Ch.92

Ch.92
We lay down, breathless, with the silence between us. After some time, I felt the urge to ask the question that had been bothering my mind.

"You know," I began hesitantly, "when you revealed to me that you were Ethan, I didn't ask any questions."

Travis turned his head slightly, his gaze was soft in the dim light. "Well, you can ask whatever you want. I'll give you the answers," he said.

I took a deep breath before speaking. "If you are the biological son of Mr. Sinclair, why did you change your name to Travis?"

He went quiet for a moment. Then, with a sigh, he finally answered.

"Well, when my mom was pregnant with me, she and my dad had already decided they would name their first child Travis. At least, that's what she told me. But a few weeks later, she gave birth, and he didn't show up at the hospital. So she went ahead and filled out the paperwork, naming me Travis. Only later did she discover that my father and his wife had adopted a son and named him Travis as well."

I could hear the bitterness in his voice.

"She was furious," he continued. "She refused to call me Travis anymore and started calling me Ethan instead. Officially, Travis remained my third name-she never removed it entirely. When I grew up and learned what had happened, I noticed how much pain it still caused her. So, I decided to go only by Ethan Belmont, which was my mother's surname."

I stared at him, stunned. I never knew Travis was also his name.

But there were still things I needed to understand.

"So, what kind of accident happened that made you change your face?" I asked.

Travis shifted, before he spoke up again.

"After we broke up... that was when I found out that Mr. Sinclair was my father. But by then, he was already dead. His lawyer came to our house to inform us of his passing and to deliver his final wish-he wanted us to come to the main house."

He exhaled slowly, as if reliving the memory.

"Eventually, we all went there. That's when I met Travis-him, the other one. We went out together to a house. He told me it belonged to his mother. When we stepped inside, we were looking around the house and hadn't noticed anything ."

His fingers clenched into the sheets as he continued.

"The fire started downstairs. By the time we noticed the smoke, it was already too late. The flames had spread fast, trapping us inside. He panicked. I could see it in his eyes. And then-he tripped down the stairs and lost consciousness."

A shiver ran through me as I imagined the scene.

"I ran after him," Travis went on, his voice was lower now. "I wanted to check if he was still breathing. But I tripped, too. I was lucky-I didn't lose consciousness, but my leg was injured. I tried to get to the door, but it wouldn't budge. The smoke made me weak. My head spun, and then..." His voice broke off. "I fell straight into the fire. That's all I remember."

"When I woke up in the hospital, the first thing I did was ask about him. But they told me he died in the fire. No body was recovered because the house burned down completely-nothing was left."

His voice was detached, but I could tell that the pain had never truly left him.

"My face was badly damaged. My mom convinced me to accept facial surgery. But she insisted-" he swallowed hard "-that it must be done to match his face. It wasn't an exact match, but close enough that unless you looked carefully, you wouldn't notice the difference."

I turned to him in shock. "But why? Why did she insist on making you look like someone who already existed?"

He shook his head. "She never gave me an answer. And to this day, I never pushed her for one."

A nagging thought crept into my mind. "But... what if he's still alive? You said his body was never found."

Travis looked away. "We searched for a year. No results. Eventually, we gave up."

I couldn't imagine what that must have felt like-knowing that someone who shared his name, his life in a way, had disappeared without a trace.

"That's really sad," I murmured. "I feel bad for him."

Travis let out a long breath. "Enough of this talk. Let's go to sleep."

I turned onto my side, staring at the ceiling. Everywhere was silent and neither of us made a sound. But I still had one more thing to ask.

"So... Travis, you don't have any questions for me?"

He glanced at me, puzzled. "What do you mean?"

I hesitated. "You never asked why I became an escort. What I did while on the job."

He studied me for a moment, then shook his head. "Not really."

His answer surprised me. "Why not?"

Travis rolled onto his back, staring up at the ceiling. "If you wanted me to know, you would have told me."

I swallowed, his words settling deep inside me.

"After all," he added, turning his head toward me again, "I already know why you became an escort. But what you did on the job? If you want to tell me, I'm here."

His eyes held no judgment, only quiet understanding.

I turned away, biting my lip. After everything he had just told me, after all the secrets he had carried, my own past suddenly felt... small. Insignificant.

Still, a part of me wanted to tell him. Not because he asked, but because for the first time, I felt safe enough to.

"Good night, Travis," I whispered.

"Good night," he murmured back.



The next morning, I woke up but couldn't find Travis anywhere near me. I figured he might have gone down to get something for us to eat, though he could have just ordered room service

Groggily, I got out of bed and made my way to the bathroom to freshen up. Afterward, I waited another thirty minutes, but he still hadn't returned. I reached for my phone to call him, only to realize his phone was still next to the bed. Growing concerned, I decided to go downstairs and look for him.

I checked the hotel's restaurant, the pool, and the garden, but he was nowhere to be found. By this point, my worry had overtaken my hunger, so I gave up and headed back to my room to wait for him.

Just then, a message popped up from my mom, informing me about Irene. Smiling, I decided to video-call her.

"Hi, darling

"Hi, Mommy

"How are you, my munchkin?"

"I miss you, Mommy. When are you guys coming back?

I chuckled. "Irene, baby, I just left yesterday, and you're already asking when I'm coming back?

"I know, but I miss you so, so much! Where's Daddy? I don't see him around

I hesitated. Since I wasn't sure where Travis was, I didn't want to worry anyone, so I quickly came up with an excuse

"He left for something important. I'll have him call you when he's back, alright, darling?

"Yes, Mommy."

I was so engrossed in my phone that I didn't realize someone was standing in front of me until I bumped into them. My phone slipped from my hands, and as I bent down to pick it up, so did the other person.

Lifting my gaze, I mouthed a quick "Sorry"-but the shocked expression on my face was probably hilarious when I realized who I had just bumped into.

"Henry Holt? What are you doing here?" I asked in disbelief.