For three years, I believed Ethan Carter’s disappearance was the end of our story.

I thought he had chosen my cousin over me.

I thought he had abandoned four years of love because someone else was more convenient.

I thought the pain was the worst part.

I was wrong.

The worst part was discovering that the truth was much more complicated.

Because when Ethan returned to my life, he didn’t come back as the man who broke my heart.

He came back as a man who looked like he had lost everything.

And somehow…

I was the only person who could give it back.

After seeing Sophie’s post, I stared at the screen for several minutes.

That balcony.

That apartment.

There was no way I could mistake it.

Three years ago, Ethan had told me he rented that apartment near the river because it was close to his overseas office.

He had even sent me videos of the view.

He told me:

“One day, when we get married, we’ll wake up somewhere like this.”

I believed him.

I believed every promise.

Until he disappeared.

My assistant knocked on the office door.

“Director Carter, the foreign subsidiary manager is waiting for your approval.”

I closed my phone.

“Send him in.”

A few seconds later, Ethan walked inside.

The confident man who once held my hand at the airport was gone.

This Ethan looked exhausted.

His suit was expensive.

But his eyes were not the eyes of someone who had won.

“Claire.”

I looked at him.

“Manager Ethan.”

He lowered his gaze.

The distance between us seemed to hurt him.

“You really hate me now, don’t you?”

I didn’t answer.

Because hate required emotion.

And I had spent three years learning how to live without him.

“I waited for you,” he whispered.

A small smile appeared on my face.

“No.”

His expression froze.

“You waited for someone else.”

Silence.

The room became painfully quiet.

Ethan clenched his hands.

“Claire, what you saw…”

“I saw enough.”

“No.”

His voice became urgent.

“You don’t understand.”

I looked at him.

“Then explain.”

For a moment, I thought he finally would.

But instead, he looked away.

And that hesitation told me more than any confession could.

Because Ethan had always been good at explaining things.

Except when the truth was too ugly to say.

Before he could speak, my assistant entered.

“Director Carter.”

She placed a folder on my desk.

“This was delivered from the overseas subsidiary.”

I opened it.

The first page was a financial report.

The second page made my expression change.

A transfer record.

A large amount of company money.

Sent three years ago.

To an account under Sophie Grant’s name.

I looked up slowly.

Ethan noticed my expression.

“What is it?”

I turned the document toward him.

His face instantly changed.

“You didn’t know?”

The silence answered.

I leaned back in my chair.

Interesting.

Very interesting.

Because Ethan had spent three years letting me believe he betrayed me.

But now I was starting to wonder…

Was he protecting Sophie?

Or was Sophie controlling him?

That evening, I asked my private investigator to look into everything from the past three years.

Not because I wanted Ethan back.

That chapter was over.

I wanted the truth.

The next morning, the report arrived.

And the first sentence made me stop breathing.

“Ethan Carter did not voluntarily disappear from the country.”

I read the line again.

Then again.

Attached were travel records.

Bank transactions.

Messages.

And one detail that made my hands tighten around the paper.

Five days after Ethan arrived overseas…

Sophie moved into his apartment.

But she didn’t move in alone.

She brought documents.

Documents related to Ethan’s career.

Documents that could destroy his position if they were exposed.

I looked at the final page.

There was a screenshot of a message Sophie sent to someone.

The recipient’s name was hidden.

But the words were clear.

“Don’t worry. Claire will never know what happened.”

My heart went cold.

Because suddenly, everything changed.

Maybe Ethan wasn’t the person who left me.

Maybe someone had made sure he could never come back.

At noon, Ethan appeared outside my office again.

This time, I didn’t ask him to sit.

“What do you want?”

He looked at me for a long moment.

Then he said:

“I need to tell you why I disappeared.”

I crossed my arms.

“You had three years.”

“I know.”

His voice broke slightly.

“But if I tell you the truth…”

He paused.

“You might hate me even more.”

I smiled faintly.

“Ethan, you already lost the right to decide what hurts me.”

He looked down.

Then slowly placed an old envelope on my desk.

My name was written on it.

My handwriting.

But I had never seen it before.

“What is this?”

“The letter I tried to send you three years ago.”

I opened it carefully.

The first line immediately made my entire body freeze.

Claire, if you are reading this, it means Sophie succeeded in making everyone believe I abandoned you.

I looked up.

Ethan’s eyes were filled with regret.

And for the first time in three years…

I wondered if the man I hated was also someone who had been destroyed.

But then I turned the page.

And saw the final sentence.

The sentence Ethan had written before disappearing.

“Your father was right. The person closest to us is the one trying to take everything from us.”