Ethan waved him off and pointed sharply at the college girl, who was still on stage.
“Get out of here!” he barked, his voice cutting through the awkward silence in the room.
“You all are unbelievable,” Ethan added, shaking his head at his buddies. “Bringing in trash like that? How could someone like her even deserve to be in the same room as my wife?”
The girl’s face turned crimson, her eyes welling up with tears. She quickly opened the door and bolted out without looking back.
Ethan turned to me, his chest puffed up like he expected a round of applause for his performance.
I grabbed my bag without a word. “I’m tired. You guys go ahead and enjoy yourselves.”
Without hesitation, Ethan sprang up and followed me out.
As we walked to the car, my phone buzzed with a message. I glanced at the screen.
It was the risk disclosure document for the cryogenic experiment.
While Ethan was driving, he shot me a curious look. “Who’s texting you this late?”
I stared at the message for a second longer before pressing delete. “Just spam.”
He didn’t push it further and instead launched into an explanation, going overboard to insist he had absolutely nothing to do with the dancer.
I turned to face him fully, my voice calm but firm. “Ethan.”
His hands tightened on the steering wheel, and his knuckles turned white. “Yeah?”
“Do you remember what I told you when we got married?” I asked.
His hands trembled, and the car swerved slightly before he regained control, pulling over to the side of the road. He slammed on the brakes and turned to me, his face pale.
“Claire! I swear to you! I will love only you in this lifetime! I won’t ever give you a reason to leave me! I mean it!” His tone was intense, eerily similar to the vows he’d made five years ago.
'The experiment will begin in Iceland in a month. You can change your mind at any time during this period.' Dr. Reed's words echoed in my mind as I took a deep breath.
Right then, I turned to Ethan and said, “Ethan, take me to Iceland. I want to see the Northern Lights.”
He visibly relaxed, letting out a long sigh of relief. “Of course! Whatever you want.”
When we got home, Ethan wrapped his arms around me from behind, resting his head on my shoulder.
“Claire, you smell so good,” he murmured, his voice soft.
I had been pregnant for a month. To keep my pregnancy stable and to surprise him on our anniversary, I’d been avoiding any physical closeness.