The Rise of the White Lotus

Chapter 408 - First Relationship A story of deceit V (end)

'Gone...?' Momentarily, the whole villa fell into a dreaded silence as only her sniffs could be heard in sync with the ticking of the clock.

Ethan Lu wanted to ask what she meant by 'gone', but, at that moment, his rage began to consume him. The thought of Avah Tong harming her own child reminded him of his mother.

His eyes darkened, as the veins on his forehead suddenly turned palpable, his grip on her shoulder tightened as if it could break her bones any minute, while his other hand slowly loosened as he lifted it up before a resounding slap echoed across the whole place.

*Pak!*

"What did you do?" At this point, Ethan Lu showed zero remorse for slapping Avah Tong that made her head toss to the side while her upper body slightly slumped to the floor. He wasn't that fond of women but, it was his first time physically hurting one. Yet, Ethan Lu wasn't regretting it, not at all.

"Ethan..." Touching her throbbing cheek, Avah Tong sobbed as she desperately pleaded with him by the way she called out to him. "Why didn't you show up earlier? Why?!" From a muffled cry, Avah Tong suddenly turned aggressive as she screamed— as if accusing him of a mortal crime.

She began throwing vulnerable punches in the air, not caring if it would land on him or on nothing. Along with her sudden aggression, she was screaming nonstop while crying at the same time.

"Avah!" Containing her, Ethan Lu managed to restrain her hands by grabbing her wrists and his voice pitched up. More than the thought that she's crazy, his heart grieved for the newborn child.

"Where is he?! Did you kill him?" In great effort, Ethan Lu had to grit his teeth upon asking her his latter question. His heart pounded even faster to the extent that it was painful and the corner of his eyes slightly shook.

God knows he wasn't a religious person. However, at that moment, he prayed, in the most sincere way he could in his heart begging that the child wasn't harmed.

"No..." Briefly calming down, Avah Tong stopped her violent retaliation as she stared at him for several seconds. "You did. Not just him but you kill me as well." A statement full of hatred and bitterness, Avah Tong pushed all of the blame to him without taking her fair share.

"Give him back to me! Give him back to me! I want my baby! Where is my baby?!" In a state of a mental breakdown, Avah Tong resumed her hysterical screaming as she tried to break away from him.

By the tone of her voice, she was a grieving mother that only wanted her child in return. She was not the Avah Tong that he knew. She became a monster due to many reasons and Ethan Lu believed that he was one of them.

Soon, as Ethan Lu was restraining the deranged woman, he heard loud footsteps nearing them and Lyrick Jiang's shouts.

"Young master!" Seeing the scene before him, Lyrick Jiang was mortified to the core. Avah Tong appeared to be a maltreated woman with the cuts and dried blood all over her body blinded their eyesight revealing abuse hence, she became crazy. If he didn't know any better, he would think that the first assumption that the scene gave off was the truth of the matter.

"Give him back to me! You psychotic f*ck!" When the men that intruded with Lyrick Jiang came, they, without any orders acted and took her away from Ethan Lu before they restrained her. Still, she kept on shouting those same words as if her mind drifted far away from reality. Therefore, one guard had to knock her out.

"Young master!" Snapping from the current occurrence, Lyrick Jiang glided his way towards Ethan Lu who was sitting on the floor while staring at the unconscious Avah Tong.

"Young master, are you alright?" Squatting down, Lyrick Jiang hurriedly checked if Ethan Lu was bleeding or anything because Avah Tong seemed, at this moment, she could do anything even stabbing someone. Thus, Lyrick Jiang had to act in proficiency.

After scanning Ethan Lu, Lyrick Jiang heaved a sigh of relief. Aside from his boss's disheveled and haggard look, most of the blood on him were just small dots that obviously came from Avah Tong's cuts.

"Rick, check the whole place and find the child." Still looking at her, Ethan Lu murmured. Of course, Lyrick Jiang's brows furrowed as he wasn't informed of a child.

"Go." Not caring if his assistant was curious or confused, Ethan Lu whispered along with a heavy exhale as he slightly tilted his head to the side indicating for him to move while his eyes never left the woman's figure.

"Yes," Lyrick Jiang knew that Ethan Lu wouldn't even answer him if he asked. Therefore, he chose to zip his mouth for now and obeyed his orders.

With that, Lyrick Jiang ordered the men he gathered to search the whole place and find a child. Even if they had to turn the whole place upside down, they must find the child. He then called for medical assistance for Avah Tong and for Ethan Lu as well.

Meanwhile, as the people began their search, Ethan Lu kept on staring at Avah Tong. How did she turn out like this?

Never in his wildest dreams would he think that a bright woman like Avah Tong would end up like this. If, just if, he went to see her several hours ago, would the outcome change?

Indeed, although he wasn't the person who wanted to harm the child, he too had his own fair share of why it happened. He too was responsible because, in the first place, if he was a little more cautious, he wouldn't let Avah Tong be a part of his life knowing he was just using her body.

He shouldn't have taken advantage of her and think it could end well so easily. After all, now that he thought about it, she did love him even after so many warnings and he knew that deep down. Still, he continued because of lust and only wanted to back away when he had enough of her.

"I'm sorry, Avah." Instead of curses or hateful words, Ethan Lu could only apologize for what he had done to her that led her to such a state.

"Grandpa is right... I am foolish."

It was a hell of a night and an unforgettable lesson for him. After that night, Ethan Lu had tried to investigate where Avah Tong could have hidden the child or to know if the child was still alive. But to no avail, he was always led to a dead-end until everyone moved on with their lives; Ethan Lu focused on his rebellion to get his freedom while appointing someone to look into the case if they find a clue.

*****

[Present Time]

"So, to speak, Avah spent her years in a mental hospital. She also never spoke to any of my representatives to know where the child was. It was also found that that night, she was under the influence of a drug that could make her hallucinate so, they took it as she probably didn't exactly know where the child was." Glancing up, Ethan Lu ended his long, summarized story with a heavy sigh.

Until today, there was still a person that was looking at the case. Sadly, it hadn't taken a step forward due to lack of evidence.

Lexi looked down as she processed all of the information given to her. For some reason, her heart ached not just for Ethan Lu but for the child as well. She expected a story where she would get entirely jealous over it but, she didn't expect a tragic story instead.

She was a mother and the fear of losing her children dreaded her. So, how could Avah Tong do such a thing? Just how?

To Lexi, she could never trade her children even if it meant to sacrifice her life or her husband. It was a selfish example but that was the truth. That's how a mother's love should be— it's unconditional.

"How did she get out of the mental hospital?" Lifting her head up, Lexi softly inquired. As expected, his answer was a shrug as he doesn't have a clue as well.

"I already sent someone to question the hospital when I heard she went to see me earlier." After a shrug, Ethan Lu honestly guided Lexi so she could be on the same page. Staring at her, he pursed his lips before it stretched into a meek smile. "Love, I'm sorry for not telling you sooner. But, what I can assure you of is that after her, I never had an intimate relationship with anyone ever. I didn't want to make the same mistake I did the first time." Sliding his hand to her hand, Ethan Lu gently rubbed her knuckles with his thumb.

Indeed, after that incident, Ethan Lu made an oath that he wouldn't bed any woman ever. It was hard at first as he was young and at the age where having sex was natural. However, he didn't want another Avah Tong incident to take place. He didn't want to create another Avah Tong.

The reason why he decided not to carry any condoms with him so that every time he was tempted, having no protection would always save the day. God knows how he only had his hand as his company whenever he needed to release some steam.

After years of practice, Ethan Lu's discipline was solidly formed. Thus, no matter how alluring his former girlfriends was, he never went down that path.

"I'm sorry for judging." Pursing her lips into a thin line, Lexi heavily sighed as she must admit she was jealous earlier. But, after hearing the full story, although Ethan Lu and Avah Tong's relationship was mostly physical, still, that wasn't the bottom line in this discussion. Moreover, she understood him as he was young and exploring would be normal.

"Anyway, I have something to ask aside from her." After sharing some peaceful silence, Lexi cleared her throat as she delved into one of her main concerns.

"Hmm?"

"Love, are we in trouble? I mean, now that Avah managed to regain her freedom— I don't understand why she would purposely show herself after everything. Also..." Pausing, Lexi scrutinized his front as she recalled Mister Gan's vague statement.

"I happen to meet someone who has a connection to bad people. According to him, some 'bad' people are talking about you. I don't know the details and neither did Mr. Gan but, I want to know. I need to know, Ethan." Lexi resumed as her eyes sought for the truth. She knew that Ethan Lu has always been honest with her. Therefore, after clearing up everything, Lexi wanted to be prepared and fight alongside him. Instead of being shielded while her husband was battling a war.

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