Chapter 5

Ethan' s face tightened with frustration. "Ava, what is wrong with you? Why are you being so irrational?"

He stood up, pacing the living room. "I told you, Chloe is like my sister. Her mother raised me! I owe them. Is that so hard for you to understand?"

He gestured wildly around the room. "And what was that at the hospital? Lying about an ectopic pregnancy? Following me? That was insane, Ava. You were spying on me!"

Ava didn' t say a word. She just looked at him, her silence a wall he couldn' t break.

"Just leave," she said finally.

As he was grabbing his keys, his phone rang. It was Chloe, her voice frantic.

"Ethan, come quick! My mom... she' s bleeding!"

Ethan' s face went pale. He shot Ava one last angry look and rushed out the door.

At the hospital, Mrs. Davis lay in bed, looking frail and weak. She clutched Ethan' s hand.

"Ethan," she whispered, her voice raspy. "I don' t have much time left. My only worry is Chloe. You have to promise me you' ll take care of her. Marry her, Ethan. Please. It' s my dying wish."

Ethan was trapped. The weight of her illness, the years of gratitude he felt, the pressure in her grip-it was all too much. He saw her health monitor dip dramatically.

"I promise," he said, his voice thick. "I' ll marry Chloe. I swear on my life."

Later, after he' d settled Mrs. Davis, Chloe found him in the hallway. She looked devastated.

She showed him her phone. "Ethan... look what Ava sent me."

He took the phone. It was a text message, supposedly from Ava.

"You manipulative bitch. I hope you and your sick mother die a horrible death. You' re a homewrecker and you' ll burn in hell for it."

Rage, pure and hot, flooded Ethan' s system. The cold, heartless woman at the hospital. The vicious lies. This text confirmed everything.

He handed the phone back to Chloe, his jaw clenched. "Don' t worry. I' ll make her apologize. I' ll make her get on her knees and beg for your forgiveness."

Chloe leaned into his chest, hiding the triumphant smirk on her face.