Destroyed Us for Your Bastard? Say Hi to Your Cellmate, Ex! - Chapter 97: Chapter 97

Riley looked at the mountain of supplements and recovery foods piled on her table, feeling overwhelmed.
"This is... way too much. I can't eat all this."
Before she could finish, the man emerged from the kitchen carrying another pot of soup.
Staring at the feast spread before her, Riley's stomach actually growled.
The man across from her chuckled at her comment.
"Eat whatever you can. I'll finish the rest."
Something about the way he said it made her feel all kinds of awkward.
Why was Ethan so determined to finish her food?
He'd been doing this every single day since she got out of the hospital—showing up with groceries, cooking three meals a day, never missing one.
Especially after he found out about the miscarriage.
The next morning he'd appeared at her door with some thick book about post-pregnancy recovery, looking dead serious.
Ethan had turned into the food police—no cold drinks, no washing her hair, no late-night phone scrolling.
She knew he was trying to help, and probably her parents had asked him to look after her, but it was still awkward as hell.
No guy had ever taken care of her like this before.
When all the food was finally on the table, Ethan washed his hands and came over.
As he pulled off the apron, his shirt rode up just enough to flash his abs.
Riley immediately focused very hard on her empty plate.
She felt like she'd been caught staring.
Ethan totally saw her reaction.
His grin got downright wicked.
"Wanna feel?"
Riley's face went nuclear red as she shot him a horrified look.
"I have no idea what you're talking about!"
Seeing her about to die of embarrassment, Ethan finally took pity on her and started loading up her bowl with food.
Riley worked her way through several dishes before realizing Ethan had barely touched his own food.
His plate was still basically full.
A wave of guilt washed over her.
Her mood shifted, like something painful had crossed her mind.
"Ethan, you know those childhood promises don't actually count, right? You don't have to do all this just because our parents used to joke about us getting married someday."
Her words drifted over to him, soft and dismissive.
But instead of the relief she'd expected to see, Ethan's face went completely serious.
His hands never stopped moving though, still carefully picking bones out of the fish before placing it in her bowl.
"I never thought they were joking. I just wish we could move faster with the wedding. Eat up before everything gets cold."
Riley stared at him in shock, unable to process what she'd just heard.
A few days later, her best friend Sophie came over to check on her.
After Riley filled her in on everything, Sophie looked at her like she was an idiot.
"Girl, please tell me you didn't just figure out my brother's been in love with you this whole time."
Sophie's words hit Riley like a lightning bolt.
"In love... with me?"
Riley looked completely stunned.
"Oh my God, you seriously never noticed." Sophie rubbed her forehead in exasperation.
Then she let out this huge sigh right in front of Riley.
"Come with me. There's something you need to see."
Sophie basically dragged Riley to Ethan's house.
Ethan was still stuck in meetings at the office, completely unaware that his private sanctuary was about to be invaded.
Riley froze the second she walked into his home studio.
Her feet felt glued to the floor.
"These... these are all of me?" Her voice was barely a whisper.
Paintings and sketches covered every wall—Riley as a little girl, Riley as a teenager, Riley growing up. Page after page, canvas after canvas.
All of her.
Her hand drifted to a covered painting in the corner.
She looked at Sophie questioningly. "What's this one?"
Sophie just shrugged helplessly. "See for yourself."
Riley pulled away the white cloth and her breath caught.
It was her in a wedding dress—the exact same dress she'd worn when she married Blake.
So Ethan had been there that day. He'd watched her marry someone else.
Why hadn't she seen him?
Sophie looked frustrated and angry on her brother's behalf.
"God, he's such a fucking idiot. He was so scared that if you found out how he felt, you'd get all weird and start avoiding him. Then he wouldn't even have you as a friend. So he decided to keep his mouth shut forever. When he heard you were getting married, he designed your wedding dress himself—pulled all-nighter to get it done in time. He just wanted to see you in something he'd created."
Sophie had just blown up Ethan's biggest secret.
Riley stood there completely stunned, her mind reeling.
After she left Blake, she'd moved back home with her parents.
Within weeks, they'd started joking about that old childhood engagement thing again.
She'd loved Blake so hard for so long that her heart felt completely dead inside.
She was sure she was done with relationships forever.
But she'd never imagined that while she was pining for someone who didn't want her, someone else had been watching her from the sidelines, feeling exactly the same way.
Her chest felt like someone was squeezing her heart in their fist.
As they were leaving, Ethan's call came right on schedule.
"What do you want for dinner?"
"I've got meetings tonight, but I can come home for a couple hours to cook for you, then head back to the office."
Riley's eyes filled with tears.
"Ethan, are you completely an idiot?"