Chapter 45 Chapter 45
Chapter 45
Ethan untied the scarf slowly. It was already dry from the heat in his room. He set it on the table beside his bed and removed his wristwatch with a long breath.
He didn’t even understand why he kept staring at the piece of cloth like it meant something. It was just a scarf… but the moment she tied it on his hand earlier kept replaying in his mind like a broken tape that refused to stop.
He walked into the bathroom, turned on the shower, and let the water run over him. Even under the warm water, all he could think about was her face. The way she looked scared yet focused… the way her fingers shook a little but she still held his hand firmly, as if she was trying to protect something important.
He didn’t understand why it bothered him this much. Why it stayed in his head longer than it should.
After bathing, he came out with a towel loosely wrapped around his waist. He picked up the scarf, carried it to the sink, and washed it gently. It felt unnecessary, but he still did it. When he finished, he hung it neatly near the window.
He sat on the edge of his bed, ran his hand through his hair, and reached for his phone. That was when it began ringing loudly.
He looked at the screen.
Richard Castellan.
“This late night?” Ethan muttered to himself. He considered ignoring it, but after a few seconds he picked up.
“Come home tomorrow,” Richard said immediately. Not a greeting. Not even a pause. “I’m organizing a family dinner with the Drake’s.”
Ethan sighed. “Dad, I’m busy preparing for the upcoming Castellan dinner. Important people will be there. You all should have fun with the Drakes.”
.
“Are you out of your senses?” Richard snapped. “Why are you so stubborn? This alliance is important for all of us. You can’t keep running from your responsibilities!”
“Responsibility?” Ethan scoffed. “You mean your plans, not mine. You want me to sit with Amelia like nothing happened?”
“What happened is that you’re acting like a child! Amelia is from a good family. She supported you when you were at your lowest. If you had sense, you wouldn’t have let her go.”
Ethan clenched his jaw. “Dad, don’t start. You never cared who I loved or didn’t love. You just want what benefits you.”
“Keep talking like that,” Richard fired back. “Keep disrespecting me. Maybe you’ve forgotten who raised you.”
“You raised me for business. That’s all you know.”
There was a short silence, then Richard’s voice rose again.
“You think you’re a man now? You think you’re strong enough to handle anything alone? Look at you. You’re falling apart and too proud to admit it.”
Ethan felt something sharp hit his chest, but he forced himself to stay calm. “You don’t know anything about me.”
“I know everything,” Richard shouted. “I know how unstable you get. I know the reason behind your sleepless nights. And you still have the nerves to disrespect me?”
“Goodnight,” Ethan said and tried to end the call, but Richard’s voice cut through again.
“No, we will start,” Richard insisted. “Because I’m tired of pretending this behavior is normal. You refuse to come home, you refuse to attend a simple dinner, and you think that makes sense?”
Ethan clenched his jaw. “I’m not in the mood for any dinner. I’m not in the mood for fake smiles or pretending I know what’s going on with Amelia and her family.”
“That girl stood by you,” Richard said sharply. “Don’t act like she didn’t.”
“And I’m supposed to marry her because of that?” Ethan snapped. “Is that it? Is that the plan? Tie me down so I’ll stop being ‘difficult’?”
“Watch your mouth,” Richard warned.
“Why? You can say anything to me, but I can’t respond?” Ethan shook his head. “You’ve always controlled every single thing around me. Every move. Every step. And the moment I don’t follow the script, I become the problem.”
“You are the problem right now.”
“I’m the problem because I don’t want what you want?”
Richard growled under his breath. “Nothing you want makes sense anymore. You push people away, you break things without reason. You’re careless. Unpredictable. You don’t even respect your mother enough to show up when she needs you.”
Ethan swallowed, eyes burning a little but he hid it. “Don’t bring Mom into this. She understands me.”
At the villa, Maria heard every word. She came running from upstairs and grabbed the phone from Richard’s hand.
“Enough,” she said, holding the phone tightly. “Stop shouting. He can hear you clearly.”
Richard pulled back, breathing hard. His face was red with anger.
“I curse the day I gave birth to him,” he said, storming toward the center of the room.
“Richard!” Maria shouted, almost crying. “Don’t say that about our son!”
“That boy has no respect,” Richard shouted. “I did everything for him. Everything! And now he thinks he knows life better than me?”
Maria shook her head, wiping her eyes. She looked heartbroken, not angry.
That's life you could have money ,power , influence just everything and still be unhappy.
“Ethan was never like this,” Maria continued softly. “He’s changed. I know something happened to him. Something he’s hiding.”
“To hell with whatever changed him,” Richard snapped. “I’m tired.”
“No,” she said, trying to remain calm. “We should help him. Not chase him away. Pity your son, Richard.
He was diagnosed as mentally unstable. You know that. You know how much he struggles to hold himself together every day. And you… you keep attacking him instead of supporting him.”
Richard clenched his fists. “Stop, Maria.”
“At least Amelia took care of him,” he added sharply. “She helped him sleep without those pills. She stood by him and he still ended things with her. Tell me — is that normal behavior? Is that how a normal human acts?”
Maria lowered her gaze. She didn’t know what to say anymore.