's true identity.
...
At the same time, Ethan was already driving back toward the city.
The car was quiet except for the soft sound of tires on pavement.
Ethan controlled the wheel with one hand, the other arm resting near the window.
He glanced at Vivian in the passenger seat.
She was looking out the window without speaking.
Ethan smiled.
"What's wrong? Our Miss West seems unhappy."
Vivian did not turn back.
"Not at all. You're imagining things."
"Really?" Ethan deliberately dragged the word. "But I feel like Miss West is sulking."
He continued teasing.
"Could it be because your husband performed too bravely and got admired by other young girls, so now you're feeling a sense of crisis?"
Vivian's face flickered unnaturally.
"No such thing. You're imagining it."
She wanted to deny it again, but Ethan spoke first.
"I don't believe you. When you hugged my arm and declared ownership in front of those girls, your expression was very serious."
Vivian paused.
She wanted to say something, but there was no good rebuttal.
It was true.
When she noticed Lina trying to approach Ethan with obvious intent, she had rushed over instinctively, hugged his arm, acted intimate, and warned the girl with her eyes.
If that was not declaring ownership, what was it?
Knowing she had no argument, Vivian gave up.
She turned back toward the window and pretended not to hear.
Then she suddenly realized something Ethan had said.
"What husband?"
Vivian turned sharply to stare at him.
"We aren't married."
Ethan glanced at her quickly, eyes smiling.
"Then should we go get married now? The courthouse might still be open."
"Get lost. Is that what I meant?"
Vivian instinctively raised a hand to push him.
Halfway there, she withdrew it.
He was driving.
She did not want to cause an accident.
Safety first.
Vivian glared.
"Focus on driving."
"As you command, wife."
Ethan looked back at the road.
Wife.
The simple word made Vivian's fingers tighten at once.
Her face turned red like ripe fruit.
She did not refute it.
Maybe the psychological impact was too great and she forgot.
Or maybe...
In any case, the car fell quiet again, and the silence gained an ambiguous warmth.
At Shaw Group, in Celeste's office, the city view outside the floor-to-ceiling window glittered like a painting.
Celeste had no mind to enjoy it.
She sat behind the desk, phone in hand, staring at a message.
The message was simple.
Miss Shaw, regarding the villa listed under our agency, we currently have a highly interested buyer. If you can accept the offer, we will arrange follow-up procedures as soon as possible.
The offer was high.
Higher than market price.
Reason told her there was no reason to refuse.
She should sell it and cut off the past completely.
Celeste exhaled and replied:
All right.
After receiving the agency's confirmation, she set down the phone and leaned back, staring at the ceiling.
A few seconds later, she picked up the phone again.
She opened a message draft and selected Ethan as the recipient.
The house is being sold. Your things are packed. If you don't come pick them up today, I'll have someone handle them.
Celeste stared at the text for a long time.
She wondered if she should delete it and write something softer.
Then she thought, why should she be soft?
Their relationship had been a transaction from the start.
Three years complete.
Separate roads.
She, Celeste Shaw, did not need to lower her voice for anyone.
She pressed send.
Author's Note:
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Thank you for reading.