Chapter 162
"Ethan, how did you know I was looking for Leo?"
After getting in the car, I looked at him suspiciously.
Had he put someone on me?
"Just a guess. You said the baby wasn't Leopold's, so it could only be Leo's. Plus, I went looking for Leo myself, but he wasn't at the office..."
Ethan trailed off. I couldn't help pressing him. "What did he say to you?"
Ethan sighed. "Better if you hear it from him directly when you see him. I don't want to cause any misunderstandings."
His careful distance made me freeze.
I couldn't help recalling what Leopold had told me before.
"Ethan, did you know Jason all along?"
Ethan glanced at me, his eyes showing no surprise—just a knowing look, like he'd expected this.
"Leopold told you, didn't he?"
"I just need to know—yes or no."
Ethan nodded. "Yes. I knew Jason. We'd reached an understanding to stop Leopold and Sophia's engagement together."
My brow furrowed. Just as I'd suspected.
"So Jason pinning everything on me at the engagement party—was that part of your plan too?"
"No, that wasn't my plan." Ethan quickly denied it. "I only agreed to work with him to stop the engagement. That last part wasn't included."
"And I did it because I didn't want to see you hurt."
My eyes widened slightly. Didn't want to see me hurt?
Reading my thoughts, Ethan continued explaining. "I could tell you hadn't let Leopold go. Even if you'd agreed to leave with me, your heart was still with him."
"So I wanted to stop the engagement, give you and Leopold a chance to clear up the misunderstanding."
"But I never imagined Jason would betray us at the last second and pull that stunt."
His gaze dropped, like he was confessing to me.
But I couldn't bring myself to trust him wholeheartedly like before.
"Ethan, that time the scandal with Asher broke, Leopold said you released the video. When I called to ask you, you claimed your computer was stolen, and you knew nothing about it."
"Before that, you said you'd take me away at the Percy Group anniversary gala. But when we were boarding, Leopold came after us. He said you used me to provoke him, and accused me of running off with you. You denied that, too."
"Now the same thing's happening again, and once more you're claiming ignorance."
Ethan's expression shifted from shock to stiffness, finally turning pale.
I looked at him. "Ethan, when did even you start lying to me?"
Ethan looked wounded. "Cindy, I've known you longer than Leopold has. Why do you believe everything he says, while you always doubt my word?"
"If he's accusing me, he needs to show proof, not try to turn you against me."
Seeing the dimness in his eyes made me uncomfortable, too.
Though Ethan and I had fallen out of touch for a few years in between, before that, we'd genuinely been close.
Not just because we danced well together, but because we clicked.
Shared passions and goals, plus years of partnership, had built a deep understanding between us.
Sometimes we didn't even need words to read each other perfectly.
"Let's say all that's false. Then tell me—at our teacher's birthday party three years ago, did you deliberately get Leopold to come to the hotel and then lie in bed with me?"
The color drained completely from Ethan's face.
"Cindy, what are you talking about? What do you mean I was in bed with you three years ago?"
I studied him carefully, not missing the slightest emotional shift in his eyes.
"Leopold showed me the photo himself. He said three years ago he saw you and me sleeping together, which made him decide I'd betrayed him. That's why our misunderstanding lasted so many years."
"I..." Ethan raised his hand to his forehead, looking both annoyed and helpless. "I genuinely don't know about this. Nobody ever told me."
"After you got drunk and left with Doris that night, I got drunk soon after, too. Our class president took me back to my room."
"Then I passed out. When I woke up, I was in my own room. I never saw you."
I kept watching him. "Really?"
Ethan shook his head repeatedly, finally saying in frustration, "If you don't believe me, I can get him to explain it to you."
His expression had been consistent throughout—the indignation of being wrongly accused, the dejection of being misunderstood. All genuine.
Maybe Leopold and I had both overthought this.
Perhaps someone else was pulling strings behind the scenes.
Just then, the car stopped at a familiar bar.
"Ethan, why'd you bring me here?"
Ethan looked at me with some conflict. "Cindy, given your suspicions about me, I'll tell you upfront—Leo's in there. Whether you want to see him is your call."
His words clearly had a subtext. I couldn't help pressing. "What are you trying to say?"
Ethan looked away, his reminder weighted with meaning.
"Some things are better seen with your own eyes than hearing secondhand from me."
I caught that he was keeping his distance, probably annoyed I'd doubted him earlier, and deliberately holding back.
So I didn't ask more questions and headed straight into the bar.
The bar was quieter during the day, lacking that dizzying nighttime frenzy.
Only one table was occupied—a group drinking and chatting casually.
A man sat in the center with his back to me, surrounded by others.
They were all laughing and talking.
"Leo, heard you hooked yourself a rich heiress named Lucinda Wipere. Not only is she head over heels for you, but she's also giving you money to spend. Is that true?"
My steps faltered. I wanted to hear his answer.
"Yeah, it's true."
The man nodded, his voice identical to Leo's.
"Holy hell! You're incredible! When will I ever find a sugar mama like that?"
"Leo's in a different league from us. He's got the looks, the body, and great skills. Of course, Lucinda fell under his spell!"
"Right? When Leo turns on the charm, what woman can resist? Plus, Lucinda's damaged goods nobody wanted—she'd be lucky to have Leo, practically desperate to please him!"
"So tell us—what's Lucinda like? Any different from all those other girls we've been with?"
Leo chuckled lightly. "No different. Lights off, lying in bed—pretty much all the same."
The others roared with laughter.
But their laughter crushed my heart inch by inch.
I couldn't believe the casually arrogant man before me was the same Leo who'd been so devoted, who'd risked his life to save me.
Then someone else spoke up.
"But Leo, this Lucinda must have something going for her to keep you around this long. She's gotta be something special."
He scoffed.
The sound was quiet, but it landed on my heart with crushing weight.
"Just messing around. The novelty wears off fast. You guys seriously thought it was real?"
Laughter exploded again, even louder than before.
Like slaps across my face, leaving me burning with humiliation.
But I still refused to believe what I was hearing.
I told myself that person might not even be Leo.
Leo was kind and sincere. He'd never say things like that.
Someone must be impersonating him!
I grabbed a glass of ice water from the bar and threw it all over Leo's face without hesitation.
Before anyone could react, I lunged forward and yanked up both his sleeves!