Samantha lowered her head, took a deep breath, and gathered her courage to speak, "Ethan, I feel like we're from two different worlds, not compatible. Please, just let me go! I know I've wronged you, I shouldn't have provoked you. I apologize for my words and actions towards you. I'm sorry..."
Ethan's eyes glared fiercely at Samantha, as if he wanted to devour her alive.
"What did you say? Say it again!"
His voice almost squeezed out from between his teeth, each word uttered as if he was exerting all his restraint. As if he could strangle her the next second.
Samantha could clearly feel the anger and threat in his words, but she deeply knew that if they didn't clarify things today, the two of them would only continue to pull each other apart endlessly.
It wouldn't be fair to Justin, nor to Ethan.
She didn't want to be a woman torn between two sides.
"Suzy is the biological mother of Alexander and Noah, and I have my own daughter too. The Steele family can never accept Charlotte, but I'm not willing to give up my daughter either. We not only have disparate social statuses, but our personalities also clash. Let's just forget it, and not waste each other's time."
God knows how much courage it took for her to say these words.
At this moment, she felt as if her heart had been torn apart.
Bleeding profusely in pain.
Ethan's furious gaze firmly locked onto Samantha, the veins on his forehead bulging, his handsome face alternating between pale and flushed, exuding a murderous aura.
Suddenly, he reached out and grabbed Samantha's neck, lifting her entire body from the ground. The veins on his arm and back of his hand bulged, as if they were about to burst.
"Samantha Miller, do you remember what I said? I said, the game rules are now determined by me. As long as I don't call it off, you have no right to call it off."
Samantha's feet left the ground, the suffocation making her face turn liver-colored, her eyes filled with red blood vessels, bulging as if they could fall out at any moment.
She didn't struggle, but tightly gripped Ethan's arm with both hands, tears in her eyes as she looked at him.
She even had a moment of self-abandonment.
‘If letting him vent his anger by strangling me would appease him, then let him strangle me! This is what I owe him.’
Seeing her silent and non-resisting, Ethan smirked evilly and suddenly released his grip.
Samantha's body instantly felt like a pile of mud, sliding down to the ground.
Air rushed into her nostrils.
Discomfort caused her to cough uncontrollably.
Ethan squatted down, holding her chin forcibly, lifting her head to stare coldly at her congested face, his expressionless face saying, "Remember, if I haven't called it off, this game won't stop. If there's a next time, I won't spare you. You should know the consequences of angering me."
Samantha felt hopeless. "What do you want in order to let me go?"
Sometimes, she felt that this man was good.
Good to her.
But sometimes she felt that this man was cold-blooded and ruthless, very frightening.
She couldn't feel any affection from him at all.
At moments like this, she would deeply regret why she had provoked him.
Ethan casually glanced her up and down, sneering, "When I'm tired of playing, when I'm no longer interested in your body, then this game can end."
Samantha's face turned ashen instantly.
With determination, she gritted her teeth and said with a forced smile, "Do you know? From the very beginning, I deliberately approached you! The first meeting, the kiss in the hospital parking lot, and later going to Chelsea Creek... I did it all on purpose, just to get close to you."
Ethan raised his eyebrows in surprise, obviously taken aback by her words.
True.
Initially, he did think she was deliberately approaching him.
But later, he realized that it was all just coincidental.
He did resemble Alexander quite a lot, so it was normal for Charlotte to mistake him for her father.
The second time at the hospital, she accidentally got into his car while trying to avoid Justin and Karen.
And the third time at Chelsea Creek was simply a misunderstanding. Ellena herself confirmed it was a misunderstanding.
So he dispelled the thought of her deliberately approaching him.
"Deliberately approaching me? Isn't it because you like me? Want to attract my attention? Whether it's for money or for people, at least there's something about me that attracts you."
Even if it's just one thing, it's enough.
Samantha smiled. Tears streamed down her face as she smiled. The brighter the smile, the more bitter and painful her heart felt.
But, no matter how painful it was, she had to steel herself and force out cruel words, "No, I don't love money, and I don't like you either. I approached you because you were Suzy's fiancé. I just wanted to take everything away from her."
Ethan's pupils trembled violently. The expression on his face began to crack inch by inch. Beneath his calm exterior was a heart boiling with raging fury.
Samantha knew she had successfully angered him, so she continued, "Suzy framed me five years ago, causing me to become pregnant out of wedlock. My twin sons were stillborn, and I was kicked out of the house by my father, cutting off all ties. I endured silently for four years, returning to the capital city for revenge. And you were my first target."
Ethan's palm suddenly tightened.
Samantha's face was almost distorted by the pain.
She dared not breathe forcefully due to the pain.
Even so, she continued fearlessly, "Suzy was right. I knew from the beginning that Alexander was your son. Deliberately stealing Alexander was just to use him to get close to you."
Ethan was furious to the extreme, yet still maintained a shred of rationality. Through gritted teeth, he asked, "If that's the case, why did you tell me the truth?"
Samantha shrugged, pouting, "My plan succeeded, you're no longer useful to me. I don't want to play with you anymore! Actually, I didn't want to make things so final, but you were just too annoying, always pestering me. I had no choice but to tell you the truth!"
Ethan's entire face slowly began to contort, becoming grotesque and terrifying. His eyes were bloodshot, like a crazed wild beast, as he grabbed her neck, forcibly lifting her head, and gritted his teeth, "You dare to play me!"
Samantha looked straight into his almost crazy eyes, feigning indifference, "I just wanted to play a game, but I didn't expect you to actually develop real feelings. Ha... if Suzy knew that the man she couldn't get no matter what easily fell for me, do you think she'd be furious?"
"Samantha, you're asking for death..."
Her words were undoubtedly the last straw that shattered his faith. They caused Ethan's remaining shreds of sanity to completely disappear. All his anger was vented onto the hand choking her neck.
At this moment, she was like a fragile little chick, ready to be snapped at any moment by him.
Samantha silently closed her eyes, enduring his towering rage.
This was what she owed him, for deliberately provoking him from the start. Let her pay with her life...
***