Chapter 6
The next day, I went to work as usual.
Life had gotten even busier somehow.
With Ben in a cast, he could only order takeout. I brought him meals each day and checked on his recovery.
Six days left before I officially clocked out.
That’s when I heard the news–from someone else, of course.
The headquarters team froth Eldenridge had flown in for a three–day inspection.
Ethan was among them.
Of course he was. And of course, no one bothered to tell me.
I was helping the new secretary wrap up the last of my handover, but my mind was elsewhere.
Then my phone buzzed.
A message from an unknown number.
[Come to the VIP lounge on the 43rd floor. Or I’ll c
Ethan
come get you.]
The new secretary glanced at me, a little nervous. “I can come back later if you’re busy?”
“Sorry, yeah–just something I need to take care of. You go ahead and look these over.
I handed off the last of the files and took the elevator up.
I wondered if Chloe would be there.
Probably not.
Still, something warm and sharp twisted in my chest. I shut it down quickly.
The elevator dinged open
Empty.
I hesitated at the suite door, then knocked.
It opened instantly, just a crack
No lights.
I stepped inside, reaching for the switch-
And was yanked Into a tight hold, back slammed against the door.
The wood was cold against my cheek. His breath was hot and unsteady. He reeked of alcohol
Ethan spun me around, barely staying upright.
I pushed a forearm between us, keeping a safe distance. One punch away.
Maybe that pissed him off.
He pinned my hands above my head in one swift motion. My shirt was pulled loose, his hands sliding beneath it with practiced ease.
His palms were burning hot.
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His kisses came hot and unhinged.
I gasped, struggling for air.
He let go for a second–then dove right back in.
We were both breathing hard, tangled in the dark.
His voice was hoarse. “Who’ve you been seeing lately?”
I froze.
Of course he knew I’d been going to Ben’s place.
And of course I thought about the accident.
“That guy who hit Ben–was that you?”
His grip on my waist suddenly tightened.
He stilled.
Swallowed hard. “It wasn’t me.”
||
“You’re stalking me?” I snapped. “Did you
“You think I’d do that?”
I didn’t answer.
The
silence said enough
“I can’t believe you think I’d hurt someone just because of you
He laughed bitterly. “So what? He gets hurt and you freak out? Holding his hand, wiping his sweat, letting him lean on you for days? You used to save all that for me, Olivia.”
His breathing turned shaky.
“You think I’d hurt him? Have I ever done something like that to you before?”
“If I wanted to keep other men away, there wouldn’t be a single one left near you.”
He was too close.
When his tears landed on my face, they were still warm from his eyes,
Ethan could handle his liquor–but not in large doses.
Give him enough, and he turned into a storm of emotion.
I braced myself against his shoulders, trying to steady my heartbeat.
That was the p
past,” I said, voice trembling.
“He’s someone l’in seriously considering marrying. What’s wrong with me taking care of him?”
His jaw clenched, muscles ticking.
He looked like he was trying to think through molasses,
“You used to only be like that with me.”
That broke something in me.
I pushed him back–hard.
Chapter 6
The lights came on one by one, spilling warmth across the room.
He stumbled, landed on the couch.
His shirt was half open, sleeves rolled to the elbow, leather garters biting into his arms. Legs sprawled, a picture of strength unraveling
into weakness.
“I wasn’t only good to you,” I said. “I’m good to the man I’m with. Understand the difference?”
I looked at him–at the disheveled man who once held all my trust.
And suddenly, I felt like the one in control.
“We’re nothing now, Ethan ”
He stared at me in silence.
Neither of us spoke.
I turned to go. “Get some rest. And stop drinking so much
As I reached for the door-
olivia,” he called out, voice low and rough. “Happy birthday.”
Something splintered quietly in my chest.
I froze.
A flood of memories hit me, too fast to sort through. No clear images–just the weight of all those nights.
Two years together.
A breakup like falling off a cliff,
I could’ve accepted it if we’d just faded out, grown apart over time.
But it wasn’t like that..
There was still so much left unfinished.
And
we had a child.
When I was pregnant, I refused to see himn
To his credit, he stayed qut of sight.
But I knew he’d been around.
His massages were awful at first. Left my swollen legs feeling worse.
But he kept coming. Got better at it.
When I hit seven months, he came to rub stretch mark oil on my belly.
I’d been awake. I knew.
The baby kicked him.
He sat there at the edge of the bed, red–eyed, frozen,
I hated myself for still being soft.
It was just a birthday wish
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Just four words–but they cut deep.
Why did it mess me up
this much?
I sank down slowly, covering my face.
Theard footsteps approach.
Then he knelt behind me and wrapped his arms around me.
“Ethan,” I whispered. “Just this once.”
I helped him back to the bedroom.
One by one, I undid the buttons on his shirt
His eyes were bloodshot.
He looked exhausted. And sorry.
“You want to do it?” he murmured, hand over mine, stopping me. “I can’t… I’m too drunk.”
1 clenched my fists, breathed in deep.
“Then lie down and let me clean you up–unless you’re planning to stew in sweat and booze all night.”
*ch.”
He sounded disappointed, but obeyed.
Laid back and let me wipe him down.
“Olivia.”
“Yeah?”
“I can explain…everything. All of it.”
“That girl you saw ine with—that was the daughter of a family friend. Yeah, our parents wanted to set us up. But we’ve known each other too long. There was never anything there. We had dinner and both told our families we weren’t interested.”
He sighed.
“As for the break–in–you were right. I should’ve helped you move. I wanted to. But I couldn’t find anything suitable without raising your suspicions. I didn’t want you to know who I really was, So I hired two guys to live upstairs and downstairs. For security. I wasn’t ignoring you.”
“And the tie… I’m sorry, I didn’t realize how hard you worked for that money.”
I didn’t respond.
Instead, I pressed on the bruise near his upper arm,
It was bly
“How’d you get this?”
He shut his eyes,
Didn’t answer.
Maybe dodging the question.
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Maybe just out cold.
I sat by the bed for a while.
Then stood, fixed my hair, adjusted my clothes, and walked away without looking back.
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