Chapter 96 Innocence
Three days in Paris slipped by as if time itself had been enchanted. Margarete, Sophie, and Lena had combed through every top designer boutique the city boasted, Chanel, Dior, Hermès, Louis Vuitton, the works. By the end of each day, Sophie and Lena would practically collapse into the car, their feet aching and arms weighed down with glossy shopping bags, while Margarete strolled out of every store looking as fresh as if she were just starting her day. Lena couldn't help but marvel at how a woman her age carried such stamina, it was almost unfair.
Sophie, of course, insisted they balance shopping with indulgence. She dragged them to the best pastry cafés tucked in little Parisian corners, each more charming than the last. Lena found herself happily tagging along, watching Sophie dive into delicate macarons and éclairs with childlike delight. The cappuccinos were rich, the pastries sinful, and Lena secretly decided Paris might just be a city built for pleasure.
For Lena, it wasn't just about the luxury and glittering shop windows. It was the way doors seemed to open effortlessly for them, the way staff greeted Margarete like royalty and treated them with such reverence. Lena was stunned at how the world bent when you belonged to an influential family, like Paris itself was determined to remind her she wasn't just "anyone" anymore.
All the while, Ethan kept sneaking into her days through messages and quick calls. He had a way of asking, almost too often, when the trip would finally end, as though he were counting the minutes until she returned. Lena tried not to read too much into it, but she couldn't deny the thrill. She wasn't used to someone like Ethan Sinclair missing her, and though she wouldn't dare admit it aloud, she loved the attention.
They had a swell time in Paris. Between hopping from one luxury boutique to another and indulging in Sophie's must-have pastry stops, the days had melted away like sugar on the tongue. Sophie and Lena had grown closer too, bonding over small talks, teasing each other while picking out outfits, and sharing laughs in the fitting rooms. It was indeed a trip to remember.
For Lena, the experience was priceless. She felt genuinely grateful that she had accompanied Margarete, it was like peeking into a different world, one she could never have imagined if she hadn't seen it through their eyes. Everything felt larger than life, and Lena was happy to just be swept along in it.
Sophie, on the other hand, woke up on the morning of their departure with a smile of relief. Unlike Lena, she hadn't found the trip all that thrilling, this was her normal life after all. The charm of Paris had long worn off for her, and though she loved the fashion, she was simply thankful it had ended. Her legs ached from all the walking, and she was more than ready for the comfort of home.
Sophie was the first to stir, and with her usual briskness, she woke Margarete and Lena, reminding them they had an early flight to catch. Their morning moved quickly, a blur of showers, last-minute packing, and slipping into comfortable travel clothes. The hotel staff bustled in and out, efficiently gathering their numerous suitcases, an impressive collection that told the story of three whirlwind days in Paris.
By the time everything was ready, Margarete seemed a little slower than usual, her movements carrying a certain reluctance, as though she wasn't quite ready to leave the city behind. Their bags were wheeled neatly downstairs and arranged into the waiting car. Sophie was already outside, overseeing the staff and making sure every piece of luggage was accounted for with her sharp eye.
Meanwhile, Lena lingered in the suite with Margarete. Margerate sensed that she might be waiting for her, soo she urged her gently.
"Go on ahead, dear. I just need to take a quick call. I'll be right down," she said with a faint smile, reaching for her phone.
Lena smiled in response, picked up her handbag, and headed for the door. She was halfway down the hall when it struck her. She had left her earrings in the bathroom, the small everyday pair Sophie had picked out for her during one of their shopping sprees. They weren't expensive compared to everything else she had tried on, but Lena liked them.
With a soft groan, she spun around and hurried back toward the suite, hoping to grab them quickly before Sophie noticed her absence downstairs. But just as she reached the door, her hand poised on the handle, she froze.
Margarete's voice carried through the crack, sharper than Lena had ever heard it. The woman who always spoke with grace and poise now sounded harsh, almost biting, her words spilling fast in a low but heated tone. Whoever she was speaking to had drawn out a side of her Lena hadn't yet seen.
Lena hesitated at the door, her hand hovering over the handle. She told herself she would just slip in, grab the earrings, and leave unnoticed. But then Margarete's voice rose, sharp enough to pierce through the door and pin Lena in place.
"You stole his childhood!" Margarete's voice cracked with fury. "Do you understand what you did? You robbed me of my bond with Ethan, all because of your stupid obsession with power and control!"
Lena's breath caught. The words rang in her ears, heavy and startling. She had never heard Margarete lose her composure, never heard her voice sharpen with such raw pain. Whoever was on the other end of that call was no ordinary acquaintance.
Inside the room, Margarete's voice didn't calm, it cracked, growing more desperate with each word.
"He still hates me to this day because of that stupid contract!" she shouted, the anguish in her tone enough to make Lena's chest tighten.
Lena froze in the hallway. She had always sensed Ethan's relationship with his mother was strained, but to hear Margarete admit it, raw and unguarded, was something else entirely.
Margarete's voice wavered now, shifting from rage to something closer to pleading. "Please... just leave him and his family alone," she begged, her breath hitching as though she were fighting back tears. "Don't you dare raise my grandchildren the way you raised Ethan. I won't let you steal them from me too."
The silence that followed was thick, broken only by the muffled sound of Margarete trying to steady her breathing. Lena's hand trembled on the door handle. Her earrings were long forgotten; what she had just overheard was far heavier, a glimpse into scars Ethan never spoke about.
Lena's fingers lingered on the door handle a moment longer before she finally let go. She turned away, forgetting all about the earrings she had come for, and quietly made her way downstairs.
Margarete's broken words clung to her ears, refusing to let go. There had been a sadness there that shook her, something more than anger or fear. As Lena descended each step, the thought pressed in: Ethan hadn't just grown cold out of choice. He had been robbed of something he should have had all along, a normal childhood.