Chapter 141: Chapter 139: You’re Wrong, I Will Never Bless You in This Lifetime (3)
Her phone rang again. Jean Grant held it in her hand and saw it was a call from Herman Hawthorne. Marlon tried to take it from her, but she stopped him. "This is Herman’s call. I have to take it."
Marlon had no choice but to stop.
"Jean, where are you right now?"
Jean Grant didn’t dare say she was at a hotel, so she just named a location near it.
"I’m at the South Gate, Herman. Is something up?"
He said calmly, "Here’s the thing, I’m at the South Gate too. I need to talk to you about something important. Tell me your exact location, and I’ll come find you."
Marlon shook his head at Jean and pointed at the phone, gesturing for her to wrap it up so they could get back to what they were doing.
"I can’t, Herman. I’m busy with something right now. How about we talk some other day?"
Herman Hawthorne had no choice but to say, "Alright, we’ll talk another day then."
After hanging up, Herman looked at Ethan Ellsworth, who was sitting on the sofa. "Stop waiting. She’s not coming. She’s at the South Gate."
Ethan Ellsworth muttered to himself, "South Gate? As far as I know, Marlon’s family doesn’t live anywhere near there. They must be together. There’s nothing to do in that area, unless—"
Herman put his phone away and said, "They’re at a hotel. What standing do you have to interfere? Besides, Ethan, they’re a legitimate couple. If you meddle, you’re no better than someone trying to break them up."
Ethan shot to his feet and strode toward the door. Herman jumped up too. "Where are you going?"
Ethan walked quickly, not saying a word, his expression impossibly grim.
If Herman hadn’t broken into a run, he might not have made it to Ethan’s car in time.
He barely managed to get in before the car sped off.
"Hey! If you’re not going to consider your own safety driving this fast, at least consider mine!"
Ethan stared straight ahead. Seeing his friend’s terrifyingly grim expression, Herman said tentatively, "You don’t really think they went to the South Gate to get a room, do you? Jean has always been a girl with self-respect. She wouldn’t be so reckless."
He finally spoke. "I would have thought so before, but tonight she told me she wanted to get engaged to me. That’s obviously not normal. A cornered dog will leap over a wall, to say nothing of a person."
Herman quickly understood what he meant. "You’re saying she was pressured by Mrs. Grant?"
"Is there any other explanation? I heard the call. I clearly heard her say her mom told her to meet me at Lips to discuss the engagement. She never showed. What does that tell you?"
Herman understood immediately.
A few minutes later, the car arrived in the lobby of the first hotel in the South Gate area.
And just like that, at the very first hotel, they got Jean Grant’s room number from the front desk.
’Ethan’s mind really is something else,’ Herman thought. ’His judgment is spot-on.’
After getting a spare room key from the front desk, Ethan clutched it and walked toward the elevator.
Some twenty seconds later, they finally reached the sixteenth floor.
Standing before room 1688, he took out the key and inserted it into the door.
With a few turns, the door opened.
Even though he had braced himself, the scene that greeted him was still agonizing.
Jean’s top was completely gone, and her pants were halfway down. Marlon Marshall was on top of her, one hand still resting on her breast.
Jean yanked the blanket over to cover her top half. Marlon also got off her, his face cold.
"Ethan Ellsworth! Don’t you know how wrong it is to just burst into someone’s room? How could you come in without knocking!"
"If I had knocked, the two of you would be going at it by now, wouldn’t you?"
His blunt words made Jean flush, a vein throbbing on her forehead as shame turned to fury. "Even if we were doing something, what business is it of yours?! Why do you, an outsider, keep meddling in my life?!"
Just then, Marlon spoke up. "I know you like Jean, but she doesn’t like you. Please, stop being the third party in our relationship, can you?"
Ethan’s face was beyond livid. He lifted his foot and kicked Marlon straight in the stomach, following it with a savage beating. Jean, terrified, scrambled off the bed wrapped in the blanket and tried to pull him away. "Ethan Ellsworth! Are you insane?! Stop it!"
Ethan actually stopped. He got off Marlon and glared down at the man, who was lying motionless on the ground from the beating. "’Third party’? You dare say that again?"
Clutching the blanket, Jean knelt beside Marlon and took out a tissue to wipe the blood from his face. "Are you okay?"
Marlon slowly sat up. "Why wouldn’t I dare? Ethan Ellsworth, don’t think you’re so great just because you’re some big star and your family is rich and connected. You like Jean so much, but Jean just doesn’t like you. There are things you can’t have, too. Feeling frustrated?"
Ethan swung another fist into his face. Marlon was knocked against the side of the bed, but he kept talking. "Even if you beat me to death, Jean won’t like you. She’ll only hate you more."
Finished, he looked at her. "Isn’t that right, Jean?"
Tears streamed down Jean’s face as she nodded at Marlon.
Ethan stood there, his mind a complete blank.
Herman, unable to watch any longer, grabbed Marlon and dragged him out. Jean hurriedly tried to follow, but Ethan grabbed her with one hand. The door slammed shut with a BANG and was locked from the inside.
Jean stood by the door and roared at him, "Get away!"
Ethan approached her, his voice as cold and sharp as shards of ice. "You’re that desperate to be with a man, are you?"
Jean took two steps back. "I just want to be with Marlon. Is that so wrong?"
"Yes. I won’t allow it."
Jean was practically spitting with fury. "What right do you have to stop me from being with the man I love? Who do you think you are?!"
Ethan ripped the blanket off her and threw it on the floor. Jean cried out in alarm, and before she could react, he forcibly pushed her down onto that same blanket.
She was terrified, her voice trembling. "Ethan Ellsworth! What are you doing?"
He pinned her arms and leaned down to look at her. "What am I doing? Whatever you wanted, I’ll give it to you. You want a man right now? Well, I’m available. Top-shelf quality, even. What’s not to like?"
Ethan moved to kiss her. Jean turned her head to one side. He followed, and she twisted her head to the other. This went back and forth until finally, he grabbed her chin with one hand, capturing her lips with unerring accuracy.
Jean struggled fiercely, but it was obviously useless. She couldn’t move, so she resorted to biting him. But it was as if Ethan knew she would bite, and he kept her chin clamped in his hand, not letting go.
It was an agonizing ordeal.
Jean struggled until she had no strength left, enduring sheer agony the entire time.
