CHAPTER 132: CHAPTER 132: OLD MEMORIES

Early morning.

Ethan Sterling is taking a shower in the bathroom. His hands are pressed against the wall, and his muscular contours are quite stunning. The water from the shower flows over his chiseled face.

There isn’t a hint of mist in the bathroom, and the water is ice-cold. Only after a long while does Ethan stop the water and pick up his robe to put it on.

In the bedroom, Seraphina Redgrave is leaning against the headboard reading a book, the light a soft yellow, with each page tinged with warmth.

Suddenly, a silhouette blocks all the light.

A moment later, Seraphina is forced to raise her chin. She looks up to see Ethan bracing himself on the headboard behind her, his head lowered as he looks at her, water droplets falling from his wet hair and trailing down her face like teardrops.

The fiery temperature from his body has vanished; those amber eyes seem to peer into her soul.

He gazes at Seraphina for a long time, then leaves a fiery kiss on the corner of her lips, filled with dominance.

Seraphina knows there’s no avoiding it, and she doesn’t intend to. She lets him do as he pleases, knowing she won’t respond.

Yet, Ethan slowly becomes passionate, his breathing turning rapid.

Not a word is spoken between them.

Ethan takes the book from Seraphina’s hands and discards it onto the floor, then pushes her down onto the bed, continuing to kiss her insistently, with his hand pressing the pillow behind her head.

The pillow is very soft, so he feels a six-inch hard object beneath it.

Is it a dagger?

What method has his cheap father thought up to kill him? What scheme does Seraphina have against him?

Ethan props up his body, looking at Seraphina with an increasingly deep gaze.

He says nothing, only moves his hand to a different position, then continues to lower his head close to her. His aura is icy, yet it’s warmed by the girl’s gentle breath. His lips lightly brush across her collarbone, her neck.

Suddenly, he grips the girl’s clothes and gives a fierce tug.

Their breaths completely mingle.

Ethan doesn’t know what madness he’s possessed by, especially violent tonight, leaving Seraphina thoroughly spent, even more exhausted than fighting with someone in a restricted zone.

Every bone in her body feels like it’s been disassembled and reassembled.

She lies there, unwilling to move anymore.

Ethan, however, seems exceptionally pleased, holding her in his arms, his thin lips kissing every inch of Seraphina’s skin, his increasingly hot breath mingling with her warm essence.

She still didn’t make a move.

He had initially thought Seraphina would strike when he was most relaxed, but even when he was completely off guard in bed, Seraphina did nothing.

How exactly does she plan to kill him?

At that moment, Seraphina suddenly sat up.

"What’s wrong?"

Ethan felt the warmth of the girl leave his embrace, and his face fell in displeasure.

"Clean up."

With that, she first opened the pillow, took out a pen from under the bed, then picked up the book from the floor and left the room with her study materials.

A pen?

Just a pen?

Ethan lay there, his breath catching.

Seraphina returned the book and pen to the study, then tied her long hair back and returned to the bedroom.

The man’s figure was long gone from the room, the blanket lifted, clearly indicating he had just left.

The phone on the bedside table buzzed softly.

"Ethan: Seraphina, come out."

What kind of mood is this again?

Seraphina really wanted to pretend she hadn’t seen anything, but knowing Ethan’s unpredictable temperament, she abandoned that thought.

The second floor was pitch black, and Seraphina didn’t bother turning on the lights. She simply moved in the dark toward the stairwell, went downstairs, crossed the living room, and found the front door open, with only a small patch of light flickering in the darkness midair.

Seraphina walked closer and found Ethan sitting at the doorway, his long legs stretched down the steps, with a lit cigarette between his fingers. The embers of the ash fell, extinguishing before they hit the ground.

Night was already deep.

The sky was completely black, with only a few scattered stars at the horizon, too dim to illuminate the roses in the garden.

Upon hearing Seraphina’s footsteps, Ethan didn’t turn around, only biting the cigarette butt slightly tighter.

The air was filled with silence.

Seraphina sat beside Ethan; the step was icy. She stared at her fingertips, thinking she should speed up her study progress, or she’d have trouble with exams.

She didn’t want to fail as soon as she entered The Law School.

While she was pondering, a voice devoid of any emotion sounded in her ear: "Sister told me that the Morgan Family lives in the most remote mountains, always staying away from worldly affairs. Yet the children of the Morgan Family are all exceptionally intelligent, and it spread that whoever marries into the Morgan Family would gain significant power. Thus, the Morgan Family’s peace was lost, as those conglomerates began to madly vie for Morgan Family members."

The Morgan Family.

His mother’s family.

Are we going to speak of the past again?

Seraphina had no interest in these secrets, yet Ethan insisted on telling her.

She turned her head to look at Ethan. He was known for his strikingly handsome features; his facial contours were distinct and very attractive. Although she sat right beside him, she felt as if she were far away from him.

Ethan didn’t expect Seraphina to say anything, just continued speaking into the darkness before him: "The Sterling Family is vast; Ryan Sterling has many brothers. To gain the Sterling Family, he went to great lengths to marry the eldest daughter of the Morgan Family, Simone Morgan."

Seraphina said nothing, quietly listening to the story, watching the ash fall slowly from his cigarette.

"My mother clearly informed Ryan Sterling that the Morgan Family’s genius offspring were due to a genetic condition causing manic tendencies. High intelligence was just one of the symptoms of the condition."

Ethan took a drag of his cigarette, smiling cynically: "To inherit the Sterling Family, Ryan wouldn’t care about these things. He used sweet talk to coax my mother into marrying him, and my mother toiled to help him secure the position of the Sterling Family head."

Seraphina saw the coldness in Ethan’s eyes and pressed her lips together.

This Ryan Sterling was indeed despicable; she felt an odd sense of discomfort when she saw him on the rooftop.

"When my sister was born, they shared a strong bond, but by the time my sister was in her teens, my mother had cleared all obstacles for Ryan, yet he changed his face again and started demanding a son."

"So my mother began desperately trying to conceive again. When I was born, Ryan brought another woman home to sleep with, and that woman was a friend of my mother’s."

Ethan narrated without any particular emotion: "My mother was so agitated that she fell ill and started killing. Ryan systematically called the police and had her shot dead on the spot."

Ethan spoke with an expressionless face, yet the depth in his eyes was visible.

Seraphina listened to the story, not knowing what to say, but her heart was uncomfortably tight.