CHAPTER 154: CHAPTER 154: AWAKENING FROM THE DREAM (PART 2)

Arthur Sterling and Henry Sterling rushed into the hospital room.

Ethan Sterling was already dressed in a suit, standing by the window as if nothing had happened.

If it weren’t for the bandages on his head, if it weren’t for the paleness in his face, you could almost forget that he had just been in a car accident and had come back from the brink of death.

Seeing Ethan like this, Arthur and Henry were both taken aback.

"Ethan!" Arthur sensed something was wrong and strode over to him, "What is this?"

"You’re right, I can’t ruin my life over one woman." Ethan turned around, meeting Arthur’s gaze with bloodshot eyes, "You said before that as long as I leave Seraphina, I could return to the Sterling Family. Does that still hold?"

Arthur squinted his eyes and nodded lightly.

"As long as you’re willing, you can come back to the Sterling Family anytime, but... for now, you need to recover well."

"I don’t need to." Ethan shook his head gently, "What I need now is not rest. I’ve already arranged a flight and I’m heading back to Jadeston. After I finish dealing with the divorce procedures with Seraphina, I’ll come to the Sterling Family to find you."

Stepping past Arthur, Ethan strode towards the door of the hospital room.

"Ethan!" Henry caught up, grabbing his arm, "Don’t be impulsive. In your current state, how can you be discharged? What if something happens to your health?"

"Don’t worry, big brother." Ethan smiled, "I’m not that easy to kill."

Shaking off Henry’s arm, Ethan strode out of the hospital room.

"Ethan!"

Henry wanted to chase after him, but Arthur’s voice already resounded.

"There’s no need to chase him, let him go."

"But, what if something happens to him?"

"If something happens to him, it’s the path he chose. He’ll have to take responsibility for it himself." Arthur turned, watching Ethan’s silhouette fade down the hallway, "He’s not a child anymore. He has to take responsibility for his own decisions."

"Are you really... planning to let him return to the Sterling Family?" Henry withdrew his gaze.

"His surname is Sterling, he’s my son, he’s part of the Sterling Family. He should return to the Sterling Family." Arthur frowned at Henry’s face, "Isn’t that right?"

"Dad, you misunderstood. I didn’t mean that." Henry shook his head gently, "I just feel that forcing him like this isn’t very good. He might blame you later."

"Hmph!" Arthur snorted, "From beginning to end, he’s always hated me. No matter what I do, the result is the same. Go ask the doctor about his current condition."

Henry nodded and walked out of the hospital room.

Arthur looked around and his gaze fell on the bedside table.

Sitting there was a thermos food container.

Arthur walked over to the bedside table, opened the lid of the food container, and took a look.

The container should have held porridge, and a faint aroma still lingered.

But now, the container was empty.

Both the porridge and the dishes had been eaten completely.

The hospital here wouldn’t provide such a Chinese-style breakfast.

Clearly, this was brought from home.

Arthur stared at the thermos food container on the table and sighed softly.

"You’re far more stubborn than your mother."

Placing the lid back on the food container, Arthur turned and walked out of the hospital room.

...

...

During the thirteen-hour flight, Seraphina Thorne didn’t sleep a minute.

She was exhausted, but she couldn’t sleep at all.

Even with her eyes closed, forcing herself to sleep, her mind kept racing.

In her head, the image of Ethan Sterling flashed by repeatedly.

When they first met, he was leaning against his desk, holding a glass, saying to her, "Kiss me."

On a stormy night, he took her away from Adrian Chamberlain’s door, leaning against the eaves outside the car, exhaling puffs of bluish smoke.

Beside the hospital bed, he looked down at her from above, "If you admit defeat like this, then I really misjudged you."

...

And then there was his kiss, and how he hugged her from behind, gently biting her earlobe and calling her Mrs. Sterling.

Everything spun in her mind like a carousel, flowing endlessly.

Until the plane landed again at Varden Capital Airport, Seraphina followed the crowd out of the exit, looking at all the familiar sights in front of her, still finding it a bit surreal.

Everything felt like a dream.

She closed her eyes and then opened them again.

In front of her, it was still the same old scene, nothing had changed.

Now, it was time to wake up from the dream.

"Seraphina!"

Someone called her name. Seraphina turned her head to see a familiar car parked by the roadside.

Through the partially lowered car window, she saw Ferris Caldwell’s smiling face.

"Get in the car, I’ll give you a ride."

Seraphina opened the car door and sat in the passenger seat, "What are you doing at the airport?"

"I came to see a friend off. I spotted someone from afar and thought I was mistaken." Ferris smiled as he drove onto the expressway, "Are you here to see someone off too?"

"No, I just got back from abroad."

"Just got back?" Ferris turned his head, giving her a glance, "What about your luggage? Don’t tell me you forgot it?"

Seraphina smiled self-deprecatingly, "I have no luggage."

Ferris chuckled, "I see, well, no luggage is the most carefree."

He could tell that something must have happened, but he didn’t ask a single question the entire way.

It wasn’t until the car left the city that Ferris spoke again.

"Are you going home or somewhere else?"

Home?

Seraphina was taken aback.

Was there even a place that could be called home for her here anymore?

Seraphina withdrew her gaze from the window and gave Ivy Langley’s address.

Ferris dropped her off downstairs, watching Seraphina push open the door, he hesitated for a moment, but eventually got out of the car.

"Are you hungry? How about we grab something to eat?"

"No need." Seraphina gave him a smile, "I had the airplane meal, thank you, Dr. Caldwell."

Waving her hand at him, she carried her bag and walked into the building entrance.

The girl’s figure was thin, her hair swayed in the grey, cold wind, as if she might collapse at any moment.

Riding the elevator up, Seraphina stood outside the door of Ivy Langley’s rented apartment.

She rummaged through her bag, found the key, and opened the door.

In the kitchen, Ivy was carrying a bowl of freshly cooked instant noodles out when she saw Seraphina. She paused for two seconds, put down the noodles, and approached her.

"What’s wrong?"

Seraphina stepped forward, stretching her arms to embrace her.

"Ivy, I’m so lonely, can you hold me?"

Ivy stretched her arms around her slender waist, holding her tightly.

"It’s okay. Your Great Counselor Langley is here, there’s nothing you can’t overcome."

Patting Seraphina’s back comfortingly, Ivy helped her to sit down at the table, then pulled up a chair to sit across from her.

"Seraphina, what happened exactly?"

"I’m getting a divorce." Seraphina lifted her face, "From now on, Ethan and I have nothing to do with each other. It’s really ironic, isn’t it? You must think it’s pretty funny too."

Seraphina’s lips curled in a wry smile.

"Only now do I realize that... I really love him. Falling into the same trap twice, I’m so stupid."

Ivy took a tissue and placed it in her hand, "If you need to cry, just cry. I won’t laugh at you."

"No need, I’ve already cried on the plane." Seraphina raised her hand to wipe her face, "The airplane meal was terrible. Do you still have any instant noodles?"

Ivy felt a pang of heartache, raising her hand to steady her shoulder.

"Don’t worry, I can cook as much as you want."