Chapter 104: The Only One Who Believed

Emily stared in silence at Ethan, who remained lying on his side of the bed. The silence of the night suddenly felt suffocating. Ethan’s words of gratitude just moments ago didn't soothe her; instead, they triggered a storm that Emily had suppressed behind a wall of resilience for six years.

Emily roughly pulled back the hand Ethan had just kissed. Her swollen eyes now flashed with an explosion of emotion. Without warning, she swung a fist at Ethan’s broad chest.

Thud!

"Why only now, Ethan?!" Emily cried out in a suppressed scream, her voice hoarse as she tried not to wake Louei, who was fast asleep beside them.

Thud!

She struck him again. And again. Every blow represented a night she had spent crying alone in that cursed nightclub, every day she had spent counting coins to buy Louei’s diapers, and every second she had felt her life threatened by the shadows of Ethan’s past.

"Why did you just get here?!" Emily pounded on Ethan’s chest with both hands, harder this time, until she was out of breath. "Do you have any idea what I went through? Do you know how scared I was every time I saw a black car on the side of the road? I thought you had thrown me away! I thought you let your enemies destroy me!"

Ethan didn't move an inch. He took every hit as if it were a penance he rightfully deserved. He let Emily vent all her anger, despair, and pain. His broad chest, hard as a rock, became a silent witness to the collapse of Emily's defenses.

Finally, Emily’s strength gave out. Her hands went limp, still resting against Ethan’s chest, but now her fingers gripped his shirt tightly. Her head dropped, and her shoulders shook violently with sobs she could no longer hold back.

"I was all alone, Ethan ... I raised Louei all by myself in that nightclub!" Emily whispered between sobs.

Ethan slowly wrapped his arms around Emily’s shoulders, pulling her into his embrace. This time, Emily didn't resist she was too exhausted to fight his gravity.

"I never stopped looking for you, Emily. Not for a single second," Ethan’s voice was heavy and deep, vibrating against his chest which still felt hot from Emily’s blows.

Ethan held Emily by both shoulders, forcing her to look up and stare directly into his dark but honest eyes. "Six years ago, when your car was found wrecked at the bottom of that revine ... the world thought you were dead. The police, the detectives, even your own family had given up."

Ethan’s face hardened as he remembered those dark times. "They showed me that mangled body. They said the DNA tests showed a match because of the items found there. But I knew ... I felt it here," Ethan pressed Emily’s hand back against his racing heart. "My heart was still beating, and that meant your heart was still beating somewhere too."

"You ... you didn't believe the police report?" Emily asked with a trembling voice.

Ethan shook his head firmly. "I was the only one who believed the person in that ravine wasn't you. They said I was crazy with grief. They said I was obsessed with a shadow. But I spent millions of dollars, mobilized my entire global network for just one purpose to find a sign that you were alive."

He wiped the tears from Emily’s cheek with his thumb. "For six years, I lived in a hell of uncertainty. I destroyed everyone who was involved in your past life. I cleaned up my world so that when I found you, there would be no more monsters chasing you. But you ... you were so smart at hiding, Emily. You changed your identity so flawlessly that it was almost impossible for me to track you down."

Ethan took a long breath, his gaze softening as he turned toward Louei, who was sleeping soundly. "Until finally, I saw little Louei at an elementary school on the outskirts of this city. A little boy who had the exact same eyes as mine. That was the moment I knew my search was over."

Emily was stunned. She never imagined that behind Ethan’s luxury and power, he had been fighting his own war a war against the world's logic that claimed she was gone. All this time she had viewed Ethan as a threat, but it turned out he was the only person holding onto the hope of her existence.

"Why didn't you come to me immediately?" Emily asked softly.

"Because I had to find out who was involved in your 'death'," Ethan replied with a cold, protective tone. "My enemies had to be absolutely certain that the old Ethan had died along with his grief. I approached you slowly, as a stranger, because I was afraid that if I appeared suddenly, you would run away again before I had the chance to explain everything."

Ethan pulled Emily closer until their foreheads touched. "I'm sorry it took six years. I'm sorry I let you carry this burden alone. But from this moment on, there will be no more secrets. There will be no more running."

Emily closed her eyes, breathing in Ethan’s masculine scent mixed with the aroma of the chocolate milk from earlier. A warm, strange yet familiar feeling began to creep into her heart. The fear that had been her constant companion finally began to fade, replaced by a solid sense of security.

"You really didn't believe I was dead?" Emily asked once more, seeking certainty.

Ethan gave a thin smile, a look rarely shown to the world. "How could I believe my soulmate was gone while I could still feel the pull on my soul every time I said your name?"

Ethan then leaned up slightly, kissing Emily’s forehead gently and lingering there. "Go to sleep. You’re tired of fighting alone. Now, let me take over."

Emily nodded slowly. She crawled further onto the bed, lying on the other side of Ethan. In the darkness of the room, lit only by the nightlight, she felt the mattress dip behind her. Ethan lay down behind her, wrapping his strong arm over both Emily and Louei at once.

In that embrace, Emily realized something. For six years, she thought she was building a fortress to protect Louei from the outside world. But in reality, she was just waiting for someone to tear that fortress down and bring her home.

"Ethan," Emily whispered before her eyes closed.

"Hmm?"

"Thank you ... for still loving me."

Ethan didn't answer with words. He only tightened his embrace, providing the warmth that had been missing from their lives for six years.

He promised he wo

uld kill anyone who had tried to hide Emily all this time.