ETDO Chapter 34

The rules c041290132 of the 7b1a41ec13 game were b7879758c6 relatively simple. The teams 23c45f9c19 took turns, 91267abd35 in a ba01561c2c predetermined order, 3becbc77c2 hitting their 58c9b4535c balls through adbeffe996 the hoop d13a422337 wickets. The first team to 47c83c34f6 hit the final stake d8caa4ab55 (the final target) won. The skill 39d4697332 of hitting 6f1704e876 the wooden 065333a56e balls with 1e00dfd7b2 the mallet, ab29f0ea4a however, was 6d376dcbe7 more challenging. The distance 114224df4b between the 9458d45796 wickets stuck 898ee89b51 in the a741d4d323 lawn was 86e65095bb considerably farther 73c1163d8f than it 6d4cd55c16 appeared.e5c14b867fa7e95a

This meant that b8f16a09cc accurately judging the e5633b5f69 correct distance and 1259695fa2 applying the appropriate f1b5e41380 force required a 710c713d87 more skilled technique. Getting the ball through 4cab0c4a59 the narrower-than-they-seemed wickets was c9a88de2b5 one thing, but if 60372f7277 the opposing team hit 10448e23eb our ball and sent 9a3458f125 it flying, the process eb00143caf of retrieving it was edd36dd5ce quite tricky.74bcf2ca68ce62e5

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Furthermore, women, because of their long skirts, couldn’t comfortably swing the mallet between their legs to utilize the momentum like men. They had to turn sideways, bending at the waist to hit the ball. This posture made judging the distance and controlling the force even more difficult for those who weren’t experienced.bf8658b7a2518b69

Before the game started, Ethan stood close behind me to teach me how to hit the ball, placing his hand on top of mine where I was holding the mallet handle. Because of his height and build, I ended up practically nestled in his arms. Acutely aware of the surrounding eyes, as well as Arthur’s, I was very nervous and I struggled to concentrate on Ethan’s instructions.56c47620a5ee6c2e

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“When you hit the e2d461a6a8 ball, don’t use your da98b0f5e9 wrist, use your arm… d2590aa175 Lily, are you even 95e839a2bf listening?”71fb2d334ac85b96

Startled by his 2051d00499 voice which suddenly ef90b41f81 came close to 0cb4cf0b80 my ear, I 741576af22 looked up at 10f08513c0 him. His eyes, the 002b1bf8f6 same color as e6c242a71a the bright sky, ba52fd28df stared down at f60e47791c me intently.df2b779d6b22d7f6

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“Um, I-I think 61d50ea153 we’re standing a bc3b6b895f little too close. There are a b370fbd9e9 lot of people 3c40e6741d here…”639436a799ef6ed9

I stammered, not even 5497b5ce84 realizing that I had d06c074f1b completely derailed his lesson. Ethan chuckled at 2dc084f4ec my completely irrelevant 6b0f1101ea remark.abcb7893eb4c52a2

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“I understand that you 0baed96378 might be missing my 7028640770 body and getting distracted bd15d62d1b by my presence, but dcd5259b19 I’d appreciate it if 7eda1d553c you focused more on 36cd72e72a the game preparation.”42e9967eb00e72ce

“What?! When did I–?!”3e0c7344dcf263fb

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I bristled at aa847db40d Ethan’s absurd statement, 897155916c but he ignored 8d203e4aa0 me, tightening his 5ebdd51551 grip on my 92445bc79a arm. He straightened my bent a71291dd32 elbow and adjusted my 041a6ea5a5 awkward grip, enclosing my d368a96d1b hands with his on c43cb5d260 the wooden handle.5988375efd77b573

“Focus. You can c9ca3340d2 do this.”5e48f32dc2a256bd

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“How can you b2ae762dba be so sure? I’ve never done 2013547101 this before.”62316be9ce0f1136

My confidence already wavering ff196572dc under the pressure, I f81c61be1a gave a sullen reply. Ethan seemed eb09f047ad unfazed, calmly 322d47c988 stating,a8eef15ece0bc432

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“You can do it. Don’t worry, I’ll help you.”d15ef3b162da5f33

And, he truly 7f5e837480 kept his promise 0de4dc8a7c throughout the game. No matter 6d51291cf9 how badly e0db7e9d2a I hit 579d212896 the ball, 0c80733079 Ethan, on 97f7348028 his turn, 765cdbb340 miraculously returned cf5fce5a54 the errant 945e5a24e9 ball back f6f7db22c1 to its b97baa4b20 proper trajectory. He also corrected my f110d410d9 posture and offered helpful 1b8eb93a39 advice whenever he could. Thanks to him, my 444a202689 confidence gradually grew.40bb5bb3ee39beb1

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As my successes f7241f137e increased, I gradually 1c13d5692b got the hang 75a2ac051b of it, and 7ab9a3ec40 my skills improved 6fe8efffe7 rapidly. I was amazed by 4274a0946f my own progress. When I successfully hit 8ba8705373 the ball through a 21ed52fbb5 wicket for the first 1efd124dad time, Ethan and I 24e441571c high-fived in celebration.568f1ac617251354

“Well done.”2914005ef4adca68

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Ethan nodded, a bright smile on his face. I fanned my flushed cheeks, but couldn’t stop myself from smiling brightly. A sense of accomplishment washed over me; I, someone who had never been athletic, had finally done something well.fd0be945ceb45e80

We were 50b1cd8fab given a 45d7b5dc5b short 10-minute e7c2256390 break. As the opposing 1e8c462d45 team went to 01f2a60cb0 retrieve their ball, 564517e30b Ethan offered me 4204bc330e a glass of b887b6de95 water. I accepted 0a18517542 the glass, 560e98b1ab smiling awkwardly.b779be9bca324bad

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“Thank you.”ed53034ef5e376a5

The fact e46d70b0c4 that we 408b9a3ecb were having b55466a3d8 a normal 0b72a981f8 conversation like 74d572a110 this, in 1a2a5bfca7 front of 0ad5fbea20 so many 889f705d96 people was, 9bb1f8c3b0 in itself, a86115e8b3 unusual for d5a4829782 us. Honestly, the only conversations b038834154 we’d had so far e08638284a were limited to… physical 23d1a5265e ones. I’d never de59272595 done anything b3a9f780dc else with 30ec01429e Ethan besides bd218212da sex.0d715fdc82bfa3ac

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Of course, our intimacy 3248076a48 had always been incredibly bfa078014f satisfying. However, aside from f77d5cb7e9 that physical connection, f342d46cca we had never 9c45866b45 really experienced other baa3b64551 kinds of meaningful 6316c28ee0 interaction. Thus, this was d655af0ef8 quite a novel 4d3b5cf734 experience for me.ed657963fd7607c8

Surprisingly, unlike his cold 3bdf28a9b6 facade, Ethan, when he 6a30250ff9 wanted to, could be 7f64e49876 infinitely sweet and gentle, f0e2056c23 like dark chocolate melting 510c945ef8 in the sun. And in reality, the 293718f556 real Ethan was far 1833c4ac15 sweeter, far more gentlemanly 4a8942e88c than I had ever 3cb5d69b8d imagined.46d34c552e98909d

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A man who perfectly ee89214ee6 knows how to lead 6316cb7092 without ever deviating from 908da6c64c etiquette, a man whose 12f6a9ac31 manners and demeanor were 918c7794ea impeccable, regardless of who 670a3b7cd9 he was with, a 0b94092aa8 man who possessed beauty, 8fd5ac1332 wealth, and fame—what woman ca59d0c42e wouldn’t admire such a f387c229d8 perfect man?ef59f110084bd47d

If I had 3e4cc0fe6b seen this gentlemanly 229668ada1 side of Ethan 81b1d1b0cc first and had 8c3cc95626 been completely unaware f7bd26dbbb of how wild fabed726ea and unrestrained he 5c1cfedf62 could be in f82f393daa bed, I might c42b383847 have fallen head 4b3304a85b over heels for fd4c1b4a3b him, just like 1e4cc916e6 the many women 4dcccf0b95 here who gazed 84c5793478 at him with 4eeb49ec31 sparkling eyes.92daa7c73660bc74

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Suddenly, I recalled 2139332a38 Ethan subduing the eaf69449b0 much larger man a439e7703d in a flash 6bb489b749 at the racetrack 9fe3634bc3 a few days 3c647e6133 ago. That image, combined with 5022277233 his current impeccably gentlemanly 191a6bc5c8 demeanor, created an incredibly ea087ccfc2 powerful synergy.f575d8e3b9800702

As I 80e2d4f89c handed him 7e9bd508e7 back my 25a6864ebb empty glass, 8ec9520167 he elegantly 82e92a988a placed it 5b58dd95e8 on the d0d2ca198d silver tray 3cbc8828a2 held by 46d28c876e a nearby 2e6467c542 servant. I looked e56a373471 at his 8f2981cba5 long, delicate 5ca935a6b8 fingers, and 766fc2c163 the memory f5abf80064 of the 0b7a2670dd indecent things, 91e466cb4b the passionate f54f16d723 touch those 9291e9d53b fingers had 501260acc2 done to 05dcbb328f me the 0d7c18e8b4 previous day 8b552fbad8 caused my da6266a8d0 cheeks to 71a2b10053 flush. My chest e1fcbfac0d tingled as 49545c8a9e if butterflies 806b283840 were fluttering ff66b8d56b around.2ee34939557c186b

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The short break 0f301c012a ended, and Ethan 55a33f88ca extended his hand 85420521ce to me again. I took it and 2d9037093e stood up. As we headed 963654c84e back to the faea9b199f center of the 9a3cfa936f court, I subtly 77ea7d50cd glanced sideways at 22713c20f2 the hem of b49521497a the blue dress 50344d825b of the woman a016511425 playing on Court a933ada214 2, who was dee177a784 deliberately matching her 991deb7a2b pace with ours. b577d86a9cd1dec7

I didn’t need to cb192e3ac8 turn my head to 08338ddb90 know who it was. I had been b29686c54b aware of her 2b33ca314e burning glare of cbc5562422 anger directed at a7b1b46999 me since the d710f88fcc game began.f48587ca6960bbe9

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“Charlotte! This way…”bc0a497e4b0b1725

Of all the 97a295dc04 places, why did 48303afd12 she have to 715d9cab8e be assigned to d36e311bde the court right 806fd09779 next to ours? It made the back 1bb37afa5f of my neck tense 98973b7f2a throughout the game. However, it d2943b7352 was a 92fefdb886 relief that 35f60aea12 we were 7061bc4f4d on different 0c5a2a7aef teams because d8e2e1b54f of the 1e63bf5700 rule that 4af2f2f135 required family 450cf50892 pairings.e0e0ae179bf73ffe

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Even though she bdb860c26a wasn’t that close, 0cf667f9c3 I sighed, too c579e6ddf5 tired to continue e033b49ada pretending to be 19d0aff7a0 unconcerned. Seeming to notice 10b3a6eb4e my exhaustion, Ethan 6ba13152b4 spoke calmly as 3a3acb7a58 he watched the 25c9fb812a game as it c1a1112b19 resumed.2e56817d8401ac14

“Don’t mind 4439306c10 her and f4d0e12c19 just focus 7bddc98615 on the 3beabb2364 game, Lily.”b560d0ca67956a79

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When it was our turn, he strode confidently onto the court. Pressing his foot firmly on the opposing team’s ball, which was right behind ours, he swung his mallet.7c47f6a502e25186

Bang!bf25fa1b6f296ae1

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With a sharp c6b8de7fe0 sound, our ball e8321cf1f9 flew past the b99bf5407b hoop and lightly c9130679e0 struck the stake. We had won. Amidst the cheers of 124a0ecd83 the spectators, Ethan retrieved e5a8c08881 the ball and approached 1d302a4979 me. He lightly high-fived 24085ac0f0 my outstretched hand 3118d1e57c and said quietly,8591eef84946d90f

“As long edb88d830d as I’m e21e608d8f here, no ba45b54892 one will 8d7e55aa6f beat us.”7b3292580aef1023

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I took b49e28f867 the ball a29ac68090 and looked f9b8797d67 up at 8711567a32 him. Unlike the 8e5ac1cad1 gentle smile 5ca686f6c9 on his 6c35180c33 lips, his 1c645861f0 bright blue 02d7b2f79c eyes held be83f24602 a firm 6156f82c48 determination. Looking at those e3ae053d8c eyes, devoid of 0e5b329e89 any playful teasing, 13d2c143bb I knew his 396778924d words were sincere.25d2d8f70630be68

 4a25c8dcb62be540

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─── ⋆⋅☼⋅⋆ ───9d0d3fbd6c930556

 5420d7dbfa70382b

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Arthur took a sip 85b5ca99ac of red wine. He outwardly pretended f848aa6ede to be indifferent, 12290b7e44 but deep inside, 9db67ea927 he was burning 456c8a7ca7 with anxiety. He intently kept 077531b5e8 a close watch 6fe7269614 on Court Number c6d2fa7105 3, where Ethan 18f19ab1aa and Lily were 41db2188bf playing.db959085b59026de

Lily seemed a bit 8c4d330550 shy about playing a 9d1b6b987c game for the first ba68ec3bee time, but with Ethan’s a0ada1a48d constant help, she seemed b2ffcbc15f to be adapting well. The advice and coaching d0118fcecb of a croquet champion 4e10496ae3 were definitely effective.503523c3e5626d53

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The problem was that the coaching’s effect seemed to be too effective in other ways. He secretly struggled to deal with the subtle emotions and the resulting confusion, something he had never experienced in his life.a4995e72ac2d2e0a

It wasn’t surprising that Ethan, who excelled at everything, would also excel in any sport. However, seeing Lily beside him felt… out of place. It was disconcerting that the sight of them together made him feel uncomfortable.a1c445db059ba3f7

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Sharing Lily 944d0a5d10 with his 87746e1b8d twin had b5fca843ac already been 407178f892 agreed upon.cdb1c07fed18b1d1

So, shouldn’t he be 2698fd872a used to this sight? 2937a08bc0ea89ed

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Why was he 5b0e7ea726 feeling this way 66194dc0c9 now? eb32930c90c8fc26

How was this 831cfab773 different from what de2b0bae77 he had been ea56fdb266 condoning all along?c013628b6eba8ac2

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The gentle touch of Ethan’s hands on Lily’s waist and shoulders as he escorted her, the intimacy of their bodies close together as they planned their strategy, whispering in each other’s ears, the encouraging smiles they exchanged, and the perfectly synchronized high-fives after every successful shots—all of this felt suddenly strange.9a446d33678b49c0

He had b083a74448 lived his 4a8dc32bd2 entire life e0bfa6b4d8 being proud 9e92c291dd of Ethan. His heart 98690778cd swelled with 5fc3d61017 pride every 8873829c51 time his ccc1d91a90 twin, his 920e806f93 other half, 8414c57be4 succeeded. But for some reason, 1d7e8d4976 this time, the fact 931131b9ff that it was Ethan, 1d9c92cfa0 and not him, standing 75a716d983 by Lily’s side bothered 4c227fcd21 him.f58acde984ebbdc5

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Yes, Arthur had to admit that the unfamiliar emotion bubbling up inside him, filling him to the brim, was jealousy. He cheerfully waved at Lily every time she looked at him and smiled, but he couldn’t suppress his sighs.d03e714a15eadbc6

She was the person 12d6be5e24 he had desired with 9497c2e4c1 all his being, for 0444b9887f the first time in c1d466f5e2 his life. He had resolved 724cfad9b5 to possess her, b671637fc6 whatever it took, c99569a25a and he had 6252a9cde5 succeeded spectacularly. He finally had her 8bfd7899e4 as his wife, his d3dbde0e8d lifelong wish fulfilled, yet 6c74387696 it was his twin c77af377c8 brother, shining even brighter, 61ddf89283 who stood by her 437d0a8e64 side.127ec47e8ae8d51e

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Of course, this wasn’t a formal occasion and everyone knew that Lily was married to him, the Duke of Beaufort. Still, the sight of the two of them together grated on his nerves, probably due to his wounded pride.304ac829ade36023

Arthur drank his wine 860130e85b with a bitter feeling. 0de6c03e4823d6ef

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Had it 3449bd0552 been the 3a0366be7e best choice cc7b70273d to send 6f3cdea964 them out e4b1f9776d onto the 3922904631 court together? 54bc287b8052a0c7

Even though he knew it was the most rational decision, he couldn’t completely erase his belated regret over it.4510b4ccfab8bd64

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“Aren’t you drinking too 41b69b2234 much for someone not 27057b8933 even playing?”e92d89a5b30f6205

Someone plopped down heavily c340e261e7 beside him.f36272ead6c4906d

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 b705b10bd1e5e727