Chapter 13
Before the police took Ethan away, he came to see me. He told me he had always loved me and wanted us to run away together.
“Do you know why I married Zach?” I asked him quietly. “Bro, I’m tired of being let down and pushed around by you. It’s easier to marry someone you don’t like, so we can just stay out of each other’s way.”
“I’m so sorry, Summer,” he said, his eyes filling with tears. “It’s all my fault. I really do love you. You’ve always been the one for me, Summer…”
I reached out to wipe away his tears, and my sleeve slid up, showing an old scar on my arm.
Ethan’s grip on my wrist was firm. “Was it him again?”
I winced and tried to hide my wrist, but it only drew more attention.
“People say I married Zach because I’m a gold-digger who got lucky. I’m the only one that knows agreeing to that marriage was like walking into a fire.”
“He’s a creep!” Ethan blurted out angrily.
I had set the stage, and now, it was time to reveal why I was there.
“I know you and Zach can’t stand each other, and I know you’ve been collecting proof of his bad deeds for years.
“If you get locked up, we’ll always be scared of Zach.”
I looked at him, my voice soft but determined.
“Hand it over, Ethan. I’ll help you bring him down.”
Ethan was touched and nodded without another word.
As I stood to leave, he suddenly called out, “Summer, I’m sorry.”
I did not look back and just walked away quickly.
Why would I care about an apology from a soon-to-be-jailed criminal?
After Ethan was sent to jail, my wedding with Zach went ahead as planned.
The wedding was about to start, and I was getting dressed.
Out of nowhere, Chloe showed up, her dagger pressing at my throat from behind.
“Summer, you incestous freak!”
Her hair was a mess, and she looked wild.
She still loved Ethan, even after everything.
I stayed still and tried to explain in a calm voice, “He’s just my brother, nothing more.”
“Don’t act like I don’t know. You two were each other’s first love!”
“Chloe, that was all a big mix-up. Ethan’s just my brother, nothing more.”
I tried to soothe her.
“I love him! I’d do anything for him!”
Chloe got even more worked up. She lifted the dagger high.
“If you really love him, you shouldn’t be mad at me,” I said firmly.
“What do you mean?” Chloe froze, her hands still in the air.
“It wasn’t me who put Ethan behind bars. Only his worst enemy could have dug up those old clues…” I whispered, dropping a
heavy hint.
“You’re saying…” Chloe’s eyes widened as she pieced it together. Zach was the one who had orchestrated Ethan’s downfall.
Just then, at my most desperate moment, a man in a sharp suit burst in and pulled me into his arms.
བྷྲ 9 རྩྭ ཎྜཱ རྩ རྩ,
“You did this! Zach Whitmore! I’ll make you pay!”
Chloe’s knife sank into Zach’s side, and my white wedding dress was splashed with red.
The guards tackled Chloe to the floor, but she kept screaming wildly.
Zach let out a pained grunt.
The arm holding me suddenly went limp.
I watched his face turn ghostly white, fading right before my eyes.
Tears streamed down my face, and I could not stop them.
Zach’s lips turned a chilling shade of pale.
“Somebody call a doctor!” I sobbed.
Zach kissed me softly.
“You finally care… Summer…”
Zach was out cold for two long days and nights. He lost so much blood that he was taken straight to the ICU.
Even from his hospital bed, the police came to question him. They had evidence of crimes Zach had committed over the years.
That evidence was my parting gift to Chloe at the wedding.
It looked like she had handed it to the cops. Once Zach left the hospital, he was headed straight for jail.
“It’s over, Zach. I want a divorce,” I told him, standing by his bed..
“Why divorce me? I can give you a home, fancy clothes, and security. Why isn’t that enough?”
Zach had always made sure I wanted for nothing.
In our grand Bayler mansion, we had a massive closet that could pass as a luxury boutique, stocked full of Chanel and Dior. There was even a special island just for jewelry, with shiny pieces from Cartier and Hermès. The bags were all lined up perfectly on their shelves.
He kept a tight grip on my bank account.
Every month, exactly three thousand dollars was deposited. It was enough to get by, but not enough to run away.
We also could not forget the strict prenup he had made me sign-if we split up, I would not get a dime.
“Too much money makes a woman lose her mind,” he would say on our rooftop, swirling his whisky, “so I don’t give you any choices. No temptation means no betrayal.”
“It’s because you don’t know how to respect someone,” I told him.
“Respect?” He laughed mockingly. “You mean in bed? That’s not being mean, darling, that’s just fun.”
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He gave me a wink.
“But I don’t enjoy it,” I said.
Even now, with the cops from Los Veritas right outside the hospital room ready to arrest him, Zach was still playing his cruel
games.
“To me, it feels like shame.”
“It’s because I love you,” he tried to say.
“You never loved me. You just played with me, hurting me whenever you wanted.” I said.
“Without respect, there’s no love. It’s just owning someone.”
Zach went quiet then.
A sad smile crept onto his face.
“Well,” he mumbled, looking up, “I really did play with fire and get burned.”
That was the last thing Zach said to me.
The police came in, cuffed him, and dragged him out like he was trash.
I went over to the window.
I looked out at the city of Los Veritas.
“Summer,” I said softly to my reflection, “now, you’re finally living like a real person.”
