He Thought I Couldn’t Hear His Lies, I Heard Every Word Chapter 06

He Thought I Couldn’t Hear His Lies, I Heard Every Word Chapter 06

From that day on, I started teaching the children how to read and write.

I taught them arithmetic, along with all the practical knowledge they could actually use in daily life.

And every time class began, Ethan Brooks, the boy who had been eavesdropping outside the door that first day, showed up right on time.

Later, I let him come inside and listen, and he became the oldest student in our class.

He was quiet during lessons, always watching closely with those deep brown eyes.

He loved asking me questions, especially about the world beyond the reservation.

Whenever I talked about the city, that endless current of steel and glass, or about cars, ships, and airplanes,

his eyes would light up with longing.

But when I looked at him, all I felt was a deep sadness.

While I had worn myself out over love in the city, there were people on the other side of the country

exhausting every ounce of strength just trying to eat.

Sometimes, I asked him to show me around.

As the days passed, he and I walked nearly every corner of the place together.

Now and then, letters from old friends found their way to me.

They said that ever since I left, Gavin and Lily had gone almost insane.

Every day, they asked around, trying to find out where I had gone.

They had even caused scenes at government offices more than once, but every attempt ended in failure.

They also told me Gavin had dumped Sophie and made her terminate the pregnancy. Then, in front of the entire city, he publicly apologized to me, saying he never should have cheated and never should have taken

my love for granted.

My daughter cried every day, saying she would never eat candy again and that she never should have

disobeyed me.

Almost overnight, the way everyone saw them changed.

Gavin went from the city’s untouchable CEO to a cheating scumbag.

My daughter became an ungrateful little brat nobody could stand.

Even Gavin’s company was dragged down by the scandal, and its stock price plunged.

But he still didn’t care. He even bought every billboard he could across the city just to apologize to me.

He said that as long as I was willing to come back, he would do anything I asked.

I couldn’t understand why he was doing any of it.

He had been the one who chose to betray me, so why was he still acting as if he loved me?

My friends had tried to persuade me too. They said maybe I should meet with him once and make everything

clear.

But I already had made it clear. The moment he betrayed me, I was gone for good.

Shaking off those tangled thoughts, I looked out at the beautiful lakeshore before me.

My chest felt heavy, so I picked up a stone beside me and tossed it into the water, sending ripples spreading

across the surface.

“You look unhappy. If you don’t mind, you can tell me about it.”

The voice at my ear was as clear as spring water. Startled, I turned my head and found Ethan looking at me

with a faint smile.

For a moment, I lost myself in those dark brown eyes.

It had nothing to do with love. They were simply as clear and still as the lake itself, and that quiet purity

pulled me in.

Maybe embarrassed by how long I was staring, he turned his head away.

Realizing I had been rude, I quickly smiled apologetically.

I had just opened my mouth to say sorry when he sat down beside me.

He was close enough that I could smell the light, clean scent clinging to him.

“This is our sacred lake,” he said. “The elders say that if you make a wish to it sincerely, it can make anything

come true.”

“It’s our faith, and it’s our hope.”

He looked out at the lake as he spoke, his voice soft and light.

I froze for a moment, not understanding what he meant.

“What?”

He smiled when he saw my confusion and explained gently, “Everyone here respects it. If they saw you

throwing rocks into it, they’d drag you inside and lecture you all day.”

Embarrassed, I scratched my head.

Looking at his soothing smile, much of the gloom Gavin had left in me began to lift.

“I didn’t know,” I said. “I was just feeling a little upset.”

“If I did anything disrespectful, please forgive me.”

He waved a hand casually. “You didn’t know, so no harm done. People like you live in cities where everything’s convenient. Do you still have things to worry about?”

His words caught me off guard.

I turned to look at Ethan, and for a moment, facing those eyes that could steal the breath right out of me, I

couldn’t say anything.

I wanted to tell him that worries never really ended.

When you were young, you had to figure out how to make money, buy a car, buy a house.

Then you had to survive betrayal from the person you’d spent years building a life with.

But when I thought about the life Ethan and the others were living now, the things I wanted to say suddenly felt impossible to speak aloud.

He was right.

Compared with their lack of resources and the difficulty of even getting from place to place, our lives were already so much easier. What did I really have to complain about?

Before I could think any further, Ethan spoke again by my ear.

“Don’t worry, Ms. Young. No matter what happens, I’ll protect you.”

When I looked at him, his gaze had only grown more determined.

I had no choice but to laugh and reach out to ruffle his hair.

Maybe staying here really had been a good decision.

At the very least, the people here were sincere. They wouldn’t lie to me.

But one day, while I was teaching class, two unexpected figures appeared in front of us.

“Mom!”

“Autumn, you really are here.”