Broken Memories, Intertwined Hearts novel Chapter 341

Unforgivable mistake? There weren't really any mistakes between Ethan and Leila, just regrets. They were madly in love, but couldn't be together forever. They split when their feelings were at their peak.

That was a lifetime regret for any man. When Ashley saw Ines’ expression change, she realized she'd put her foot in her mouth. "You're not testing me, are you? You're talking about Ethan and Leila?" Ashley didn't believe Ethan would do that. After all, Leila had been gone for many years, it was not like he'd still have her number. Even if he did, it was not like he could call it. It'd been years. That number would be disconnected by now.

Ines changed her expression slightly, "No, that's not it, I just noticed that you seem to know a lot about relationships, so I wanted to ask you something for a friend."

Ashley gave Ines a puzzled look. This seemed a bit weird, but she didn't think it was a big deal. When Ines wasn't looking, Ashley texted Aaron.

[Send me the number you and Leila always used. Don't tell me you forgot. You're the finance guy.]

Soon, Aaron texted back with a number and a question—what she wanted to do with it.

Ashley couldn't answer right now. Instead, she quickly saved the number so she could give it a try later, when Ines wasn't around. That way, she could check her suspicion.

"I was just talking nonsense earlier. I'm a newbie with no relationship experience. I just read a lot of romance novels, so I think I know a bit about love. Don't take my words seriously," Ashley said with an awkward smile.

"Don't worry, I'm just asking for my friend."

Her friend? Ashley wasn't buying it. The only friend of Ines she knew was Phoebe, and Phoebe was currently involved with Noel. Noel didn't have an ex, so Phoebe wouldn't be asking about this.

At that moment, Ines was focused on Russel, and found it strange that he was the only one without a female companion. "Ashley, why isn't there a woman by Russel's side? Where's his wife?"

Ashley put her phone away, thought for a moment, and said, "I heard his wife's mental health isn't good, and it seems to have gotten worse in recent years. She can't attend any events with him. I saw her once when I was a kid, but never again after that. I think she hasn't shown up for years now."

"Doesn't he have kids?"

"No," Ashley replied, and then added, "At least he doesn't have any publicly known children. As for whether he has any kids with other women in private, I wouldn't know. That would need further investigation."

Ines looked at Ashley and said, "You have a unique way of thinking."

"For people like him, we can't guess their actions using conventional logic. You're married too, do you think a man can go decades without sex? That's not normal. If he finds another woman and she accidentally gets pregnant. It's entirely possible. This is just a reasonable guess."

Ines gave Ashley a thumbs up, thinking that Ashley's guess sounded like a TV drama script.

"I'm not just rambling. For these high-ranking people, having a few lovers is common."

"Don't worry about it. In private settings, we don't adhere to such formalities," the man said.

Ines finally remembered where she'd seen this man before. It was in their own neighborhood, where she'd met him once. Ethan had said they weren't close, but it turned out he was a government official.

Russel didn't insist, and said with a smile, "Then you get Izzy home. She looks tired."

Ethan nodded, and left with Ines. Once outside the villa, Ines asked, "Ethan, are Matt and Russel close?"

Ethan nodded, "You probably remember him now. We did run into him in the neighborhood. He was promoted by Russel and is now the secretary of the city government office. They're very close."

"I can see that. He seems like Russel's secretary."

Ethan chuckled. As soon as Ines got into the car, she started dozing off. When they got out of the car, Ethan tried to carry her, but she instinctively shook off his hand. Ethan, being a sharp-minded guy, sensed something was off with her. The actions one did when they were in a foggy state were the most genuine, and it was clear she was a bit standoffish with him today.

In the past, all he had to do was reach out his hand, and she would willingly throw her arms around his neck, not like today.

Ethan quickly ran through the day's events. At noon, she had said she wanted him to keep spoiling her, and she seemed happy then. When he got to the Galeana Group, her mood seemed to be good too. If anything was amiss, it might be when they were about to leave the Galeana Group, and she seemed to space out while looking at some documents. Could something have happened while he was in the restroom that he didn't know about?