All Chapters of The Savior He Never Knew: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1

"Nora, what was that look supposed to mean?"The harvest bonfire had just burned down, and the crowd hadn't gone far.Ethan Caldwell stood in the shadow of the old locust tree, an unlit cigarette between his fingers.I stopped and looked back at him."Nothing."He took two steps closer, frowning slightly."Chloe scares easily. Don't use that passive-aggressive attitude to frighten her."I looked at his tailored suit.It was impossible to match him with the boy in ragged clothes who used to follow me around crying."I haven't said a single word to her."I lowered my eyes to my left leg. It had never healed straight.Ethan followed my gaze.A flicker of irritation crossed his face, so faint it was almost invisible."I know your family's struggling."He took a bank card from the inside pocket of his suit and held it out to me."There's seventy thousand dollars on this. The PIN is six zeros. That's enough for you to live comfortably in this village for the rest of your life.

Chapter 2

By noon the next day, the mayor's backyard was packed with banquet tables.Ethan had paid for a feast for the entire village so everyone could share in his and Chloe's celebration.Dad hadn't wanted to come, but I brought him anyway and sat us at a table in the corner.At the head table, Ethan was carefully peeling shrimp for Chloe.He dipped each one in sauce, set it on her plate, then wiped his fingers with a napkin."Ethan, you're so sweet to me."Chloe's smile was pure honey.Mrs. Dawson, sitting at their table, looked on enviously and couldn't resist teasing him."Mr. Caldwell sure knows how to spoil his bride-to-be. City folks really are different. He's even peeling her shrimp!"Ethan smiled faintly."She has delicate hands. Peeling shrimp ruins her nails."I sat not far away, quietly picking at the plain food on my plate.Years ago, on the hill behind the village, he'd caught a crayfish in the creek, and it had pinched his hand until it bled.Crying, he swore he'd n

Chapter 3

That afternoon, I was in the yard sorting the food I'd take with me.The gate creaked open, and Ethan walked in alone.He'd changed into casual clothes, but he still looked completely out of place in our run-down farmyard.Seeing me crouched on the ground packing, he came over and looked down at me."Was I too harsh at lunch?"I didn't look up. I kept stuffing dried sweet potato strips into a cloth bag."No. You told the truth."My lukewarm attitude clearly annoyed him.He nudged the bag at my feet with his shoe."Why are you packing all this junk? Are you really planning to hide out in the middle of nowhere for the rest of your life?"Anyway, I came to talk to you about something."He paused, and his tone grew stiff."Chloe's taken a liking to the dried blossoms from that old locust tree in your yard. She wants to take some back to the city for scented sachets."Go pick some for her and put them in a nice box."My hands stopped moving.My mother had planted that locust

Chapter 4

The next morning, the fog still hadn't lifted.Carrying my suitcase, I limped toward the edge of the village.A big crowd had gathered under the old locust tree there.Ethan and Chloe stood in the middle, handing out engagement favors to the villagers.Today was the day they were going back to the city.When everyone saw me coming with my suitcase, the noisy crowd suddenly went quiet.Ethan turned. His eyes landed on my suitcase, and his brows knotted instantly."What's with the suitcase? Are you pulling the running-away-from-home act again?"He strode up to me and blocked my way."Nora, haven't you made enough of a scene?"Chloe came over too, hooked her arm through his, and looked at me with concern."Nora, where are you going? Are you mad at us because Ethan asked you to pick flowers yesterday?"He was just in a hurry. Please don't blame him."The villagers started pointing and whispering right away."Nora's got no sense. He was kind enough to find her a job and she tu

Chapter 5

Ethan gripped the steering wheel so hard the veins bulged on the backs of his hands.Dr. Harmon's words kept tearing at his mind.He thought of the scene under the old locust tree just now.In front of the whole village, he'd pointed at my limp and picked me apart.He'd even called me shameless.Ethan slammed on the brakes. His stomach churned violently, and he threw open the door and retched.For years, he'd treated Chloe like a treasure.He'd bought her the most expensive jewelry and paid for a banquet for the whole village, all to repay her for that half a honey cake.He'd thought I was a gold digger, that I'd hurt my leg in some careless fall of my own and was trying to pin it on him."Nora..."His voice was so hoarse it barely sounded like his own.He started the car again and drove like a maniac to the bus station in town.The ticket clerk didn't even look up."The bus to the county seat left a while ago. It pulled out half an hour back.""Where did she go? Where di

Chapter 6

I vanished completely from Ethan's world.He pulled every string he had, but he couldn't find a trace of me.Ethan went back to the city.He canceled the engagement and cut Chloe out of his life for good.But he soon realized his own life had fallen apart too.Before, whenever he got home from work, there'd always been a glass of honey water waiting on the table, just the right temperature.It was wild honey I'd had sent from the countryside to settle his stomach.One night, he drank so much at a business dinner that he ended up in the hospital with stomach bleeding.He woke in the middle of the night to an empty room.Without thinking, he called out."Nora, I want some water."No one answered.Ethan yanked the IV out of the back of his hand and staggered into the bathroom.He stared at his pale face in the mirror, then suddenly slapped himself hard."You deserve to die."He muttered it to his reflection.He started searching frantically for any trace I might have left

Chapter 7

The mountain roads near the southwestern border were winding and rough.Ethan took a four-hour flight, then a seven-hour bus ride, and finally rented an SUV.At last, he reached a place called Sunset Valley.It was even poorer than the village we'd grown up in.The school was just a few crumbling brick buildings, and the yard didn't even have a basketball hoop.Standing at the school gate, Ethan felt his legs trembling.The bell rang, and a crowd of kids in worn-out clothes poured out of the classrooms.Right after them, a familiar figure stepped out.I was wearing a faded cotton shirt, my hair pulled back simply.I was talking with the teacher beside me, a faint smile on my lips.Ethan hadn't seen me smile like that in a long time."Nora..."His voice was raw.I stopped walking.I looked up, and my gaze crossed the yard and landed on him.Ethan's heart leaped into his throat.I looked at him, my expression calm.After a moment, I slowly walked toward the gate.The gr

Chapter 8

The color drained from Ethan's face.He opened his mouth but couldn't find a single word to argue back."I... I didn't know back then..."He tried to defend himself, but his voice was pitifully weak."So not knowing gives you the right to trample on someone's dignity?"I looked at him calmly."Ethan, you've never respected me. To you, I've always been some country girl you could brush off and humiliate whenever you felt like it."I stepped back, putting distance between us."Go home. You're not welcome here, and I don't want to see you again."With that, I turned and walked toward the teachers' dorms."Nora!"Ethan lunged forward and wrapped his arms tightly around me from behind."Don't go! Please, don't go!"He buried his face in the crook of my neck.His tears fell without warning and landed on my collar."I know I was wrong. I really do. I'll take you to the best doctors and get your leg fixed. We'll start over, okay?"He was holding me so tight I could barely breat

Chapter 9

Ethan didn't leave.He checked into the only small inn in Sunset Valley.Every morning, he showed up at the school gate right on time, holding breakfast he'd bought in town.I never accepted it.Every day, I walked past him without so much as a glance.Ethan didn't get angry.He started helping the school patch its leaky roof and paid to have the yard paved.He even bought every child a new uniform and school supplies out of his own pocket.He thought that if he did enough, I'd eventually see how sincere he was.But he was wrong.One evening two weeks later, Ethan was out in the yard putting up a brand-new basketball hoop.I walked over.His hands were covered in dirt, but when he saw me, his eyes lit up."Nora, look! The hoop's all set up. The kids can play tomorrow."He looked at me eagerly, like a kid waiting to be praised.I looked at the shiny new hoop, then at his expensive shirt smeared with dirt."Ethan, do you think any of this means anything?"The smile froze

Chapter 10

After that conversation, Ethan fell ill.His fever wouldn't break, and he drifted in and out of consciousness.Mrs. Pruitt, who ran the inn, was terrified. She hurried to the school to find me."Ms. Bennett, that businessman from the city is burning up. He keeps calling your name. Please come see him before something terrible happens."I was grading homework. My pen paused for a second."All right. Could you call 911 for him and have him taken to the county hospital?"I didn't look up. My voice was as calm as if I were dealing with some trivial matter.Mrs. Pruitt hesitated, then sighed, turned, and left.The ambulance came screaming into the village, then screamed away again.As they lifted Ethan onto the stretcher, he blearily opened his eyes.He searched the crowd for that familiar figure.But he saw nothing.Only swirling dust and blinding sunlight.He spent three days in the county hospital. I never visited once.On the day he was discharged, he got a call from his a

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