After 100 Twisted Games Goodbye Ex-Husband Chapter 16
My New Husband
The assistant jumped.
“Mr. Voss, what’s wrong?”
“Stop the car!
NOW!” Julian was frantic.
Clawing at the leather seat.
But they were in heavy traffic.
Green light.
No way to stop.
He didn’t wait.
Threw open the door.
Jumped out.
Just now, on the sidewalk, he’d seen a woman.
My silhouette.
My profile.
Those unmistakable eyes.
Exactly like me.
The woman had been laughing with a man.
Then they disappeared into the crowd.
He felt like he’d grabbed a lifeline.
Even if it was a hallucination, he had to check.
“HAZEL!
HAZEL!” Julian screamed.
Shoved through the crowd.
Carved a path.
He searched for what felt like forever.
Finally caught a glimpse of her back.
She got into a car with the man.
Drove off.
Julian chased after them.
Memorized the license plate.
When the assistant found him, he was standing frozen in the street.
“I got the plate number.
Look it up.
Every detail.”
“Mr. Voss, why are you so urgent?”
“I saw Hazel.
No—a woman who looks exactly like her.”
The assistant’s face showed disbelief.
“Mr. Voss, you must’ve been mistaken.”
“No.
I wasn’t.” Julian’s voice was barely audible.
His eyes held desperate hope.
“Tell me… could that have been Hazel?”
At that moment, I had just gotten home.
I quickly washed my hands.
Tied on an apron.
Started prepping dinner.
“Put the fish over there.
I’ll handle it.”
Ethan’s deep, smooth voice came from behind me.
I turned.
His long fingers were already skillfully scaling the fish.
Gutting it.
Slicing it into perfect, translucent pieces.
Every movement was clean.
Efficient.
Like performance art.
As he put it, years of living on the edge made him good with knives.
He noticed me staring.
Tilted his head slightly.
“Enjoying the view?”
I nodded.
Thought back to the day he proposed.
We’d known each other since we were eight.
Neighbors for a while.
After his parents divorced, his mom took him and moved constantly.
Never settled.
I used to write him letters.
But they always went unanswered.
My disappointment faded over time.
I forgot about him.
Until three months ago, Ethan appeared in front of me.
Got straight to the point.
“Hazel, will you marry me?”
After more than a decade, he’d grown to six-three.
Broad shoulders.
Long legs.
Muscles in all the right places.
A face so handsome it didn’t look real.
Add in his military bearing, and his presence was overwhelming.
Girls nearby started screaming.
At the time, I had been in love with Julian.
I refused without thinking.
Ethan didn’t push.
Just lowered his eyes.
Wished me happiness.
I knew Ethan’s background was complicated now.
That he wasn’t the kid I remembered.
But after we got married, he never forced me to do anything.
And he cooked amazingly.
Took care of me.
I pulled myself back to the present.
The smell of food filled the apartment.
Ethan called me over.
Four dishes and a soup on the table.
All my favorites.
He’d even noticed I didn’t eat ginger or cilantro.
And I’d never told him that.
Ethan’s sharp perception came from his years as a special forces soldier.
After he retired, a Dubai tycoon recruited him as a bodyguard.
Later, he said he’d barely escaped with his life.
I said, “Same here.”
Escaping those hundred games had cost me more than half my life.
And the people I loved most.
Ethan asked if I regretted marrying him.
I thought about it.
Smiled faintly.
“Ethan, would you ever watch me suffer and then go to someone else?”
“Never.”
“If I called for help, would you turn and leave?”
“Never.”
“Would you hurt me?”
“Only if you asked me to.” He paused.
Frowned.
“Even then, I wouldn’t do anything to hurt you.”
I smiled.
Sipped my soup.
“Then that’s enough.
I don’t regret marrying you.”
Ethan looked at me for a long time.
Finally spoke, his voice rough.
“You’ve been through so much.
I’m sorry I wasn’t there all those years.”
My hand paused.
Warmth bloomed in my chest.
My marriage to Ethan wasn’t as bad as I’d thought.
That night, Ethan was about to go sleep in the guest room as usual.
I grabbed his hand.
“Ethan.”
He stopped.
Turned.
Met my soft gaze.
“Tonight… don’t sleep in the guest room.”
