Chapter 3 Valentine's Day

The man's actions caused me to be in a panic. I tried to take my phone back, but he placed a finger on my lips, signaling for me to remain quiet.

"Hello?" His voice was deep and calm when he answered the call

"She's not convenient to take the call at the moment. You can just tell me what you want to talk to her about," the man said calmly. He sounded like he was provoking the person on the other end of the line.

I quickly pounced towards him and didn't even care if I looked like I was throwing myself into his arms. He was way taller than me, and since I couldn't take my phone back, I tried to cover his mouth and signal him not to say anything else.

The soft and wet touch from my palm allowed me to feel that the man was smiling. He wasn't holding back at all. He tilted his head and kissed my hand gentlemanly.

I was taken aback by what he was doing.

Then, he bent down. I was already in his arms, so we were even closer. If someone looked at us, they would feel we were very intimate.

I could feel the unique scent of men mixed with alcohol coming from every part of the man's body. He then placed the phone to my ear as well. His gentle breaths were landing on the side of my face.

This caused me to feel like I was electrocuted.

At the same time, I could hear what was being said on the other end of the line.

Leo's voice boomed through the room. Yesterday, I caught him using vulgar language in bed. Today, his outburst caught me off guard once more—harsh and filled with anger. I strained to catch his words clearly:

"You didn't come home last night. Who's responsible for cleaning up the mess at home?"

"Why hasn't the monthly allowance been deposited yet?"

"Are you thinking about a divorce?"

Maintaining composure took a great deal of effort. In my inebriated state, my emotions shifted—instead of feeling sorrow, I found the situation rather absurd. Leo was convinced that I was oblivious to his affair. Despite my sarcastic retorts, he remained steadfast in his belief in my ignorance and his charm.

I wanted to hang up, but the man suddenly opened his mouth. His warm breath landed on my ear and gave me goosebumps.

"Are you paralyzed or something? Otherwise, why would you spend 10 minutes seeing how messy the house is? If you're ill, then don't think about spending money. Also..."

He looked at me and continued, "What has Hailey getting a divorce got anything to do with you?"

"Because I'm her husband!" shouted Leo.

The man gasped exaggeratedly. "I see. I thought you were one of Hailey's patients since you're paralyzed and relied on a woman to pay for your living expenses."

"Who the fuck are you?"

"Me? I'm someone who's attracted to her and wants to chat her up."

Leo snorted. "Hailey's attractive? Is this some kind of a joke? How can she possibly be attractive?"

"Looks like you're not only paralyzed but blind as well."

I finally chimed in to stop everything from continuing. "That's enough, Leo. We'll talk when I get home."

"Is this your choice?" Leo's voice was full of disappointment and anger. "Alright then. Have it your way!"

After the call was hung up, the man passed the phone back to me. His eyes were full of concern and understanding.

"Are you alright?"

I nodded and forced a smile on my face.

"Thank you."

"The name's Ethan." He reached out a hand and let out a friendly smile.

"Hailey."

I held his hand and could feel the warmth coming from it.

I found Lily somewhere in the club and told her I had to head back home. Lily was a good drinker, and she looked meaningfully back and forth between Ethan and me. She then waved goodbye to me.

*****

Ethan insisted on taking me home. His concern and gentlemanly behavior made me feel warm deep down. I hailed a taxi outside the club. We talked quite a lot on the way home and learned a lot of interesting things about each other's lives. He was quite humorous and temporarily made me forget about all my frustration.

It was already midnight when I got home. Ethan got out of the car after me. He closed the door lightly and walked up to me.

"Why did you get off as well?"

I thought he would tell the taxi driver to go somewhere else.

"I just moved here."

He shrugged his shoulders and began walking forward. I was surprised that he was walking in the same direction as me. The two of us entered the elevator together, and he pressed the floor that I lived on with his long fingers. Neither of us talked while we were in the elevator.

When the elevator doors opened, he reached out and bent down a little. "Please?"

Ethan was actually my new neighbor!

This caused my head to spin.

I nodded and was about to open the door to my house and head inside, Ethan suddenly walked up to me and looked at me passionately. We were so close that we could feel each other's breaths. He lowered his head a little and seemed to be a little hesitant. In the end, he gave me a hug. This caused my heart to race and my face to blush.

I had to retract my earlier admiration for Ethan's chest muscles. I was so clueless—when his strong, manly arms enveloped me, I couldn't focus on anything else but being near him.

Leo said coldly. "Oh, I see. Just because some woman parked in your driveway, you assume I cheated on you. That's absurd. I don't comprehend your strange reasoning, but it appears you're retaliating by spending money that should be for our family—my money. Hailey, this isn't what I expected from you."

"I thought you called me because you wanted to solve the problem between us." I tried my best to remain calm. "Leo, what do you believe our problem is?"

Leo didn't answer my question. His phone kept on ringing. He looked at the calling ID, and his face paled. The screen showed that it was still Elisa who was calling. He quickly hid his phone, and panic flashed in his eyes.

"Well, the one who knows the answer seems to be calling you. Wasn’t the woman moaning like a whore in my bed last night named Elisa?" I retorted.

This name had come up so many times that it had become impossible for me to ignore it anymore. Therefore, I looked at him and asked the question I had wanted to ask for a long time.

"What... What did you see?" He paled instantly, seemingly recalling the previous night and the exposure of his affair. Anxious sweat broke out on his forehead as he realized the folly of his question.

Red with anger and shame, he turned and hastily left before I could respond.

At that moment, my phone rang. It was a text from Ethan. [Hey, gorgeous. If I complained that the slamming of the door of your house is disturbing me, will your husband be arrested?]

Another text soon followed. [It'd be better if you had been slamming the door. If so, you will be knocking on my door very soon. It's still Valentine's Day. We still have a long time ahead of us.]

Like a balloon that had popped, all my sad feelings just disappeared after reading Ethan's texts. He always knew how to tease me very quickly.

Just when I was about to reply to his texts, I received a call. The caller ID showed that it was made from the hospital. My heart immediately sank.

"Hello, is this Dr. Hailey?"

A familiar voice came from the other end of the line. It was a nurse.

"Mr. Aesthete has had an emergency. The heart surgery went well, but due to his age, there were serious complications. The situation is critical. Dr. Ryan is unavailable; we need you to come immediately."

After hearing those words, I immediately stood up from the sofa.

"I'll be right there. Please take good care of him. He's the only family I have left."