Staring at the tightly shut door, a sharp ache flared up in her chest once more.

She sat down on the stone steps, listening in absolute silence, desperate to catch any sound from within the house.

Inside the house.

The ambient light from outside snuck through the gaps in the heavy curtains, barely illuminating the living room.

Ethan sat on a stool by the bar, chugging a bottle of brandy.

The fine liquor he used to savor slowly now felt like a raging fire, starting from his lips, tearing through his throat, lungs, and chest, before violently boiling like lava inside his stomach.

His bloodshot eyes were half-open, his pale fingertips tightly gripping the bottle, the corners of his liquor-stained lips curved into a smile that was filled with pure desolation and self-mockery.

He tilted his head back to take another massive gulp, the burning sensation driving like an arrow straight through his heart, the intense pain causing the veins on his forehead to bulge.

The rims of his eyes grew intensely warm, and he froze for a few seconds, raising a trembling finger to touch the corner of his eye.

It was a sheet of moisture.

He stared at the empty, massive living room, and at the seashell wind chimes hanging quietly in the foyer. The suffocating burden that had weighed on his shoulders for years had suddenly vanished, yet an unprecedented sense of absolute defeat completely crushed his soul.

He was left with nothing at all. There was no way Seraphina would ever look at him again...

Chapter 36: Infoxicated

The sky had completely darkened by the time Seraphina checked the message on her phone from Julian, replying that she would be back in a bit.

She turned her head to look at the still-tightly shut door. After a brief moment of hesitation, she stood up and walked over to a nearby flowerpot, lifting it to reveal a key resting quietly beneath it.

This was a spare she had hidden long ago to prevent herself from being locked out.

Retrieving the key, she threw the door open. In the pitch blackness, a pungent scent of alcohol rushed over her, accompanied by the melodious chiming of shells bumping together.

Through the ambient light of the streetlamps, she caught sight of the seashell wind chimes hanging in the foyer.

Her gaze locked, recognizing it instantly as the birthday gift she had made for him.

He hadn't thrown it away; he had kept it hanging here all this time? With a soft clatter, a sound cut through Seraphina's thoughts. Holding her breath, she used the flashlight on her phone to find the switch and flip the lights on.

The overwhelming stench of alcohol inside the room was enough to make a person feel intoxicated just from the scent. Seraphina's face contorted upon seeing the state Ethan was in.

He was slouched against the bar stool like a common drunkard, his jacket tossed aside, his tie crooked, his face flushed bright red under the lights. His eyes were half-open with a vacant, lost gaze, one hand clutching a dead cigarette, the other holding a bottle with a single gulp of liquor remaining.

Seraphina's chest constricted. She immediately crossed the room, stretching out her hands to support him.

Through his hazy vision, Ethan seemed to sense someone approaching, feeling a pair of warm, small hands cradling the back of his head and supporting his arm.

He forced his eyes open, his sight blurry and unfocused.

Seraphina looked at his state, knowing he was completely drunk; after chugging so much liquor, he had probably forgotten who he even was.

"...Who is it? Get out! Get the hell out of here!" Ethan violently shoved Seraphina away, tilting his head back to down the remaining liquor.

Seraphina let out a sharp gasp of pain, but seeing him recklessly destroying himself with alcohol, she ignored the sting and darted forward once more, fiercely snatching the bottle from his hand.

This single action seemed to infuriate him completely. He violently grabbed her by the hair, dragging her face close to his.

Seraphina bit her teeth, letting out only a muffled groan.

A sheet of crystalline tears shimmered within her warm eyes as she stared at him without blinking.

She knew he was completely out of his mind right now, unable to recognize her at all.

Their faces were a mere two or three centimeters apart, their warm breath brushing against each other's skin. It took a long moment before Ethan's hazy vision finally cleared, locking onto the face before him.

"Seraphina?!"

His hand snapped back as if he had been struck by an electric shock. The moment Seraphina tumbled onto her backside on the floor, he instinctively reached out to support her.

Yet, he ultimately withdrew his hand, forcing out a few words through his fading shred of sobriety: "What... what are you doing here? Come to witness my downfall?"

Hearing this, Seraphina felt a mixture of irritation and pure helplessness; sure enough, just as she had expected, he truly believed she had come to mock him.

Before she could offer any response, Ethan snatched up another half-empty bottle of red wine, downing it wildly.

Seraphina felt her head throb with pain, but before she could move to grab it, he set it down heavily.

"What on earth is that look in your eyes?" He stared at her, his drunken state looking profoundly wretched. "You... you're thrilled, aren't you? Right now..."

He pounded his chest fiercely. "I have absolutely nothing left, Seraphina... You backed the right man."

Ethan propped himself up on his elbow, grinning at her wildly. "The man you fancy... is powerful and wealthy now. Congratulations!"

Seraphina froze, entirely at a loss for whether she should feel heartache for him, or for herself, having been defined by him as a thoroughly唯利图 woman once again.

The wind outside blew through the entrance, causing the wind chimes to sway gently. The melodious chime sounded like a refreshing slice of watermelon in the dead of summer, smoothing away the restless irritation inside her chest.

She cast a brief glance at the wind chimes, her heart filled with a chaotic rush of emotions.

Perhaps Ethan did love her, but he had absolutely no understanding of how to truly love her.

Chapter 37: Don't Leave Me

Seraphina let out a heavy sigh as she stared at the thoroughly intoxicated Ethan Vance.

He was like a thorn that had embedded itself too deeply into her heart; on normal days, if she left it untouched, she wouldn't feel a single thing.

But the moment any pressure was applied, the piercing sting would instantly flare through her entire body. To pull it out, she would have to cut her entire heart open.

Seraphina sniffed her slightly aching nose, sitting down quietly to the

side.

Ethan took another gulp of liquor. The quiet presence beside him and the alcohol did nothing to smooth away the pain in his heart or his rapidly swelling reluctance.

With a loud thud, the red wine bottle in his hand was hurled aside, the crimson liquid pooling and trickling across the floorboards.

Ethan violently hauled Seraphina into his arms, his liquor-stained hands cupping her freezing face. "Tell me... you don't love Julian Vance. You don't care about him. The one you love is me, isn't it?"

Seraphina's eyes froze. The Ethan before her right now was exactly like a child begging for comfort, desperately pleading for a final shred of warmth.

His slightly trembling hands rested against her cheeks, and the faint scent of alcohol drifted into her nose, leaving her head spinning until she felt rather hazy.

She parted her lips, desperately trying to force out a sound, but it was all in

vain.

Seeing that she remained silent, Ethan snapped like a startled horse, his entire emotional barrier exploding completely.

"Speak! Why won't you speak?!" he roared through his tears, his gaze locking onto Seraphina like a pair of claws, refusing to let her slip away by even a single fraction.

If she would just utter a single "yes," it would be enough to counteract the effects of the tobacco and alcohol numbing his consciousness.

But he didn't catch a single word from Seraphina. Or did that mean she was denying it? The one she loved truly was Julian Vance?!

Ethan released his grip on Seraphina, letting out a vacant, hollow laugh. "...I have absolutely nothing right now. There's nothing left to love..."

He reached to grab the bottle resting by his leg, muttering to himself in a low, despondent tone, "Why does every single one of you only care about him? Grandfather did, and now you—" Before he could finish, Seraphina swiftly clamped her hand over his mouth. The bottle opening slammed against the back of her hand, and the liquor trickled across her skin, spilling down Ethan's neck and soaking his white shirt.

She was fighting with every ounce of her being to speak, wanting to pour out every single word trapped inside her heart just like the spilled liquor. But she couldn't. Even if she wrote them down, the current Ethan would undoubtedly be unable to comprehend or even look at them.