Seven years ago, Ethan was only twenty years old, having just graduated from college. The girl who had enchanted Ethan, Audrey, was only thirteen years old. At that time, Audrey was in the midst of her high school entrance exams, a very stressful year. Her academic performance was not good, and she was considered a poor student who was dragging the class down.
In order to help Audrey achieve her wish of attending the same university as Ethan, he spent his whole time every day helping her with her studies. Even on weekdays, he would use his only rest time to help Audrey. Because of the irregular schedule and diet, Ethan developed acute gastritis and was sent to the hospital after returning from Audrey's place.
Ethan stayed in the Hospital for almost half a month, and Audrey did not know about it, as Ethan had intentionally kept it from her. It was she, the aunt, who found out that all of this was for Audrey's benefit, that caused Ethan to suffer so much, and she was extremely angry.
It was also from that time on that she began to oppose these two children being together. On the day before Audrey's high school entrance exam, Lena went to the school to find her and slapped her in front of many students.
She told Audrey, "Ethan was hospitalized because of you, and you didn't even bother to visit him. What kind of girl are you? You are not allowed to see Ethan again in the future. His future cannot be ruined by you. If I find out that you are meeting privately again, I will not spare you, nor will I spare your family!"
Did she only oppose them because of the incident where Ethan got sick and was hospitalized? No, definitely not. At that time, Ethan had already graduated from university and, under Lena's arrangement, he smoothly entered the family business from the lowest level.
Meanwhile, Simon Blackwood, the illegitimate son, had already achieved some success in the family business and was highly valued by the patriarch. Lena had gone to great lengths to arrange for her beloved nephew to enter the family business, hoping that with her assistance, he would surpass Simon in the shortest amount of time.
However, Ethan's health rapidly declined due to his busy schedule of tutoring after work, leaving him with almost no time to eat. After half a month in the hospital, Ethan's work was forcibly transferred to Simon , who was handling a particularly important deal that Ethan was supposed to sign off on.
If Ethan had signed that deal, his position in the family business would have skyrocketed. However, it was ruined by a maid. Not only did Ethan fail to gain the patriarch's favor, but he was also harshly criticized at the meeting.
The patriarch even threatened to give him 5% of the shares and let him go solo if he failed to achieve results within six months. Lena was anxious, so she went to the school to find Audrey, hoping to persuade her to leave Ethan.
But the result was the opposite. She was soon found out by Ethan for hitting Audrey at school. Ethan brought Audrey in front of her and slapped her in the face in front of Audrey.
"Smack!" Hiss-
Suddenly, Lena snapped out of her memory. She touched her face and remembered the crisp slap as if it had happened yesterday. It was the first time Ethan had hit her, and although he apologized afterwards, he showed no remorse.
She still remembers what Ethan said at the time.
"Auntie, my woman can only be bullied by me. No one, not even you, can touch her. Even if you hit her, I will hit you back for her."
It was his overbearing and unreasonable protection that allowed the girl to stay by his side for five years. Little did he know that all his efforts were to be shattered two years ago.
"Auntie, what's wrong with you? Is it not to your taste?" Just then, the familiar voice of a man came to her ear. Looking at her nephew who had grown up and matured a lot, his face was still gentle, showing respect for her.
Lena shook her head. "No." "That's good." Ethan lowered his head and brought a bowl of white porridge. The scene in the ward was warm and cozy. If someone who didn't know the situation saw this scene, they would think they were a mother and son.
Lena looked at her nephew's careful movements as he blew on the hot porridge, and her heart felt heavy and complicated. After going through two such incidents, she had to understand one thing.
In Ethan's heart, his aunt was not an unimportant person. If she was an existence as important as Ethan's life, then Audrey was a holy object even more.
During this period, the old master of the family called and asked where she was and when she would return to the company. Lena held a very important position in the family, with only slightly less power than the old patriarch.
Considering that if the old master found out about this, it would definitely have a significant impact on Ethan. Although Ethan was now powerful enough to ignore the family, the assets of the old family were still considerable, and Lena did not want all the resources to be taken over by an illegitimate child.
Therefore, she did not tell the truth, only saying that she had gone abroad for something and would be back soon. During this half-month period, it was Ethan who came to take care of her personally.
Sometimes when he was really busy, he would let Chad come over. Gradually, the incident of being beaten with a board half a month ago had faded away. Besides, the relationship between her and Ethan, her nephew, for decades could not be easily broken by a few beatings.
After being discharged from the Golden Lake Hospital, Lena first went back to the family mansion to see her grandfather, then went to the old family's house to deal with some important documents that had piled up on her desk in the past half month.
After that, she left the family's building and had someone drive her to Ethan's villa. "We're here, madam." The driver opened the car door and respectfully waited in place.
"You wait here, I'll be out soon." Lena adjusted her clothes, lifted her noble leather boots, and walked into the gate with a proud peacock-like demeanor.
At this time, Ethan was still at the company. Besides Butler Qin and a few servants, the only one in the villa was Avert, who had not been to school for more than half a month.
Lena, like a proud peacock, entered the house with her beautiful glasses and the most noble and cold attitude. Yes, she came here specifically while Ethan was not around.
She wanted to let that ignorant and arrogant girl know that being a wife of the family was not that easy! With this thought in mind, Lena quickened her pace, wanting to see Avery as soon as possible.
But as soon as she stepped into the living room, Avery rushed down the stairs recklessly. "Bang!" The two collided head-on and fell to the ground at the same time...