If I Had Known
If I Had Known
“It’s ironic, isn’t it? Hayden went looking for Jack and because of that my father found out exactly where
he was hiding and who he was hiding as,” Ethan revealed with a look of pure disgust on his face.
“That’s not true…” I said in a shocked whisper.
“It’s true enough, trust me. Hayden found Jack and soon after your parents had that unfortunate
accident. My stupid father arranged it all. I had to beat him up until he was spurting out blood for him to
confess everything…” Ethan said emotionlessly like it was nothing.
“What?” I gasped in shock.
I wasn’t sure if I was more shocked that my father somehow died because of Hayden or the fact that
Ethan beat up his own dad for him to confess. Suddenly, these two men just seemed to come from a
different dimension from where I was accustomed to living. Is this how the real mafia world works? NôvelDrama.Org owns all © content.
“He didn’t tell you? How do you think I became the Head of Silva so soon?” Ethan hissed close to my
ear.
“No…you didn’t…” I said as I shook my head in denial.
“Yes, I killed them both. My father and my mother on that exact same night that I left you…” Ethan said
and I felt the heat from his fingertips as it stroked a line down the side of my face.
“No…” I whimpered.
“Succession wars inside a gang is quite normal for the mafia. The men wanted me to lead more than
my father so there wasn’t much of a fuss when I got rid of them both,” Ethan said with a shrug.
I couldn’t believe that the sweet Ethan that I knew could do something so heartless without feeling
bothered by it. He killed his own parents and he’s laughing about it? What is wrong with him?
Instead of getting scared of him, I felt anger boiling up inside of me.
“How can you say that?! Don’t say it like it’s nothing!” I screamed at him as I stood up from my seat.
Ethan probably doesn’t realize it, but I did. He’s hurting himself and I just couldn’t stand by and watch in
silence.
“That bastard killed Jack! He killed your father! He killed my father!” Ethan yelled at the top of his lungs
as he also got up from his seat.
Oh…that’s right. Ethan hated his parents. Jack, my father, was probably like a father to Ethan.
“Ethan…” I whispered his name as I felt and shared his pain and suffering.
Unlike me, who had been blissfully ignorant of everything for so long, Ethan had been suffering all
along and perhaps he was still suffering.
“Malissa…Lisa…it was all for you…” Ethan said as slowly lifted a hand and cupped my cheek.
Tears automatically feel from my eyes. I watched through my tears as he smiled gently yet sadly at me
before the pad of his thumb wiped my tears away.
“Ethan, please stop…” I whispered pleadingly.
Slowly, I raised my arms up and pulled him into a tight hug. I felt his body stiffen in surprise at my
forward action before he relaxed completely in my arms. His arms circled my body before I felt the
force of his embrace as he hugged me back.
“Please don’t say anymore…” I pleaded for him to stop.
As I held him in my arms, I wondered if thing would have ended up differently between us if I knew the
truth before this. I wondered and blamed myself for not seeing the various signs even when I lived with
him. Back then, I could tell sometimes that Ethan was visibly upset or frustrated. Why didn’t I try to help
him or understand him more before?
Even on that rainy night that he left me, I was too worried about myself, and my happiness and I never
fully understood the truth behind his parting words. If I knew the truth, perhaps there was a chance that
we would still be together today…
…
**That night**
The sound of thunder was so loud that I felt the ground shake beneath my feet. Were rainstorms
supposed to be common this time of the year? I shuddered from the sound of thunder again. Flashes of
light leaked in from the outside through the slit between the curtains from the lightning. It was pouring
outside and had been that way for hours now. At this rate, it’s going to rain all night until morning came.
It was very late at night, but I couldn’t go to sleep. One reason was the heavy and noisy rainstorm
outside while the other reason was the fact that Ethan hasn’t made it back home yet. To make matters
worse, I called him multiple times, but he never picked up. It was just very unusual. Without any logical
reason, I started to have a bad feeling about tonight.
Suddenly, the door to the room slammed open and there was Ethan in the doorway. I gasped in shock
at the sight of him all drenched from the rain with his wet black shirt plastered to his skin. His dark hair
was all wet as well and it made him look so wild.
“Ethan! What happened? Why are you back so late?” I asked as I ran to him.
He closed the door behind him and walked straight into the room without bothering to reply to my
questions.
“You’re drenched. How did you get so wet? What were you doing out there in the rain?” I asked in
confusion as I followed him into the room.
He was wet all over and the rain dripped onto the floor. Ethan had not said anything since he got back,
and I found that strange. He seemed lost in a daze, and I wasn’t sure if he could see or hear me at all.
“Ethan…” I called his name again.
Ethan didn’t reply to me, but his hands began rapidly stripping off his wet clothes, starting from his
black shirt and his pants, and the rest of his clothing quickly followed in succession. It must have been
very cold and wet outside. I prayed silently that he wouldn’t catch a cold. Just as I turned away to grab
him a towel for his shower, I felt a firm grip around my wrist.
--To be continued…