Broken Memories, Intertwined Hearts

Chapter 292

Ines was snoozing away the entire afternoon, only getting up when the sun was about to set. When she woke up, the whole room was bathed in the afterglow of the setting sun, looking unbelievably gorgeous. At that moment, Ethan was busy snapping photos, first of her, then of the view outside the window.

Just as they were about to head out, there was a knock on the door. Ashley and Phoebe were inviting them downstairs for dinner.

After dinner, they strolled along a small path in the hotel grounds. After a while, they discovered a lake, with a sandy beach where the sand was incredibly soft.

"Someone told me earlier that this is a man-made lake. It was dug out." Ethan explained with a grin. All text © NôvelD(r)a'ma.Org.

"Wow, they really went all out to build a lake here." Ashley kicked off her shoes and made a beeline for the lake, leaving Aaron to pick up her shoes so they didn’t have to come back for them later.

Ines was tempted to join them by the lake, but considering her age and the people around, she didn’t run over like Ashley did.

Ethan patted her on the shoulder, saying with a smile, "Izzy, you can take off your shoes and walk on the beach too. It should feel pretty good."

Encouraged by Ethan, Ines took off her shoes. Ethan naturally picked them up, and they walked hand in hand on the beach. The sun was setting, and they enjoyed a leisurely stroll by the lake. Walking on the soft sand was indeed a wonderful experience.

Noel said to Phoebe, "You can do the same, I can hold your shoes for you."

Phoebe scoffed. Just when Noel thought she would walk away, a pair of shoes were thrown at him. Noel caught them.

After a round, Ines and Ethan found Phoebe and Ashley not far away. She let go of Ethan's hand and went to join them.

So, all three guys ended up holding a pair of ladies' shoes, looking a bit awkward. They glanced at each other and couldn't help but laugh.

Ethan watched Ines having a good time and instinctively captured her every move with his camera. Ashley and Phoebe also asked for photos. Seeing Ethan so well-received, Noel couldn't help but say to Aaron, "Ethan's changed a lot over the past year, he's become more outgoing, and he knows how to please women. If I'd known a camera could make women happy, I would've bought one myself."

Aaron just smiled and didn't say anything. He knew it was because Ethan truly cared about Ines. If it were someone else, he probably wouldn't have done the same.

Noel patted Aaron on the shoulder, "Bro, you should at least try to look happy. Your smile seems so forced. I can't tell anymore if you're still hung up on Ines, or if you're upset because Ashley found a boyfriend."

"Look who's talking, you should sort out your own stuff first. You haven't managed to win over any girl after all this time." Aaron said.

Noel glared at Aaron, thinking how naive he had been. Unlike Ethan who was always respectful with women and didn't want any marriage expectations imposed on him, he chose to ignore the baseless rumors.

The ironic thing now was that when he finally found a woman he liked, she already pegged him as a playboy.

But it would be wrong to say he had no women in his life, after all, he was already thirty .

After the girls had played to their heart’s content, they sat down on the beach. Ethan came over and Ashley snatched the camera from him to check out the photos.

After a while, she frowned at Ethan, "Why did you take such unflattering photos of me and Phoebe, but Ines looks so good in her photos. You're playing favorites."

Hearing this, Ines blushed and looked at Ethan, who just smiled and didn't explain. Phoebe patted Ashley's hand, comforting her, "Don't be mad, your brother's lens was focused on Ines. We were just the background, what did you expect? Next time, bring your own boyfriend. Only he would take the effort to make you look good."

Ashley pouted, then suddenly said to Ines, "My brother even took a picture of you drooling."

"Where is it?" Ines immediately tried to snatch Ashley's phone.

Ashley quickly got up and held the camera high above her head. She was a few inches taller than Ines, who couldn't reach it and could only glare at Ethan, "Ethan, did you really take a picture like that of me?"

Ethan's lips curled up slightly, "No, Ashley's just messing with you."

But Ines didn't believe him. Because when she woke up, she did see Ethan taking photos, suspecting that he took some photos of her sleeping.

Ashley raised an eyebrow at Ethan, her expression saying, 'you favor me, I'll mess with your wife'.

Finally, Phoebe couldn't stand it anymore and pulled Ines over, "Pregnancy really does make you gullible, it's obvious that little missy is just teasing you."

Ashley burst out laughing, then showed Ines the photo she'd been looking at, "Look, this is the picture of you drooling, you look so good."

Ines looked down, she was sleeping soundly in the photo. Her hair scattered around, and her face was rosy and cute, there was no sign of drooling.

Ines couldn't help but smack Ashley on the head, "You were just messing with me."

"If I can't mess with my brother, then I'll just have to mess with you." Ashley said, looking smug.

The two of them started to play around, and Ethan couldn't help but remind her, "Ashley, be careful, Ines is pregnant."

"I know, I'm not that thoughtless. Now, hurry up and take some good photos of me." Ashley hugged Ines and put her hand on Ines's belly.

Ines gave a sligtht smile and placed her hand on Ashley's, the two of them leaning closely together.

Ethan looked at them in this position, and couldn't help but feel a twinge of pain. That was supposed to be his place, but now it was occupied by his sister. Despite the slight discomfort, he still picked up the camera and took photos of them. Otherwise, Ashley would find other ways to make trouble.