The physical pain and the despair of the soul weighed on her like two massive mountains, crushing her to pieces.

Ethan’s bloodshot eyes stared fixedly at her, his voice filled with disappointment and hatred, every word squeezed out from between his teeth.

"Ivy, I thought you were just willful, but I never expected you to be so heartless that you couldn't even tolerate a child!"

"Since these ears have brought so much malice, there’s no need for them to exist anymore!"

Chapter 6

Ivy’s heart contracted violently.

But Ethan gave her no more room to speak, scooped up Sierra, and turned to leave.

A formal disciplinary decision was soon handed down.

"Following an investigation, rescue team member Ivy has violated discipline during overseas training and intentionally harmed a child, causing a severe negative impact."

"Decision: Revocation of all Level 1 flight qualifications and frontline rescue eligibility, confiscation of all honorary medals, and stay on duty for observation."

Every word felt like a blade, slicing Ivy’s career and dignity to shreds.

Ethan handed the document to her personally, his expression as cold as if he were processing a trivial piece of paperwork.

"I gave you a chance, let you have the surgery, and let you regain your hearing."

His voice was low, yet carried a condescending sense of judgment.

"Now, I can also take back your wings."

It wasn't as if she hadn't faced such situations before.

Once, a wealthy teammate who disliked her had played dirty during a mission, trying to drive her out of the rescue team.

Ethan had been overseas on a mission at the time, yet upon finding out, he rushed back overnight to back her up.

He kicked that teammate out of the team without even asking who was right, but was gentle beyond measure when facing her:

"Ivy, were you scared? Have you seen a psychologist? As long as I'm here, no one will dare to touch you."

He had aggressively arranged the most authoritative medical team for her and had every check-up done.

At the time, Ivy was left between laughter and tears: "I’m really fine, I’ve checked enough times already."

But Ethan had blamed himself with bloodshot eyes: "I’m sorry, it’s my fault for not protecting you well."

"I swear, as long as I’m here for a single day, I will absolutely not let anyone bully you!"

How sweet his words had been back then?

So how had they ended up in this position today?

After speaking, he turned and left, locking Ivy and the notice that signaled the death of her career inside the dormitory.

Outside the window was the blue sky she had once fought for and poured her sweat and blood into, but now, that sky had nothing to do with her.

Her spiritual pillar collapsed at this very moment.

Ivy slumped to the floor, surrounded by deathly silence.

She didn't know how long it had been before the dormitory door was suddenly opened from the outside.

The person who walked in was Lucas.

He looked at the haggard Ivy, his eyes filled with unbearable heartache and anger.

"Ethan has gone mad."

He stepped forward and placed two documents before her.

One was a divorce agreement, the other, an invitation for advanced studies at the top ENT research center at the University of Zurich.

"Ivy, this place isn't worth it."

Lucas’s voice was gentle and firm. "Your talent shouldn't be buried here."

"Come with me to Zurich. I will cure your ears and let you stand back up."

In the depths of despair, a ray of light shone in.

Ivy looked at that invitation, a spark of light finally appearing in her eyes.

She picked up the pen and, without the slightest hesitation, signed her name at the bottom of the divorce agreement.

Ivy.

The strokes were resolute, showing no lingering attachment.

Under the cover provided by Lucas, Ivy left the base silently.

She took nothing with her, save for the training uniform stripped of all its insignias.

Before boarding, she looked one last time through the airport’s massive glass window at the blue sky she had once loved with her life.

Then, she reached up and took off the cochlear implant that had brought her both hope and pain.

This time, she chose silence herself.

She turned, walked onto the gangway with determination, and vanished completely from Ethan’s world.

Chapter 7

Ethan returned to the dorm after comforting Selena, still carrying a box of egg tarts.

When he pushed the door open, he had already rehearsed the scene countless times in his heart.

Ivy would cry, throw a tantrum, or use the silence she was most adept at to fight back.

But what greeted him when he opened the door was only silence; the room was empty, and on the table lay a single document.

He walked over, his fingertips touching the paper, and realized his hands were unsteady.

A divorce agreement.

Ivy’s name lay quietly in the乙方 (party B) signature space, the final stroke nearly tearing through the paper.

In that instant, Ethan felt as if a chunk of his heart had been ruthlessly gouged out.

An unfamiliar panic engulfed him entirely for the first time.

For the first time, things had completely exceeded his expectations and control.

"Where is Ivy?"

He rushed out of the dorm, grabbing a passerby teammate, his voice dropping to a low whisper.

The teammate was startled, stuttering, "I... I haven’t seen Sister Ivy, Captain..."

Ethan released him and immediately bolted for the surveillance room, pulling up the footage of every exit and watching it frame by frame.

Nothing.

There was nothing at all.

It was as if she had evaporated into thin air.

He used his captain’s authority to try and track Ivy’s departure records, but the result made his spine go cold.

Every piece of her information had been wiped clean.

Along with her, Lucas had disappeared as well.

Ethan paced back and forth in his office, eventually sweeping the water glass off his table.

The sound of shattering glass couldn't mask the irritability in his heart.

He couldn't accept it—how could Ivy just leave like that!

He only wanted her to bow her head and admit she was wrong, wanted her to understand that he was the leader in this relationship.

He didn't want her to leave! He had never wanted her to leave!

He pulled out his private phone, preparing to use his higher-level network to track her globally.

Yet, a day, two days, a week passed... not a single piece of news.

The intelligence network and connections he was so proud of had all become trash when it came to finding Ivy.

Ethan sat dejectedly on the floor, surrounded by empty wine bottles scattered in disarray.

He gripped the divorce agreement tightly, his eyes filled with despair.

"Ivy... did you really give up on me just like that?"

He murmured to himself, tilting his head back to down a mouthful of strong liquor; the burn traveled down his throat into his stomach, yet it couldn't compare to the tearing in his heart.

He had always assumed Ivy couldn't live without him, but now he realized it was he who was going insane.

Just as he prepared to open the next bottle, the dorm door was pushed open gently.

Selena peeked her head in timidly.

"Honey..." she started, sobbing, walking over to him with the child in her arms. "Stop drinking like this, it breaks my heart."

Seeing Ethan’s loss of control, a hint of triumph flashed in her eyes.

Sierra’s little face was flushed red with fever, leaning weakly on Selena’s shoulder, whimpering.

"Daddy... I feel unwell..."

Selena patted her daughter’s back while using a gentle, considerate tone to persuade Ethan.

"Tiger, Sister Ivy just can't get over her pride for a moment, don't get too worked up."

"She loves you so much; once her anger fades, she’ll definitely come back."

"Look at Sierra, she’s burning up, calling for you all the time. She can’t live without her father..."

She used the child, using these seemingly understanding words to trap Ethan firmly in place.

Ethan looked at the dependent Sierra, then at the considerate Selena.

The frenzy and panic of not being able to find her faded quite a bit.

A ridiculous thought even occurred to him.

Perhaps this was the life he should have?

Stable and peaceful, with a cute daughter and a woman who would always adore and depend on him.

He slowly put down the wine bottle and took the feverish Sierra into his arms.

He told himself that Ivy was just throwing a tantrum.

Once she hit a wall out there, she would naturally come back to beg him.

From that day on, Ethan completely stopped his search for Ivy.

He poured the energy he originally used to search for Ivy into the trivialities of caring for Selena and her daughter, peaceably sinking into the lie he had woven for himself.

Days turned into weeks.