| hesitated slightly. Alas, | stood up slowly and allowed myself to be led by Ethan to a bench nearby.
As we sat, | stuttered, "I-I... | don't know where to start."
My voice was very feeble. The night wind seemed to have taken away half of my courage.
"All of these are just too complicated and too much of a mess. I'm starting to doubt if | could even start to
untangle this ball of yarn to reveal the truth."
Ethan sat quietly beside me. He didn't rush to interrupt me. He just comfortedsilently with his deep, sensual
eyes.
"Sometimes, the truth is like a lighthouse in the fog. It might be far away and blurry, but as long as we have the
courage and determination, we could eventually make our way toward it, one step at a time."
| lowered my head. My hands balled into fists, my nails dug deep into the palm of my hands but it was like |
couldn't feel pain at all.
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Compared to the struggles and pain in my heart, | felt like the discomfort in my physical body was so ignorable
in comparison.
"Jack toldthat the art gallery was just a smokescreen... It was hiding a greater secret behind it and there
were also illegal transactions involved. | was actually their pawn."
Ethan frowned after hearing what | had to say. A flash of emotions fleeted in his eyes.
"Jack's words aren't entirely believable. Since he brought those up, it meant that things are way more
complicated than we think. What are you planning to do next?"
| grimaced and shook my head. "I don't know. | feel like I've been sucked into a whirlpool with underlying
currents all aroundthat would suckin if I'm not careful." He gently patted my shoulder, giving me
strength.
"You're not facing all of these alone. No matter what happens, I'll be by your side, and we'll find out about the
truth together. I'll protect you so you won't be hurt anymore." | lifted my head to see Ethan looking firmly yet
gently at me, and warmth enveloped my heart.
However, | wasn't as easily moved as | was before. Slove could melt the toughest of hearts into a puddle of
goo, but we still had our hesitations about us.
"It's so pathetic that | could only now see what his intentions are. Well, now that you're back, could you please
helpfind out about sthings?" Sometimes, one would only be able to know their desired truth if they
expressed vulnerability at an appropriate time. | knew | couldn't do all of these by myself.
If Jack could find so many people to lie to me, and make sure | would be so deeply wounded that | wouldn't be
able to find my bearings again, it meant that he knew clearly where my biggest weakness lay.
"| suspect that my mother's death isn't just the way it seemed and that everything he had toldwas a lie. You
should be able to helpfind out the truth using the Grayson family's connections, right?"
Ethan's eyes darkened after hearing my request. He was silent for a moment like he was contemplating an
important decision.
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Alas, he responded slowly with an
unwavering determination in his tone. "Of course. I'll use all of the Grayson family's resources to help you find
out the truth of your mother's death. en
"No matter what secrets are hidden behind it, I'll expose them and bring them to light."
| looked gratefully at him as turmoil churned in my heart.
The sudden help | would receive had warmed my heart, but | had also realized the minuscule change in our
relationship once more.
After Leah had disappeared, my relationship with Ethan had taken a different turn of progress. We might have a
certain amount of love between us, but | couldn't forget about the past.
| didn't dare to wish that there could be any substantial progress between us, but | knew sthings needed to
be resolved.
| would first deal with my family matters, then | would have a new emotional capacity to face other challenges.