Ethan's heart suddenly softened unreasonably.
He squatted down and gently wiped away the tears on her face, softly saying, "Don't you know you can call for a car? Walking for over an hour in high heels, aren't you tired?"
Upon hearing his words, Samantha was momentarily stunned.
She forgot about her tears, which hung on her eyelashes.
From being a pitiful little bunny, she transformed into a silly little bunny.
Yes!
She could have called for a car!
Just now, she was so angry that she completely forgot she could book a car online.
It was all Ethan's fault.
If it weren't for him making her angry, how could she have forgotten?
Seeing through her thoughts at a glance, Ethan sighed helplessly in his heart, "Alright, it's all my fault. I shouldn't have interfered. I shouldn't have left you alone here! I know I was wrong. Can I take you back now?"
Samantha stubbornly refused, "No! I'll call a car myself!"
With that, she took out her phone and skillfully operated it.
Ethan could hardly resist biting off his tongue.
He regretted reminding Samantha of this option.
As she booked the ride, Samantha proudly showed her phone to Ethan, "I've booked a car. You can leave now!"
Ethan glared at her viciously and, disregarding her wishes, forcefully lifted her up from the ground.
Losing her balance, Samantha instinctively hugged his neck in fear.
"What are you doing? Put me down quickly."
"As a man, I shouldn't leave you, a woman, alone here, especially since it takes at least an hour for the ride to arrive."
"I..."
Without giving her a chance to speak, Ethan continued, "If Noah and Alex knew I left you alone here, they would break off ties with me."
Samantha rolled her eyes at him.
"What does their relationship with you have to do with me? Put me down quickly."
Ignoring her protests, Ethan carried her to the passenger seat.
Struggling to get out, Samantha found herself secured with a seatbelt by Ethan, who threatened, "Don't move, or I don't know what I might do."
Hearing this, Samantha dared not move.
Satisfied, Ethan returned to the driver's seat.
To avoid being scolded, Samantha quickly canceled the ride.
In the cramped cabin, the faint scent of gardenias on the woman became increasingly intense, stimulating every nerve of Ethan.
Leaning against the car window, Samantha gazed thoughtfully at the scenery outside, lost in her thoughts.
Ethan glanced at her through the rearview mirror and couldn't help asking, "Are you really going to marry Justin?"
Samantha didn't answer.
Ethan continued, "What about Alex?"
This time, Samantha finally spoke, "Alex has you as his father and his biological mother. At most, I have a nurturing relationship with him."
The cold words made Ethan furrow his brow.
"If Alex hears what you just said, he will be very sad."
Samantha fell silent again.
Let him be sad!
Cutting the Gordian knot.
She should never have had any involvement with the Steele family.
Samantha deliberately maintained a strong attitude, plunging the car into a mysterious silence.
Ethan felt a strong blockage in his chest, his heart being tightly entangled by vines, making it hard for him to breathe. His hands gripped the steering wheel tightly, and due to the excessive force, his knuckles turned pale.
Silence prevailed throughout the journey.
Upon reaching their destination, Samantha thanked him and promptly opened the car door to get out.
Watching her resolute departure, Ethan's rationality was consumed by anger.
Without hesitation, he opened the car door, caught up to her, grabbed her wrist, and pressed her against the hood of the car. With his other hand firmly holding her chin, he gritted his teeth and asked, "Samantha Miller, what am I to you?"
Although he already had an answer in his heart. Samantha had shattered his pride countless times.
But he just couldn't completely let go, couldn't stop asking.
Looking at the handsome face so close to her, Samantha felt a sharp sourness in her heart.
Her eyes grew hot, tears welling up.
She wanted to cry.
But she forced herself not to.
Pretending to be strong, she said, "Ethan Steele, I appreciate your care for me during this time, but we are not suitable for each other! Our families, backgrounds, and personalities are not compatible. Even if we force ourselves together, the end result will be separation."
Ethan remained expressionless. "Don't change the subject, answer my question."
Looking into his earnest eyes, Samantha's heart ached.
She almost blurted out her true feelings, but thankfully, she managed to regain her composure at the critical moment.
With a hardened heart, she said, "In my heart, you've always been a tool for dealing with Suzy. Besides that, I have no feelings for you."
No.
She did have feelings.
How could she not!
But she couldn't admit it.
Once she did, they would only become more entangled.
They had to sever all ties cleanly and thoroughly.
At this moment, Ethan's heart felt like it was encased in ice, cold to the core.
A chill spread from his heart through his body with every beat of his blood.
"I'm really pathetic, actually harboring a glimmer of hope for you!"
With that, he released her disappointedly, turned around, got back into the car, and drove away.
Samantha stood still, her fists clenched tightly at her sides, using the pain to distract herself from the heartache.
It took her a while to regain her strength before she slowly made her way upstairs.
After taking a shower and dispelling the fatigue from her body, she hurried off to the kindergarten.
Meanwhile, at the kindergarten.
Charlotte and her classmates were playing games on the playground.
A skinny little boy stood quietly in the corner of the playground, watching everyone with envy but too timid to approach.
Charlotte noticed him standing alone and immediately ran over, taking his hand and smiling, "Are you called Elliot James?"
The little boy looked at her shyly and nodded.
Charlotte grinned. Her smile was as sweet and beautiful as a crescent moon.
"Then can I call you Elli?"
Elliot nodded again but still didn't speak.
Charlotte took out some candies from her pocket and secretly handed them to him, whispering, "These are the candies I hid, for you! Don't let the teacher find out, or she'll confiscate them!"
Elliot looked at the candies in his hand, pleasantly surprised, and momentarily forgot to reply.
Charlotte reached out to him, "Hello, Elli! My name is Charlotte Miller. Nice to meet you!"
From morning till now, she had been secretly observing Elliot.
She noticed that he was very out of place.
While all the other kids played together, he stood quietly on the side, watching.
When everyone eagerly lined up for lunch, he stood at the back silently, not competing.
She could feel that he wanted to join in.
But he was always too afraid to approach them.
So she took the initiative to come over.
Elliot's face lit up with a smile that had been absent for a long time, and he slowly reached out, holding Charlotte's hand, "Hello, nice to meet you Charlotte!"
His hand trembled slightly with excitement.
Charlotte held his hand and said warmly, "Come on, I'll take you to play. The kids in our class are all very friendly, they won't bully you..."
Elliot looked at Charlotte's chubby little hand, and a warmth he had never felt before welled up inside him.
...
After school.
The children were gradually picked up by their parents.
Only Charlotte and Elliot's parents hadn't arrived yet.
Afraid that Elliot would be scared, Charlotte held his hand again and comforted him gently, "Don't be afraid, I'm here with you and the teacher..."
Elliot looked at Charlotte with red eyes, feeling deeply moved.
Before long, Samantha's figure appeared at the door.
Seeing her, Charlotte's eyes sparkled with excitement, and she ran over joyfully, hugging her legs, "Mommy, you're finally here!"
Samantha squatted down, patting her little head apologetically, "I'm sorry, I was late because of something!"
Charlotte shook her head obediently, "It's okay, Mommy, I know you're busy."
Her sensible behavior made Samantha feel relieved.
Charlotte held her hand and pointed to the only new student who hadn't been picked up by a parent, sympathetically saying, "Mommy, that's the new student who came to our kindergarten today, and also my new friend! His name is Elliot James."
Samantha looked at the little boy.
The moment she saw his face, a strange sense of familiarity surged through her heart.
There was something familiar about this little boy's features.
Like she had seen him somewhere before.
At this moment, Charlotte suddenly spoke, interrupting Samantha's thoughts, "Mommy, do you know? Elli is very pitiful. He has never had a mother since he was little, and his father doesn't care about him. He always hits him."
After becoming familiar with Elli today, he told her a lot about what happened at home.
From him, she learned that he had never had a mother since he was little.
His father didn't care about him.
He thought of him as a burden.
He would hit him when he was in a bad mood.
He would hit him even when he drank.
His small body was covered in bruises.
He had a really tough life.
She vowed to treat Elli well and give him warmth and love.
Samantha patted Charlotte's little head and said casually, "Silly girl, how could parents not care about their children? Maybe his father is too busy to take care of his emotions."
With that, she held Charlotte's hand and said, "It's getting late, let's go home!"
"Yeah!"
Charlotte nodded vigorously.
Following Samantha, they walked towards the car parked not far away.
"Mommy, can you make more food tomorrow? I want to bring some to school for Elli."
Samantha started the car, paying attention to the road ahead while saying casually, "Sure, I'll make some more little cakes tomorrow."
Charlotte's eyes sparkled with joy.
The car drove steadily ahead.
Suddenly, a familiar face appeared in front of them.
Samantha widened her eyes in disbelief.
This man turned out to be Suzy's ex-boyfriend--Rex James.
Rex was as carefree as he was four years ago, holding a cigarette in his hand, his shirt casually tucked into his pants, stubble on his face.
Samantha craned her neck, wanting to take a closer look, but the car had already driven far away.
In the rearview mirror, Rex became smaller and smaller, gradually turning into a black dot.
Samantha could only helplessly give up.
After all, Rex and Suzy were already a thing of the past, and his appearance here had nothing to do with her.
Little did she know that shortly after she left, Rex appeared at the entrance of the kindergarten.
***