Love Fading

Catherine excitedly ordered me around and Ethan didn’t show the slightest sign of opposition.

I thought back to the many times I had begged to move into the master bedroom, only to have Ethan refuse, citing that couples need their own space.

It was only when the mood struck him that he would allow me to stay in the master bedroom.

If I accidentally left something behind, he would put on a cold face and remind me to be more mindful of boundaries.

I used to think this was just the naturally self-disciplined and reserved side of Ethan’s personality.

In the end, I realized it was because, in his heart, I was never the one to hold the position of the mistress.

Ethan suddenly pointed at his phone. I lowered my head to take a look and saw the message he had sent in the chat box.

[Baby, my marriage with Catherine is just in name only, a facade for the sake of the group's collaboration. Don't misunderstand.]

I couldn’t help but laugh. Ethan still thought he could fool me like a three-year-old.

It was fine. If he said his marriage was fake, then let it be fake.

As long as what I had was real, that was all that mattered.

I was about to head back to the guest room to finish packing my luggage when I saw Catherine take the lead and walk toward the guest room.

Her face carried a meaningful smile as if everything was part of a plan.

“Miss Johnson, Ethan has been clinging to me tightly. It will be inconvenient for you to stay here any longer. You should hurry up and pack your things and find another place to stay..."

She paused and seemed surprised. "Miss Johnson, you've already packed half of it? And your style of dressing is so similar to mine! We must be really destined to meet!"

A cold feeling spread through my heart uncontrollably.

Ethan's favorite thing to do was buy me clothes and jewelry.

In the past, I thought it was proof of his love and affection for me when he bought me clothes and jewelry. But now, looking at all these outfits and accessories that didn’t match my style at all, each one looked perfect on Catherine, as if it was made for her.

It almost felt like I’d been occupying a place that wasn’t mine.

I didn’t want to ask any more questions, but Ethan grabbed my hand with a stern face, his tone anxious. "Why are you packing your things out of nowhere? Answer me!"

I turned my face away, not wanting to respond. Just then, I saw Catherine reach out to take my music box.

"Don't touch it!"

With a loud crash, the music box fell heavily to the floor, its lid and small parts scattering everywhere, shards scattered across the ground.

"Ah... I'm sorry, Miss Johnson, I didn't mean to… Ethan, my hand... it hurts so much..." Catherine cried, clutching the scratches on her palm.

Ethan rushed over to check her injury. The next moment, he darkened his face and stomped on the shattered remnants of the music box with his foot.

He glared at me viciously. "Is it just a broken ornament? Kathleen, do you really need to scare people on purpose? Throw all this junk away and don’t let me see it in the house again!"

After saying this, Ethan stomped on the shards under his foot one last time before picking up Catherine and leaving without looking back.

Tears fell onto the broken pieces of the music box and the shards pierced my fingers, but I couldn’t feel any pain at all.

When I was sixteen, my parents were going through a divorce.

Not knowing what to do, I ran to my best friend Sophia's house. I didn’t find her, but I bumped into her brother, Ethan, who had just finished playing basketball with his friends.

"Kid, you're Sophia’s friend, right? Why are you crying? Come on, talk to me.”

With red eyes, I tried to leave, but Ethan grabbed my arm and frowned, sending away the friends who wanted to continue playing games with him.

He told me to wait patiently and then, in the pouring rain, ran off by himself to buy the best desserts and cakes in the city. He piled them all in front of me.

He gently rubbed my head to comfort me, then mysteriously took out a music box from behind, with the little hero and princess figurines slowly spinning around.

"Kid, don’t be afraid."