Chapter 5 - Eight Years of FuelEthan didn't quit university.
Driven by a dark, volatile rage, he channeled every ounce of his heartbreak into relentless ambition. He worked twenty-hour days, finished his degree at the top of his class, built a commercial construction firm from scratch, and transformed into a ruthless, unstoppable billionaire real estate titan in Chicago.
For eight long years, he never returned to Willow Creek. He never called Ruth. He erased Mayaâs name from his lips, convincing himself that money and power were the only shields against betrayal.
He bought a penthouse in Chicago, drove luxury cars, and wore custom suits. Yet every Sunday morning, he would wake up in the quiet dark, staring at his bare finger where a pawn shop ring used to sit, feeling a hollow void in his chest that no amount of wealth could ever fill.
Then, in December of his thirty-first year, Ethanâs mother, Patty, called him from Willow Creek.
âEthan,â Patty spoke softly over the phone. âRuth Bennett is in the hospital. She asked to see you before she passes.â
Ethan sat in his mahogany executive office in downtown Chicago, his fists clenching tightly.
May you like
âI have no business with the Bennett family, Mom,â Ethan said coldly.
âEthan,â Patty urged gently, her voice thick with tears. âCome home. Youâve been running for eight years.â
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