CHAPTER 168: CHAPTER 168: ETHAN GRANT IS AFRAID

When Yvette Aston returned home, Summers and Stephen Sinclair were playing with clay in the living room.

Yvette was somewhat surprised. Summers was actually playing with Stephen Sinclair?

"Mom!" Summers called out happily upon seeing Yvette.

Stephen Sinclair lowered his head guiltily and hid by the sofa.

In the past, he didn’t like Summers and Summers’ mom, thinking they were thieves and said many bad things about them.

Children can also feel guilty.

"What’s going on with Stephen Sinclair..." Yvette asked quietly.

Summers whispered in Yvette’s ear, "Mom, Stephen Sinclair’s dad doesn’t want him anymore, so dad brought him home to play with me."

Yvette was stunned for a moment; Chase Sinclair doesn’t want Stephen Sinclair anymore?

Rubbing Summers’ head, Yvette took him by the hand and squatted down beside Stephen Sinclair. "Then you two play nicely. Auntie will make you something delicious. Stephen, what would you like to eat?"

Stephen Sinclair looked at Yvette in a daze.

Why are other people’s moms so gentle?

"Auntie, can I have some spare ribs and pumpkin with salted egg yolk?" Stephen Sinclair asked from the floor.

"That’s quite the fancy taste. You’ll eat whatever is made." Ethan Grant, having changed into home clothes, came over and picked up Stephen Sinclair’s little overalls, tossing them aside, finding them in the way.

Stephen Sinclair pouted. "Uncle, Summers is in the way too, why don’t you pick him up?"

Ethan Grant glanced at Summers, then at Stephen Sinclair. Both were kids, but he still preferred Summers.

Indeed, adults can be pretty biased.

"Because he is..."

"Because Stephen is wearing overalls, easy to pick up." Yvette interrupted Ethan Grant, afraid he might say something to hurt the child’s feelings.

After all, Stephen Sinclair’s dad isn’t exactly a competent father.

If Ethan Grant favored Summers too much, Stephen Sinclair would surely be upset.

"Auntie, can you make spare ribs?" Stephen Sinclair was starting to like Yvette.

"I can." Yvette ruffled Stephen Sinclair’s hair and got up to go to the kitchen to prepare dinner.

"From now on, call me Uncle Ethan." Taking advantage of Yvette’s departure, Ethan Grant playfully ruffled Stephen Sinclair’s head. "Did you hear me?"

Stephen Sinclair nodded obediently. "Uh-huh."

Ethan Grant raised an eyebrow and followed Yvette into the kitchen to help.

"Mr. Grant..." Yvette was a bit flustered, as every time Ethan Grant helped in the kitchen, it always ended up in chaos.

"Off the clock now." Ethan Grant leaned against the kitchen counter, lazily reminding her.

"Ethan Grant, why don’t you go play with the kids?" Yvette really didn’t want to see him create a mess.

"Play with clay?" Ethan Grant frowned.

"Pfft!" Yvette couldn’t help but burst into laughter, then tried hard to suppress it, biting her lip tightly to hold back the laughter.

The thought of someone as cool and composed as Ethan Grant sitting on the floor playing with clay with two kids was quite the contrast.

If someone captured that and put it online, it would definitely go viral.

"How many times should I wash the ribs?" Ethan Grant proactively helped Yvette with the vegetables.

"Use disposable gloves." Yvette handed him a pair of disposable gloves.

Ethan Grant stretched out his hand, wanting Yvette to help him put them on.

Blushing, Yvette looked down and helped him with the gloves.

Ethan Grant quietly watched Yvette earnestly put on the gloves for him, raising the corners of his mouth.

"Mr. Grant... Ethan Grant, wash them three times, until there’s no blood." Yvette said softly, her ears turning red.

Ethan Grant nodded, seriously learning how to wash the vegetables.

It turns out, doing housework is also something that brings a strong sense of happiness.

Watching Ethan Grant wash the vegetables, Yvette was beside him arranging the dishes, feeling warm inside.

But with the happiness, came an increasing sense of fear.

Because she was afraid of drowning in this warmth, and if Ethan Grant were to leave, she’d be devastated.

"Is this okay?" Ethan Grant asked Yvette, like a curious child.

Yvette nodded gently with a warm smile. "Yes."

"Put it in cold water." Yvette placed the ribs in the pot, not forgetting to instruct Ethan Grant.

"Next time, I’ll make it for you." Ethan Grant said earnestly.

Yvette was surprised; Ethan Grant was actually interested in cooking?

What a rarity.

Then Wendy Bell would surely be very happy after marrying him.

Dropping her eyes in disappointment, Yvette fell silent.

"Yvette, six years ago... Are you sure it was Henry Jennings that night?" Ethan Grant took a deep breath and asked softly.

Yvette’s fingers froze, almost getting themselves burnt. "I’m... not sure, I forgot."

She was scared and avoiding it.

Whenever that night was brought up, Yvette would become very uneasy.

"Yvette, that night..." Ethan Grant wanted to know what Yvette thought about that night.

"Ah!" Suddenly, Yvette’s hand touched the edge of the pot, burning her fingers, making her shy away in panic.

"Yvette." Instinctively, Ethan Grant wanted to check Yvette’s burn.

"Don’t touch me!" Yvette fearfully pushed Ethan Grant away, lowering her head with reddened eyes, repeatedly saying sorry. "I’m sorry, I’m sorry..."

After saying that, she wanted to run away.

"Yvette... you didn’t choose Henry Jennings, instead you chose to collaborate with me because Henry Jennings was the one who hurt you that day?" Ethan Grant asked nervously, panic-stricken.

"Yes..." Yvette nodded with tear-filled eyes. "I can’t escape from the shackles in my heart, I can’t forget the hurt from that night, so... I can’t forgive Henry Jennings, nor can I accept him coming close."

Just thinking about that night fills her with fear and disgust.

"I even can’t accept being touched by the opposite sex..." Yvette’s fingers were trembling.

The fingers holding Yvette’s wrist were cold.

If Summers really was his son, it would mean that... because of drunkenness, he entered wrong room on the wrong floor and hurt Yvette that night...

Six years, he let that hurt grow infinitely for six years.

Henry Jennings wanted to use Summers to tie Yvette down, but he didn’t know how much damage that night caused her, his scheme failed because Yvette was afraid of him.

But if... he was the one from that night.

Ethan Grant didn’t dare to imagine.

If Yvette knew the truth, with Yvette’s nature, she would definitely avoid him.

And turn to collaborate with Henry Jennings.

Taking a deep breath, Ethan Grant pretended to be calm and held Yvette’s hand under cold water to wash it.

He always thought of himself as a calm person, someone who wouldn’t panic in any situation, wouldn’t regret anything.

But now, he regretted wanting to slap himself.

Why, six years ago, did he leave early after sobering up?

Not checking to see who the other person was, not even proactively looking for her, keeping her to atone for his sins...

At that time, he always thought he was being schemed against, and the disgust and anger upon waking up made him not want to know who the other person was.

But every day afterward, he lived with self-blame.

So much so that when Christopher Carter found the other person might be Wendy Bell, he gave a lot of concessions to the Bell Family.

His gaze darkened, Ethan Grant’s mood plummeted.

If the woman from that night was Yvette, it would mean Wendy Bell had been deceiving him all along.

Pretending to be someone else, lying, making him miss Yvette for so long.

Damn it.

"Does it hurt?" Ethan Grant asked softly.

Yvette shook her head. "No, it doesn’t."

"Mr. Grant... please go out, I can handle it alone." Yvette wanted some quiet time alone, asking Ethan Grant to leave the kitchen.

Feeling guilty, Ethan Grant obediently left.

Right now, he was extremely anxious, his heart was a bundle of complexities and contradictions, hoping Summers was his son but also hoping that the one who hurt Yvette that night wasn’t him.