Ethan squeezed her hand reassuringly. “Don’t worry. I’ll take you to the hospital right now.” 

With that, he scooped her up into his arms and turned to leave. But just as he stepped forward, he glanced back into the crowd one last time. 

There was still no sign of Tessa. 

Charlotte had said that she saw Tessa come down earlier. So, he figured that she must have left on her own. 

Charlotte whimpered in his arms. Her cries grew sharper and more urgent. 

Ethan didn’t have time to think about anything else. Holding her tight, he rushed off. 

Only after they were gone did Tessa finally manage to crawl up from the chaos. 

The Ferris wheel had malfunctioned out of nowhere, and the waiting crowd had erupted into panic. People shoved and pushed in their rush to escape. 

Caught off guard, Tessa had been knocked down by the stampede. 

More people kept pushing forward. Fortunately, a display board shielded her, keeping the worst of the crowd at bay. 

Without it, Tessa might not have survived the stampede. 

She dragged herself to her feet, wincing as she rubbed at her bruises. But when she turned back to look for Ethan and Charlotte, the only thing she saw was an empty carriage. 

They were gone. 

At that moment, Tessa felt like she was plunging into an abyss. 

When danger struck, Ethan only cared about getting Charlotte out. He had completely forgotten about her. 

Tessa felt like a fool caught between them. She lowered her gaze, a self-mocking smile tugging at her lips. 

She told herself that this was enough. Five years had passed, and she still couldn’t win his heart. What more was she hoping for? 

She felt that it was time to let go. She needed to let Ethan go and set herself free. 

… 

Back home, Tessa signed the divorce papers she’d prepared long ago and sent them straight to Ethan’s office. 

This time, she was truly ready to set him free. 

Ethan received the documents the next afternoon, just after leaving the hospital. He’d only left because work had piled up. 

When his secretary, Leon Mitchell, handed him the document, his expression darkened the second he saw what it was. 

With a flick of his wrist, he tossed the papers aside and yanked at his tie in frustration. 

He thought that Tessa had really gone too far this time. 

She had disappeared without saying a single word at the amusement park yesterday, leaving him worried sick. 

Charlotte had been in tears over it. Despite the pain she felt in her eyes, she kept blaming herself for agreeing to join them, which caused Tessa to misunderstand and leave. 

The doctor had warned that she couldn’t afford to cry too often. 

Yet, instead of realizing her mistake, Tessa had the audacity to send divorce papers as some kind of threat. 

Ethan wondered if Tessa seriously thought that he wouldn’t go through with the divorce just because David was around. 

He thought that it was time to teach Tessa a lesson. He coldly ordered, “Freeze Tessa’s cards!” 

Leon was briefly stunned before he asked, “All of them?” 

Ethan shot him a look. 

Leon shuddered. “On it.” 

Tessa had spent the past few years as a stay-at-home wife with no income of her own. Ethan wanted to see how long she could manage on her own once her cards were frozen. 

Leon acted fast, canceling all of Tessa’s cards immediately. 

What Ethan didn’t know was that Tessa had never used a single one of them. So, she didn’t even notice his so-called punishment. 

He thought that she’d come crawling back when she ran out of options, and for David’s sake, he’d consider giving her another chance. But he never expected her to be serious this time. She was actually done with him. 

After several days of coming home from work and not seeing Tessa in the villa, Ethan finally couldn’t take it anymore. 

Only one person was missing, yet the huge villa felt as cold and empty as a grave. 

His face was dark when he turned to the maid. “Has Tessa called?” 

The maid nodded. “Yes, sir.” 

Ethan’s expression softened a little. “What did she say?” 

The maid shrank back before replying, “She asked when you plan on signing the divorce papers.” 

Ethan’s expression turned thunderous, his presence suffocating. The maid dared not speak. So, she excused herself and hurriedly left. 

He dropped onto the couch. His chest burned with unspent anger. He grabbed his phone and dialed her number, ready to give her a piece of his mind. 

It rang twice before the call was cut off. 

Ethan froze when he heard the busy dial tone over the phone. He never imagined that Tessa would actually hang up on him. 

She didn’t just hang up on him. She’d gone as far as blocking his number. 

When Ethan tried calling again, he couldn’t get through, and that sent him into a full-on rage. He wondered if she was seriously going to go through with this. 

For some reason, Ethan felt like he was losing control. The frustration he couldn’t shake started to morph into something even stranger—panic. He felt like something was definitely wrong with him. 

Taking advantage of David’s call, Ethan got in his car and headed straight for the Ziegler residence. He thought that he might find Tessa there. But reality hit him again when he walked in. 

David was on the couch, fiddling with an antique vase. 

When he saw Ethan enter alone, his face twisted in disgust. “What are you doing back here? Where is Tess?” 

“She didn’t return?” Ethan lowered his gaze, trying to hide the storm brewing inside him. He forced himself to sound casual as he said, “She’s been gone for days. I thought that she must have come here.” 

David stopped wiping the vase and shot his grandson a sharp look. 

“What do you mean? She’s not been home? Why? Did you do something to piss her off again?” 

Ethan frowned. “What? I didn’t do anything. She…” 

He took a deep breath and tried to explain the amusement park fiasco calmly, but his voice carried an edge of resentment. 

After complaining, he frowned and muttered, “Grandpa, seriously, she’s making a scene and demanding a divorce over something so trivial. What exactly does she want?” 

David shot Ethan a look, barely stopping himself from throwing the vase at the latter’s head. 

“Trivial? You think this is trivial?” David almost wanted to pry open Ethan’s head to see what was going on inside. “If I were Tess, I’d have dumped you a thousand times already!” 

He’d set up the amusement park trip, hoping that it would bring Ethan and Tessa closer. Instead, Ethan dragged Charlotte along and abandoned Tessa for her. 

David thought that Tessa had been too kind for only sending over the divorce papers. If it had been someone with a shorter fuse, they might have sent Ethan a bomb to kill him instead. 

“Grandpa, why are you—” 

“Shut up!” David pointed at Ethan, seething. After a moment, he let out an exasperated sigh.