Unveiled: The Survivor's Triumph
Chapter 72 I Won't Forget Her, But I've Let Go

I couldn't let this golden chance slip by. "So, what's the deal with the sale contract? And those photos? And today, you told the cop you had some big info-spill it. Why'd you go to the cops and then just drop it? Who called you?" I bombarded Ethan with all the questions I had, and he just chuckled. "One at a time, will ya?"

Yeah, I was freaking out. This stuff felt like a boulder on my chest, making it hard to breathe.

Ethan grabbed my hand, pulled me back a bit, and we plopped down on the dry sand. "I said I'd answer, and I will. Chill out and don't cut me off."

I took a deep breath, tried to calm my nerves, and nodded.

Ethan bent one leg, rested an arm on it, and stared at the moonlit sea. "This morning, I saw that gossip and thought about how you always cry. You'd definitely cry over this."

"I didn't cry!" I blurted out.

"Don't interrupt," he said.

I zipped my lips and kept listening.

"I knew you blocked me, but I still hoped you'd pick up. I thought maybe, just maybe, you'd unblock me to yell at me or something. But nope, still blocked."

He sounded pretty salty about me blocking him.

"Get to the point," I nudged.

Ethan shot me a look and smirked. "What's the rush?"

He pulled out a cigarette and lit it. The smoke quickly vanished in the sea breeze.

"I showed you the sale contract to expose Arthur. That day, he lost a million bucks, and when he couldn't pay up, I made him sign that contract. Yeah, I was out for revenge."

My heart sank. He must've noticed because he added, "Don't get all disappointed yet; I'm not done."

I sat cross-legged, back straight, every nerve on edge.

"I do have beef with Arthur, but I have my limits. I wouldn't drag you into it, so even with the contract, I didn't touch you. But I had to make him pay, right? So I took that photo and sent it to Arthur." I was floored. "So Arthur has the photo too? Did he do this?"

Ethan took a drag, the smoke quickly fading. "If not him, then who? You think he wouldn't pull something like this?"

I still didn't get it. "Why'd you stop chasing it? Was that call from him?"

Ethan looked at me, teeth clenched, looking pissed. "Arthur threatened me, said he had dirt on you and told me to back off."

I didn't think he had anything on me. "You got played," I said.

Ethan looked at me, defeated. "It involves you, so I can't risk it."

Then he let out a cold laugh. "This ain't over. Let's see who wins in the end."

"Did your stocks take a hit too?" I asked.

Ethan laughed it off. "Don't sweat it, this little hiccup is nothing. Skyline International Corporation won't crumble. I'll bounce back soon."

The sea breeze blew in, salty and damp. Ethan's cigarette burned out, and he flicked the butt away.

I wrestled with myself before finally asking what I really wanted to know. "What's the beef between you and Arthur? And what's up with Fiona?"

Ethan's face went stiff. He seemed lost and quickly lit another cigarette. He was quiet for a long time.

I knew asking about Fiona was a sore spot, but I had to. We couldn't move forward without clearing this up.

Just when I thought he wouldn't answer, he said, "She was the only woman I ever truly liked."

The word "only" stung, but I appreciated his honesty.

I'd rather he be straight with me, even if it hurt, than keep everything bottled up.

Then he started talking about his past with Fiona, and suddenly, I got him a bit more.

Turned out, Fiona was a bar singer back then. Jason said they met because they stood up for her. But Ethan's story was different; they knew each other before that. Their first meeting was on a mountain. Ethan had biked to the top alone and found Fiona playing guitar and singing at the summit.

Standing up for her later was because of that first meeting.

With shared interests and both being young, they quickly hit it off.

Fiona was this super talented chick with a killer voice and mad skills at writing songs. She had her own vibe, but she could never sing her own stuff at the bar. She hated the songs the customers wanted, but she had to suck it up and sing them 'cause she needed the cash.

Ethan's family had money, and he was the hotshot at school, thanks to his looks. Fiona already felt there was a gap between them, and when Victor found out about their relationship, he was totally against it, making her feel even worse. From what I picked up from Victor's tone last time, he had a low opinion of Fiona 'cause she was just a bar singer, and bars had a bad rep back then.

Ethan and Victor never got along, so he didn't give a damn about Victor's disapproval and stuck with Fiona.

Fiona wasn't short on admirers either; her beauty and talent caught a lot of eyes, including Arthur's. Out of nowhere, one day, Fiona dumped Ethan. When he asked why, she said she had fallen for Arthur.

Ethan, being young and full of pride, didn't want to beg and started dating another girl out of spite.

By some twist of fate, when Ethan took that girl to the bar, they bumped into Arthur and Fiona.

Ethan played it cool and even told Arthur, "If you like my leftovers, have at it."

Now, Ethan admitted those words were just out of anger. Fiona looked down after hearing it, and she must've been crushed.

That night, Ethan got wasted and missed a bunch of calls and texts from Fiona. It wasn't until the middle of the night that he saw all the missed calls and messages.

Fiona: [We were never meant to be. I love you, but there's too much between us, and now I'm even less worthy of you.]

Fiona: [I just wanted to say goodbye. Let's end it where it all started.]

Ethan knew something was off and sobered up halfway.

A gut feeling made him drive to the mountain top where they first met, but he couldn't find her after searching for hours.

The next day, news broke that Fiona's body was found at the bottom of a cliff, and the cops initially called it a suicide.

Ethan said Fiona was a tough girl and would never do something like that unless she was seriously messed up.

He had a hunch Arthur was involved and started digging around. He found out Arthur had taken Fiona to a hotel that night, and the staff said she was wasted when Arthur brought her in. Ethan admitted he never touched Fiona during their time together because he thought it would be disrespectful before marriage, but Arthur had no such qualms and slept with her.

I thought Ethan not touching her showed how much he cared. He respected her deeply because he genuinely cared.

The next day, Ethan found Arthur at school and beat the crap out of him.

Given how pissed Ethan was, he felt like killing Arthur wouldn't have been too much, but the school authorities eventually broke it up.

That fight got Ethan expelled. He didn't care much at the time; he used it as a chance to ditch studying medicine.

Ethan laid out the whole story about him and Fiona, and it really hit me in the feels.

Jason was right; they must've been head over heels back then. If Fiona hadn't felt so inferior and if Victor hadn't meddled, they would've been together and envied by everyone.

It wasn't Ethan's fault, nor Fiona's. It all seemed like a cruel twist of fate.

The feelings that bloom during the best years of your life are always the hardest to forget, which is why he still remembered them. It showed he was someone who valued emotions deeply.

I was moved, but also felt a pang of bitterness.

"You still love her, don't you?" I asked.

After spilling the whole story, Ethan seemed to have let go of something and looked way more relaxed.

He put his hand on my shoulder, looked at me, and smiled faintly, with a hint of relief. "I won't forget her, but I've let go. The revenge was just 'cause fate handed me the chance. But I'm being real with you. I told you everything today 'cause I don't want you overthinking."

He was being straight with me, and I didn't have to guess about his past anymore. Maybe he could've spun another lie, but I chose to believe him.

Maybe Fiona would always have a spot in his heart, just like everyone has someone they keep deep inside.

I suddenly realized that the reason I cared so much was because I had too many expectations. But I couldn't help my feelings for a guy like him. Back at the beach house, Ethan went to shower, and his phone rang twice.

I usually never snooped through his phone, but for some reason, I picked it up this time.

When I opened the new message, I was instantly shocked, my heart pounding wildly.