Spring Without Return - Chapter 7

Chapter 7 As she spoke, Olivia turned and hurried out of the office. Her steps were unsteady, and when she reached the doorway, she glanced back one last time before tears slid down her face. Once she left, Ethan remained alone in the office. He sank heavily into his chair while the anxiety and irritation inside him grew stronger. For the first time in his life, he felt powerless. He had wealth, status, and power. He had everything people spent their lives chasing.

Yet even with all of it, he still could not hold on to the one person who had followed him without hesitation when he had nothing. Meanwhile, I lay in the bedroom ofa villa. The door opened softly, and my father and older brother walked in. "Vivian, are you feeling any better?" The moment I saw their familiar yet distant faces, tears rushed into my eyes. My father's hair had turned much whiter over the past five years, and the wrinkles around his eyes had deepened. My brother stood taller and steadier, with a calm maturity that had not been there before. However, one thing remained the same.

The concern in their eyes when they looked at me. "Dad... Brother..." My voice broke. "I am sorry. I should not have ignored you back then. I should not have cut ties with the family for Ethan." My father sat beside the bed and gently patted the back of my hand. His eyes were full of heartbreak. "Silly child. The past is over, and you do not need to apologize. "We never blamed you, and we never stopped looking for you." Over the years, they had searched everywhere for news about me.

Ethan had given me a fake identity and transferred the copyrights to my paintings to someone else, which made it impossible for them to trace anything. If I had not been taken to the police station, and if they had not heard about it through a friend there, they still would not have known where to find me. They had been searching for me all along. They had never abandoned me. Back then, for Ethan's sake, I ignored my parents' objections and followed him to Stormbay without hesitation. I even blocked every way my family could contact me. Thinking back on it, I felt painfully foolish.

"Vivian," my father said, his expression turning serious, "do not worry. This time, we will not let anyone wrong you again. "What Ethan owes you, we will make him repay a hundred times over. Focus on recovering here. Leave everything else to us." looked up at him in surprise. "Dad... what are you planning to do?" "What are we planning to do?" my brother said with an icy laugh. "He stole five years of your life, took your work, lied to you like you were a fool, and even got you thrown into jail. We are settling this debt properly." My father nodded.