Chapter 23
I’m instantly breathless.
Ethan looks at me, his eyes narrowing as he takes me in. He brushes his already-perfect hair before placing his elbow on the arm of the chair. He is dressed in the finest attire again. God, he truly looks like a king.
Even from afar, I can see that he is sitting up all stiff and proper and clean-cut. All sexy, mysterious, and dark. I almost feel as bare as the last time I saw him by the way he looks at me.
But then his dark eyes widen. “You’ve got to be shitting me,” Ethan says in his deep, sexy voice before standing.
There is that tone of voice again. The one I lap up like a puppy with a bowl of milk for a moment until I realize what he actually means by his words.
Wait. What?
This has to be a nightmare!
“What are you doing here?” he asks, walking towards me as I instinctively take a step back. Well, I guess walking isn’t the right word because one second he’s far away, and the next he’s just a few feet away from me. “How did you know I was here? Are you following me?” he snaps in a cruel tone. I look up at him and feel a little terrified.
“What?” I reply indignantly.
“You are following me!” Ethan repeats himself as if he’s just tasted something sour and bitter and is looking to spit it out.
It isn’t a question.
“I’m not following you!” I immediately say, crossing my arms.
“It’s obvious you are,” he says, looking down at me. “What are you doing here, little Dove?” For a second, I could have sworn he said my pet name with an almost amused look in his eyes. However, his current hard expression suggests that it must all be in my head.
“Stop calling me that!” I hiss, widening my eyes. I shouldn’t have revealed my last name to him.
Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
“Answer me, little Dove.”
Good Lord, give me patience!
“I’m not here for you, Ethan,” I say as firmly as I can, but my traitorous eyes drift to the massive bulge of Ethan’s arms as he crosses them as well.
“So, are you lost? Do you want something here?” His mouth forms a mocking little smirk. “Or just my attention?”
I haven’t missed this side of him at all.
“You’re asking the wrong girl, Ethan. As I said, I’m not here for you.”
“Yet you’re the one who invaded my house.” He tilts his head a little bit as one of his eyebrows arches.
I feel my cheeks go splotchy, which, of course, only makes his smirk more evident because I certainly kind of invaded his mansion. “Clearly, I’m in the wrong place,” I finally settle on.
The air hangs heavy with silence as we look intently at one another until, out of nowhere, I hear a voice. “Allie?”
I turn around towards Vi, who is coming in my direction. “Vi!” I say breathlessly, relieved that I am not in the wrong place.
But only then do I realize that Violet and Ethan are in the same place.
Oh, my God.
Please, no.
“He’s yours...” I start to say as she approaches me.
“Big brother,” Vi finishes my sentence with a huge, friendly smile. She’s dressed in an espresso brown, sleek slip maxi dress with no makeup on, yet still radiant.
I haven’t expected her to hug me right away but she has her arms wrapped around me in the next instance. “We’re really close,” she says, letting go of the hug. “For me, he is like chewing gum on my shoe,” she goes on with a teasing smile.
Ethan rolls his eyes, and I suppress a small laugh. A hint of envy stirs inside me as I watch the two of them exchange glances because I suddenly remember my own glances at my brothers when they were alive. We were all so close. I miss them so much.
Shit, I can’t think about that now because the last thing I have is time for a grieving, crying jag.
“Gross, Vi.” Ethan mutters.
“How have you been, Allie?” Violet ignores Ethan and turns to me. “I’m sorry I didn’t come to see you at the Blackmoon entrance. I was taking a shower,” she says, emphasizing as she tosses her damp, dark brown hair back.
I raise my hands. “That’s okay! I actually tried to call you before I abruptly showed up at your house, but my phone died. I, uhm.” I look at Ethan and then back at her before continuing. “Can I talk to you in private?” No way I’m letting him know why I came here. I don’t want him to think I’m asking for charity, which I literally am if I really think about it.
“Do you know each other?” Vi asks, looking back and forth between Ethan and I.
“No!” Ethan promptly answers with a frown.
Ouch. That hurts, even though I’m not surprised that this was his reaction.
I don’t deny him. If I think about it, it’s better this way.
Vi shoots at Ethan with a serious look, but he shakes his head slightly. She lets out a long and audible sigh before turning to me. “You can talk in front of my brother. It’s okay,” she says reassuringly.
I prepared a short speech to say to her during the whole way here, but Ethan’s unexpected presence ruined it. I bite my bottom lip. That’s it! I need to swallow my pride. I do it with my eyes closed. Then, looking at Vi and trying to ignore Ethan’s glaring presence, I say, “I was wondering if I could stay here for three days.” I assume that by then, I’ll be able to go back to my place and figure out what to do.
“You want to stay here?” Ethan asks. His tone is to the point and emotionless. He continues to stare at me.
Remembering Vi’s analogy about their relationship, I feel exactly like the gum under his shoe, but not in a good way. “Please, Vi... I don’t have anywhere else to go,” I say quietly, looking at her.
“Why do you need to stay here this long?” Ethan’s cold voice inquires me.
The contrast between his tone now and his touch when we had sex is immense.
It makes me scared. When someone is mad, they hit. That is my experience, anyway.
Tears are already welling up in my eyes as I keep my head down, but then Vi takes my hand, and I lift my head to meet her gaze. “You can stay here as long as you need, Allie,” Vi says in a firm voice. I haven’t gone into any detail about why I’m here, but somehow, Vi has figured out that it’s more than just a simple matter. I can tell by the way she holds my hand.
“Thank you, Vi.”
Ethan glares at his sister, and it gives me a lump in my throat. Being by his side at the moment is the last thing I want to. The reason I’m not leaving is just because I don’t have anywhere else to go.
He is a jerk! I’m glad he didn’t tell her we’ve met before because right now, I’m really embarrassed about sleeping with him without even *knowing* him first.
“Uhm, Vi...” Oh, God! How am I supposed to say this? “I’m not alone.”
I glance at Ethan, and his eyes are like two barrels of a gun, digging in my direction and threatening to pull the trigger.
Suddenly, Az chooses the exact same moment to show up on the other side of the fancy hallway.
Not only me but also both siblings immediately acknowledged him.
Az comes towards me, but his wide-eyed expression, as if he got startled, is directed towards Ethan, who is standing right next to me.
Ethan shifts his gaze to me and coldly enunciates each word, “You have a child?!”
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