Ethan noticed her expression and felt a sense of triumph.
"Mr. Fletcher, rest assured, I will personally send you the wedding invitation, and please make sure to attend," he said with a smirk.
Justin smiled warmly, "Sure, of course!" Holding Samantha's hand, their fingers intertwined, he flaunted yet remained polite, "For our wedding, I also hope Mr. Steele can find the time to come."
Ethan was seething with anger. His eyes fixed firmly on their intertwined hands, a fire burning in his chest.
She felt a subtle undercurrent between them, and Suzy cleared her throat twice, looking at the ring on Samantha's finger intentionally. "Samantha, is that a wedding ring on your hand? It's so beautiful!"
Samantha instinctively wanted to hide her hand, but it was held tightly by Justin and couldn't be pulled away. She could only laugh awkwardly without answering.
Suzy, like a flexible snake, leaned against Ethan, looking at Samantha, "Ethan, those rings are so beautiful, why don't we buy a pair exactly like them?"
Ethan felt uncomfortable with her embrace. He was uncomfortable all over.
But constrained by Samantha's presence, he didn't push her away. Instead, he wrapped his arm around her waist and said to the salesperson, "Get us a pair of rings exactly like theirs, but with bigger diamonds."
The salesperson apologized, "Sir, I'm sorry, but there's only one pair of those diamond rings. They're limited edition!"
As he spoke, he took out another pair and placed them in front of them, "This style is similar to the other one, but the diamonds are larger. Are you satisfied?"
Ethan glanced at the diamond ring the salesperson handed over and then at the one on Samantha's finger.
Hmm!
The styles were indeed very similar.
And the diamonds were larger.
He didn't hesitate to hand the salesperson his black card, "We'll take this one, please wrap it up."
The salesperson didn't expect him to be so generous and readily accepted the card with a smile.
Justin observed all of Ethan's actions and smiled meaningfully, "President Steele and Mrs. Steele have such a good relationship, it's truly admirable."
His words made Suzy blossom with joy. Her smile couldn't be any brighter. She cast a triumphant glance at Samantha. As if to say: See, I'm still the ultimate winner, Ethan is still mine.
Samantha didn't look at her, feeling a sourness in her chest, a pain spreading from her heart to her limbs and bones.
They had agreed to keep their distance. But her emotions were still unconsciously drawn by Ethan.
Ethan's sharp eyes stared at Samantha fiercely. Seeing her indifferent expression, as if she didn't care, a sense of restlessness surged from the depths of his heart.
Justin noticed the unusual atmosphere between Ethan and Samantha, comfortingly stroked her palm with his thumb, and after signaling to her, he took out his black card and handed it to the salesperson.
"We'll take those rings too!"
Samantha exclaimed, "Justin, I..."
Theirs was a dead end.
She didn't want Justin to waste his money.
But Justin didn't mind, saying, "There's only one pair of these rings, symbolizing uniqueness, and I like that symbolism!"
Samantha was at a loss for words, only able to watch helplessly as Justin paid.
Ethan nearly bit his tongue in anger.
He had wanted to upset Samantha, but it seemed that he was the one more upset in the end.
After buying the rings, Justin and Samantha directly put them on their fingers.
Ethan, out of spite, also put the ring on his finger and said to Suzy, "No need to take off the ring, just wear it. I want the whole world to know you're my woman."
After saying this, Ethan felt nauseous. But to save face, he couldn't show it and had to pretend to be pleased.
Justin suddenly spoke up, interrupting Ethan's thoughts, "Mr. Steele, we have something else to attend to, so we'll be leaving now! I'll have someone send you the invitation another day."
With that, he took Samantha's hand and moved to leave.
Ethan stepped forward to block their path, "Where are you going? Since we have nothing to do, let's go together!"
Before Justin could respond, Samantha spoke up, "I think we're going in different directions..."
Ethan narrowed his eyes, still smiling, but the smile didn't reach his eyes, "How do you know we're going in different directions?"
Samantha deliberately raised the hand intertwined with Justin's, smiling, "We're going to pick up Charlotte after school and then go home to cook dinner together. Do you want to come home with us?"
Ethan fell silent, his face turning sour as if he had eaten something unpleasant.
Samantha had won, leading Justin away by the hand.
Ethan watched them leave, his eyes filled with resentment.
Suzy still didn't understand the situation and affectionately hooked her arm around Ethan's, saying, "Ethan, let's go eat too! I heard there's a new restaurant in this mall, the food..."
Before she could finish speaking, Ethan suddenly pulled his arm away, pushing her away disdainfully.
Suzy, wearing high heels, was pushed hard and twisted her ankle, falling to the ground in pain.
Ethan took off his coat and threw it in the trash, saying disgustedly, "Don't touch me..."
"Ethan..." Suzy looked at him in disbelief.
She couldn't believe that the man who had just been gentle and generous to her had suddenly become a different person.
Ethan looked down at her from above, his voice stern, "Remember, don't gossip outside, be smart, and cooperate with me."
He said nothing more, not even glancing back at her, and heartlessly walked away.
Watching his departing figure, Suzy finally understood.
She had been used by Ethan.
To provoke Samantha, Ethan deliberately announced to the public that they were about to get married.
And he even deliberately bought her a diamond ring.
Thinking of this, her palm suddenly clenched, the carefully manicured nails breaking into two on the tiled floor.
...
Inside the elevator, he took out his phone and dialed Alexander's number.
The call connected, and Alexander's voice sounded weak and listless, "What's up?"
Since the news that Samantha was going to marry Justin, Alexander and Noah had been looking like they had lost all spirit, as if the sky were falling.
Ethan had become accustomed to it and didn't inquire further, getting straight to the point, "No matter what you do, you must follow Samantha home later."
Alexander seemed to think it was inconceivable, exclaiming, "Go home with Mommy? Dad, are you okay?"
Ethan frowned, about to say something, when he heard Alexander say angrily, "Have you forgotten? You transferred us to another kindergarten! We're not in the same kindergarten as Charlotte now."
Just mentioning it made him furious. No matter how he and Noah resisted, he didn't relent and transferred them to another school. And he didn't even arrange for a driver to pick them up.
As a result, Alexander and Noah hadn't seen Mommy for a long time.
"Transferred?" Ethan seemed to just remember this, and the anger in his chest instantly deflated. His shoulders slumped weakly.
"I got it! It's fine now!"
With that, ignoring Alexander's protests, he decisively hung up the phone.
He clenched his fingers tightly around the phone.
Thinking of the call just now, he couldn't help but want to slap himself.
He was really useless.
He had promised never to have any contact.
And what was the result?
Unconsciously, he was drawn to Samantha.
Damn it!
Although he knew he was pathetic, Ethan still took out his phone and dialed Jade's number. "Investigate Justin and Karen's past thoroughly for me."
Jade was astonished, "Sir, why are you investigating this?"
For some reason, he had a bad premonition.
Ethan replied displeasedly, "Not just Karen, but all the women around Justin."
Jade reponded, "...Okay!"
***