Seraphina subconsciously replied, "But I have to go in soon..."

"Get in the car!" Ethan's face darkened, his tone turning sharp, seemingly issuing a final ultimatum.

Chapter 3: Sing Until She Says Stop

Seraphina froze on the spot. Arthur couldn't stand it any longer and was about to speak up for her, but she stopped him. "Please let the director know for me. I'll make sure to be back before the show starts."

With that, she braced herself and got into the car.

Arthur still wanted to intervene, but in the next second, his unspoken words were choked back into his throat by the terrifyingly ruthless glare Ethan shot him. He could only watch helplessly as the supercar vanished in an instant.

Amidst the roaring engine, Seraphina buckled her seatbelt and asked cautiously, "Where are you taking me?"

Ethan replied casually, "To our deaths. Do you believe me?"

Seraphina's heart trembled. This seemingly joking statement sounded somewhat serious due to Ethan's cold voice.

A trace of loneliness flitted across her eyes, and she couldn't help but smile bitterly. "I believe you." She had never doubted a single word he said.

Ethan caught a glimpse of her from the corner of his eye, and his hands on the steering wheel gradually tightened. "Hypocrite."

The two light words felt like a thousand-pound boulder falling upon Seraphina's heart, crushing it with a stifling pain.

She tightly pressed her lips together and looked at his reflection in the side mirror, her hand unconsciously rubbing the hem of her clothes, her breathing so light as if she feared tearing her heart and lungs again.

From beginning to end, Ethan believed she had married him for money. He didn't believe in her love; he even sneered at it.

The neon lights outside the window flashed past rapidly, and the interior of the car was so quiet that only the sound of their respective breathing could be heard.

Twenty minutes later, the car finally came to a halt.

Seraphina got out of the car and let out a sigh of relief as if she had just escaped from a drowning deep sea.

But immediately after, she saw the three words written on the grand, magnificent entrance before her: The Mirage Club.

This was the most exclusive club in Riverdale.

"Why did you bring me here?" Seraphina looked at Ethan in astonishment, a trace of panic rising in her heart.

Ethan leaned forward, his warm breath brushing against her ear. "Don't you always want others to treat you as Mrs. Vance?"

A single sentence caused even more unease to swell within Seraphina's heart, even giving birth to the thought of fleeing.

"I... don't." She turned her head slightly, avoiding Ethan's captivating gaze.

Ethan straightened his posture, his gaze turning instantly cold. "If you don't want your pathetic radio show to be canceled..."

He didn't continue, but the threat was already self-evident.

Seraphina bit her lower lip, helplessly lowered her eyes, and followed Ethan inside.

The top-floor VIP private room.

Pushing the door open, a foul odor rushed into her face. Seraphina holding her breath involuntarily, furrowed her brows as she looked at Ethan ahead of her.

In the past, it was precisely because he always frequented such places that Grandfather Vance had scolded him for neglecting his proper duties, refusing to hand over the family business to him for the longest time.

She didn't expect that even now, when Ethan had taken over Vance Enterprises, he hadn't restrained himself at all.

"Ethan." Seraphina tugged at his sleeve, her gentle tone carrying a few hints of pleading. "Send me back to the station."

However, Ethan pulled his hand back, took a long stride forward, and sat down. Seraphina's empty hand froze, and she suddenly felt at a total loss.

Several heavily made-up women in the private room had already gathered around Ethan, causing her steps to pause as she wanted to follow.

Everyone noticed Seraphina standing at the door.

She was wearing a white shirt and a black skirt, with long, straight black hair, looking pure and moving, completely out of place in an environment like this.

"Oh! Has our CEO Vance changed his taste? Fancied this kind of plain noodle now?"

Someone said mockingly, and the crowd burst into laughter. Seraphina pressed her lips tightly together, remaining silent.

With a cigarette hanging between his lips, Ethan introduced unhurriedly, "Seraphina Cross. The CEO's wife."

His tone was frivolous, not like a man introducing his wife to others at all, but rather like displaying a "commodity."

Seraphina's heart twitched ruthlessly, wondering what exactly he wanted to do.

"Seraphina Cross?" A woman leaning against Ethan sized her up with hostility. "That radio host?"

Her eyes narrowed, and she suddenly pulled Ethan's arm, saying in a doll-like voice, "Ethan, then she must be a pretty good singer, right? Perfect timing. The girl who usually sings has a bad throat today, so let her sing..."

Hearing those words, Seraphina's entire body shook.

Was this statement directly comparing her to those hostesses?

Seraphina's hand holding her bag tightened instantly. Looking at Ethan, she feigned composure. "Can I leave now?"

But Ethan picked up the microphone and looked at her. "Sing until she is satisfied, and then you can leave."

Chapter 4: Have a Candy, My Friend

Ethan's gaze was like a cage trapping her entire being, making it difficult to escape.

Seraphina's tightly clenched hands gradually loosened. She walked over, each step heavy as if treading on her own heart.

With her head lowered, she took the microphone from Ethan's hand.

Those fingertips, cold as snow, caused Ethan's eyes to darken, and a trace of reluctance surged in his heart, but it lasted only an instant before returning to cold hardness.

One song after another, Seraphina sang without stopping.

The screen before her eyes seemed to be constantly enlarging, growing so large that it made her eyes ache and sting, even blurring her vision.

Until her voice gradually grew hoarse, that woman still didn't call a stop, instead deliberately calling out "Ethan" over and over again.

Ethan drank his wine, a cynical smile still playing on his face, yet he kept looking toward Seraphina unconsciously.

Meanwhile, with red eyes, Seraphina poured all her suffering into the songs. The next song was Let's Just Part Ways.

Seraphina's hand holding the microphone trembled, her voice already raspy. "Let it be... No matter how much I give, it's never enough... I'm too much trouble, constantly letting myself get hurt... I don't want to make a fool of myself anymore."

Her gradually choking voice caused Ethan's heart to grow restless, and his brow furrowed unconsciously.

Seraphina, however, seemed to have fully immersed herself in the emotion, her singing causing the noise in the private room to quiet down quite a bit.

She was always stubborn, refusing to see the past clearly. It wasn't that she couldn't see that he didn't love her; she just didn't want to let go, fearing they would simply part ways...

"Stop singing," Ethan suddenly commanded, his furious voice sending a chill down everyone's spine, and the entire private room instantly fell silent.

But Seraphina acted as if she hadn't heard a thing, continuing to sing.

"I said, stop singing!"

In a flash, the microphone in her hand was snatched away by Ethan, leaving a burning pain in her palm.

The microphone slammed onto the floor, emitting a piercing screech.

Seraphina stared at him blankly, her nearly numb heart desperately beating at a painful frequency.

Looking at her slightly reddened eyes, Ethan's breathing turned somewhat rapid. Gritting his teeth, he forced out a single word: "Get out."

Seraphina let out a smile without any awareness, though the smile looked sadder than crying.

She opened her mouth, but in the end, only said hoarsely, "I'm going to work."

With that, she turned and walked out.

Watching that slender figure disappear through the doorway, Ethan felt increasingly irritated.

The radio station.

Seraphina couldn't continue working because by the time she left the club, it was almost midnight. She had sung continuously for nearly five hours, singing until her voice was completely gone, and her heart was shattered to pieces.

But on the very first day of her show's new time slot, she had skipped work; she had to provide an explanation.

The director criticized her unhappily. In the end, hearing her completely lost voice, he sighed and granted her leave.

Seraphina returned home bitterly and stewed a bowl of rock sugar pear water to eat. The syrup was very sweet, yet it tasted bitter in her mouth.

The next day.

The room was completely empty. Seraphina knew that Ethan hadn't returned home all night again.

She lowered her eyes, hiding the helplessness and loneliness within them.

Suddenly, her phone rang. Seraphina took a look and saw it was Nanny Beatrice, the caregiver looking after her father.

As soon as she picked up, she heard Nanny Beatrice's anxious voice: "Miss Cross, your father was forcibly taken away by a woman claiming to be your cousin!"