Chapter 458 The Relationship Between Ethan and Deborah
When Ethan returned home, Jasmine was already asleep.
She clung to his pillow. Probably feeling so insecure, she needed it to feel safe.
She was truly afraid of losing him.
Ethan sat silently by the bed for a long time after he came out of the bathroom.
He wasn't afraid of Howard using business tactics, nor Howard collaborating with others, but he feared Howard using despicable means to take his life.
In the past, Ethan feared nothing; if Howard wanted it, then as he wished.
But now, he had concerns, and Jasmine was his concern.
He tugged at his pillow gently and laughed. "You're holding it so tightly."
Jasmine didn't let go at all; she clung to the pillow, even murmuring in her sleep, "It's mine. You can't take it away."
Ethan relented and decided to share the pillow with Jasmine.
He embraced her from behind, soothing her softly. "It's yours, I won't take it, no one can take it."
Jasmine held onto the pillow, and Ethan held onto her, and they slept like that through the night.
When she woke up the next day, she found that Ethan was sleeping on her pillow, while his pillow was in her arms.
Jasmine was momentarily stunned and then sat up abruptly, looking guilty. "I took your pillow, why didn't you wake me up?"
"You sleep so soundly," Ethan mumbled, still very sleepy. Jasmine had woken up too early.
He reached out and pulled her into his arms, speaking wearily. "Sleep a bit more."
Let him hold her a little longer.
"No, I have to go to class," Jasmine said. It was already 7:30.
Ethan slowly opened his eyes, leaned against the headboard, and rubbed his temples. "Alright, I'll take you to school."
"No need, I can make it just in time by subway." Jasmine waved her hand.
She was also trying to be independent, knowing she needed to save herself and not rely too much on Ethan.
But Ethan wanted to spoil Jasmine, yet he was also afraid of spoiling her too much.
"No, I'll take you," Remembering Connor's word, Ethan stopped halfway, and sighed irritably. "Alright, I have some things to handle anyway. Can you take the subway?"
"I used to take the subway before I met you." Jasmine laughed. "I was just a bit pitiful being bullied, not incapable of taking care of myself."
Ethan couldn't laugh, always feeling he owed her too much.
He opened his arms and smiled at Jasmine. "Come here, let me hold you."
She obediently leaned into Ethan's arms, letting him hold her.
"Shall I pick you up after school?" He asked tentatively.
"No need, I'll stay in the dorm tonight." Jasmine shook her head, her hands unconsciously gripping Ethan's arm tightly.
He felt the pain and looked at Jasmine suspiciously. "What are you doing?"
Jasmine realized and let go. "Sorry."
When she was nervous and scared, her body indeed acted uncontrollably.
"What are you afraid of?" Ethan asked softly.
Jasmine shook her head.
After a moment of silence, she spoke again, "Ethan, can you tell me about you and Deborah?"
"Deborah? Why bring her up suddenly?" Ethan frowned, knowing without guessing that Connor must have contacted with Jasmine again and he used Deborah to provoke her.
No wonder Jasmine clung to his pillow so tightly last night; she was scared.
"I've heard before that she was the only girlfriend you ever brought home and publicly acknowledged," Jasmine said in a muffled voice.
A few years ago, Ethan stood at the pinnacle of the financial world, a prodigy the media loved to cover.
He was the person every media wanted to interview, even entertainment reporters followed him.
So, in those early years, there were numerous reports about Ethan, and for someone like him, his romantic experiences drew everyone's attention.
Six years ago, the most envied woman in the whole city was the illegitimate daughter of the Hawthorne family, Deborah.
At that time, Deborah was truly the center of attention, living a life everyone envied because of Ethan.
People didn't even know there was a real daughter of the Hawthorne family who named Vanessa Hawthorne; they only knew was the one who took her mother's surname, Deborah Morris.
In the reports, Ethan's indulgence towards Deborah was envied by everyone.
Jasmine remembered those reports because there were so many.
Especially during her most difficult years, every time she saw others' happiness, she would silently hold herself tighter.
In fact, she harbored some resentment towards Ethan; perhaps that was what love did. She blamed him for not appearing sooner.
When she was in the depths of hell, he was with another woman.
Ethan took a sharp breath, tightening his hold on Jasmine.
What he always felt guilty about was not finding her sooner.
When the affairs about him and Deborah were everywhere, Jasmine was going through hellish changes.
He also remembered that the news about the real and fake daughters had swept through Silverlight City. It was his and Deborah's affairs that had suppressed the heat.
"At that time, I had a bit of a selfish motive, do you believe that?" Ethan raised his hand to stroke Jasmine's hair, kissing her neck.
"What?" Jasmine's voice was a bit hoarse.
"I failed to suppress the news about the real and fake daughters, and Claire was targeting you. I don't know what I was thinking at the time, but after meeting you at the musical theater, I had a good impression of you and inexplicably wanted to create some news to suppress your story," Ethan spoke in a muffled voice.
He really had that selfish motive at the time, and also a selfish desire to go against Claire.
She wanted to use public opinion to help her son fight for shares in the Douglas Group, but he wouldn't let her have her way.
"Deborah was very smart. At that time, we were in cooperation. Because that year, Claire and I were competing for the position of CEO. She wanted too much for Daniel, so I needed to use some tactics to win."
After all, that year, Ethan had just graduated not long ago. He didn't have much actual power or connections, while Claire had already accumulated a lot of connections within the company.
With the help of the HR manager, Jenna, Claire's power grew significantly that year.
Jasmine looked at Ethan, who seemed hesitant to speak.
Clearly, Deborah must have been a very smart woman to make Ethan choose to cooperate with her.
"Deborah was indeed very smart, and she was a capable and managerial person," Ethan admitted.
"Did she save you?" Jasmine asked softly.
"Yes, the situation was urgent at the time. She did shield me first and was hit by a car, which caused her recuperating abroad for many years. But I am someone who distinguishes clearly between gratitude and feelings," Ethan explained.
He held Jasmine's hand tightly as he confessed to her, "In my eyes, I did owe her a favor, but that's all. Besides, I have compensated a lot, helping her secure shares in the Hawthorne family. As an illegitimate daughter, it was very difficult for her to get those."
Jasmine looked directly into his eyes. "So it was just a cooperative relationship, and the favor has already been repaid, right?"
Ethan nodded seriously. "Yes, it was repaid a long time ago."
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