Author’s POVFinding out that there was truly a connection between Lily and Ethan devastated Hannah, she remained quiet for a while, looking at Ethan with pure horror on her face. She shifted her gaze away from Ethan for a while, trying to process this, and then suddenly she opened her mouth to talk, but the words remained stuck in her throat.After a while, she slowly pulled her wrist from his grip, but his hand lingered in the air, curling as if still trying to hold on to her touch.Reluctantly, Hannah sat beside him, brushing her hand over his as Ethan’s breath steadied. She stayed there, unable to pull herself away, her heart thudding painfully in her chest.At that moment, she could not help but wonder. Was this who he was when his guard fell? Was this the real Ethan beneath the steel exterior? She was starting to see cracks, pieces of his real self forming together, exposing a hidden vulnerability, but somehow seeing this part of him only made it harder. At that moment, she w
Author’s POVHannah lingered around in the kitchen, her heart racing as her mind delved deeper into the thoughts. She'd heard every word Ethan whispered last night, felt the desperation in his touch, and saw the raw pain in his eyes. Her mind was conflicted, she never pictured Ethan as someone who would let down his guards, someone she’d find herself worried and concerned for. Lily’s lip had slipped from his lips like a wound reopening, and her heart ached at the sound of it. She knew Ethan hadn’t meant to say it, yet she couldn’t just ignore last night. Finally, she had confirmed her suspicions – Ethan knew about Lily, but how?She’d been racking her brain, trying to trace that connection. Anything at all that would make sense of all of this.‘Why did he say she wasn’t like Lily?’ Hannah wondered, filled with fear and curiosity. However, her mind also raced with one thought.She knew sooner or later, Ethan would be up and if he remembered anything from last night, she wouldn’t know
Author’s POVEthan walked up slowly to Julienne, and stopped just a few inches in front of her, “Drop it, Julienne,” he said his voice tight,“Just don’t get involved. My marriage is fine.” He brushed past her, heading out of the kitchen, hoping she’d let the matter go.Julienne on the other hand had no intentions of letting the matter go. She watched him leave, her mind slipping with possibilities. She’d seen the way Hannah looked at Ethan when he wasn’t noticing. A mix of desire and guardedness that screamed secrets. Nothing intrigued her more than a well-kept secret. She could tell that something was wrong and that Hannah might be too afraid to ask for help with Ethan, and knowing Ethan, he would be too blind to see it. As such she decided to do the one thing she knew Ethan would hate, and step in. As she walked out of the room, she made it a point to casually run into Hannah somewhere in the mansion. After searching for a while, she spotted Hannah across from the balcony, in the
Author’s POVEthan walked into the office hurriedly that morning. The morning’s weird encounter with Hannah still hovered around him, he didn’t even recognize when his secretary walked over to him,“Mr. Ford,” Natalie called with an anxious look on her face breaking him out of his thoughts.Ethan suddenly stopped, turning towards her. At that point he could not help but notice the curious gazes from the distant crowd, staring at them as if some explosion was about to go off.Ethan ignored their looks at first, staring directly at Natalie,“What’s wrong Nat?” He asked sternly.Natalie gulped heavily, the words stuck in her throat.She opened her mouth to speak again, but still could not find the courage.“Spit it out already!” Ethan snapped, impatiently.Today was the meeting with Xeno Industries over a possible merger that would increase their revenue by thirty percent over last month’s intake.Ethan thought that if he could close this account, he’d finally have proof to show his fath
Author’s POV“You have exactly five minutes to explain why you are here before I have my guards throw you out.” Ethan snapped as soon as he saw Jack. “Relax Ethan, I’m not here to fight,” Jack said standing up,“It seems you’ve already lost that battle, dear friend.” He added, approaching him.“What the hell are you talking about? What are you doing here Jack?” Ethan asked, arching his brow in confusion.“You don’t know?” Jack replied, an amused grin appearing on his lips. He clapped his hands excitedly and walked around the office,“This is just perfect. I get to see the exact moment when Ethan Ford realizes he’s lost.”Ethan looked even more confused as Jack spoke, but before he could say anything else, Jack quickly said“My company just sealed the contract with the Xeno account. Looks like you lost this time around, Ethan.” Jack said with a smug grin.Ethan clenched his fist in anger as he heard this.He slowly shifted his gaze to Natalie who retraced her steps, leaning anxiously
Author’s POVEthan arrived shortly after at the Eunuch mansion, and as soon as he stepped in, a tall man in a black and white tuxedo quickly approached him,“I’m Majid, the house’s butler. Now tell me what your affairs are here.” Majid asked, he’d not seen the young master of the Ford family for over ten years now and could not recognize that that was who he was talking to.“I’m here to meet The head of the Eunuch family. I’m Ethan Ford.” As soon as Ethan said these, fear settled greatly on Majid. If he had offended the young master and sent him away without notifying the Eunuch family, he would have lost his job, and could even lose his life as well.When he informed the master of the eunuch family that Ethan Ford was on his way to the mansion, the man was over-thrilled. He canceled his meetings right at that moment to meet with Ethan.Majid bowed and immediately led Ethan to the great hall.Ethan walked in hurriedly, searching around for Hunter Eunuch, Liam’s father and head of the
Author’s POV“What’s the condition?” Ethan asked, sensing Liam was up to no good. Liam smirked and walked up to the door, opening it slightly and turning back toward Ethan, “I’ll let you know when the time is right. Just know that you are now owing me a favor and I’ll soon come to collect.” Liam said with a wry look, gesturing toward the door for Ethan. Ethan heaved a tired sigh and hung his head low, then turned toward the door. At this point, he was just glad that Liam did not overcomplicate the merger he was proposing. He suddenly stopped just a few steps away from Liam and turned to him.“I’ll send over the agreement papers soon, and keep you updated with what we have to do,” Ethan said and without waiting for a response, turned to walk out when Liam suddenly called out, causing Ethan to stop midstride“Ethan!”,“I still can’t get over what you did to me, but I want you to know that I forgive you.” He announced.Ethan stopped, staring at Liam in confusion. “I have no idea what y
Author’s POVJulienne looked flustered seeing Ethan stand there. She was this close to getting Hannah to talk, but Ethan showing up now had ruined everything.Ethan took a step closer, his eyes narrowing as he remembered Julienne’s motives.“What is going on here, Julienne? Are you harassing my wife?” He said, his tone defensive.Hannah’s cheeks flushed when she heard that.She gathered herself, relieved that Ethan had shown up when he did. She wasn’t going to say anything that would put their marriage into perspective for Julienne, but she didn’t know how much longer she could keep lying about it either.Julienne’s persistence was becoming a problem, one that she knew she had to find a lasting solution for, without unraveling any secrets.“Can I talk to you for a moment?” She asked, pulling Ethan away. Ethan heaved a tired sigh and then opened his study and they walked in.“What do you want, Julienne?” She took a deep breath, choosing her words carefully, “I’ve been thinking about
Author’s POVHannah's heart raced as she stared at Ethan, her thoughts drifting away. His large arms and ripped back left her in a trance, and slowly as if in a trance, she approached him.Ethan suddenly turned around hearing her footsteps, “Hannah.” He blurted in shock, his face flushing with humiliation.He quickly picked up his shirt and threw it on, “What are you doing here?”“I-uh…” Hannah stammered, her eyes still glued to his toned packs and rounded chest.“I came to check in on you.” She finally said.Ethan quickly dressed up, “I’ll be out in a minute.” He said dismissively.Hannah remained quiet for a while and then replied, “Right. I guess I’ll see you out there.” She turned to leave but then suddenly stopped at the door, turning back. She could not tell what came over her, but everything in her fought the urge to forget the party and throw herself on him right now. And for the first time, the thought of it did not make her uncomfortable. Ethan was buttoning his shirt w
Author’s POV“What is a letter doing here?” Hannah wondered, still staring at the letter curiously. After a while, she approached the dress, gently picked it up, and observed the intricate designs, and then her gaze shifted back to the letter. Hannah heaved a deep sigh, glancing at the door. At first, she thought it was Ethan, but they shared a room and Hannah could not imagine what it was he had to say that he just couldn’t say to her. Slowly, she picked up the letter and tore open the seal. However, as soon as she noticed who it was from, she froze in shock and the letter fell right out of her hands. Without thinking, Hannah turned and ran out of the room into the hallway, scanning her eyes around hoping to find the waitress from before, but she was too late, she was already gone. After some more time searching the hallways and trying to describe the waitress from earlier even though she had barely gotten a good look at her, Hannah finally gave up and returned to her room.She pace
Author’s POV“You want me to do what?!” Hannah exclaimed, the weight of the words still hanging in the air.She could feel her heart racing already from the thought of it. Her relationship with Ethan was already rocky enough as it was, the last thing she wanted to do was to complicate that with a kiss. “Come on, Hannah, this shouldn’t be difficult to do. All I’m asking is that you kiss your husband. How difficult could that be?” He replied with a hint of sarcasm.Hannah paced around the room frantically. She was afraid when she came to this party, knowing she’d have to act unnaturally close to Ethan to sell off their act as a real married couple, but she never expected that she’d have to kiss him.Things had just escalated quickly. “I can’t do it. I won’t.” Hannah replied sharply.A deep sigh returned on the other end of the line, and then went silent for a while. “Hannah, look we both have to do things we don’t want to do to get what we want. You of all people should know that. Yo
Author’s POV“You want me to do what?!” Hannah exclaimed, the weight of the words still hanging in the air.She could feel her heart racing already from the thought of it. Her relationship with Ethan was already rocky enough as it was, the last thing she wanted to do was to complicate that with a kiss. “Come on, Hannah, this shouldn’t be difficult to do. All I’m asking is that you kiss your husband. How difficult could that be?” He replied with a hint of sarcasm.Hannah paced around the room frantically. She was afraid when she came to this party, knowing she’d have to act unnaturally close to Ethan to sell off their act as a real married couple, but she never expected that she’d have to kiss him.Things had just escalated quickly. “I can’t do it. I won’t.” Hannah replied sharply.A deep sigh returned on the other end of the line, and then went silent for a while. “Hannah, look we both have to do things we don’t want to do to get what we want. You of all people should know that. Yo
Author’s POV“How do you know Liam?” Hannah repeated, sensing a hidden truth there. Julienne hesitated for a while, and then said, “Liam? He’s just my brother’s annoying old friend.” She replied.Hannah was not convinced but she accepted Julienne’s explanation.“What did you say Ethan was doing?” Julienne asked curiously.“He has been staring at his old friend as if he wants to drill a hole through his head, and he’s not subtle about how he feels about Liam either. I’m afraid he’s going to ruin this deal he’s trying to sign, and spend the rest of the trip making it uncomfortable for everyone, which just so happens to be only me,” Hannah complained.“Can you talk to him, get him to bury this Liam thing before the party? It’s in a couple of hours and I’ll appreciate if Ethan isn’t cranky the whole time.”Julienne remained quiet for a while, as if thinking over it, and then said “Alright. I’ll see how I can help.” But before Hannah could say anything, she quickly added, “Do you know wha
Author’s POV“Okay, what’s this thing with you and Liam?” Hannah asked as soon as they stepped inside.“Can we not talk about it? I’m not really in the mood.” Ethan said dismissively.“We can drop it if you stop acting like a jerk around him.” She sneered.Ethan took one look at her and threw up his arms in frustration, “How do you even know that loser?”“What? Liam? He worked with me at the Nightclub.” Hannah replied.When Ethan heard this, his eyes widened in surprise. “Did you say he worked with you at the nightclub?” He repeated.“Yes, what’s the matter?” “Nothing,” Ethan gave in and went to the room, grabbed another duvet, and brought it back to the living room. “Tomorrow’s going to be a busy day. You should get some rest, Hannah.” Ethan said and laid on the couch. Hannah remained frozen, staring at him for a while, and then sighed and walked away.She returned to the room and looked without checking her phone, she went back to bed.***The next morning, Ethan was awoken by th
Author’s POVHannah stormed out of the room with no hesitation. Her mind was racing uncontrollably, and all she wanted was a little break to just process everything. She strode towards the balcony, overlooking the view of the river behind it. Liam stood at the corner of the hallway, watching her intently, and then summoned a smile, and slowly approached her.Hannah gasped in shock when she suddenly saw him,“Liam,” she exhaled.“What are you doing here?” Liam ignored her and just slowly approached her with a smile on his face,“Sorry, Hannah. I didn’t mean to scare you.” He paused and stared at her deeply as if trying to note something.“Why are you looking at me like that?” Hannah’s brow raised uncomfortably as she looked at him.“Does he know?” Liam asked with curiosity.Hannah shot her gaze away, confused by what Liam was asking. Seeing her perplexed expression, Liam smirked and stepped closer to the balcony, tracing his fingers along the cold metal rail.“Your husband, Ethan. I
Author’s POV“Liam?” Hannah called, still in shock. “What are you doing here?” She added as Liam suddenly stopped in front of her. “It’s nice to see you again Hannah, you didn’t even inform us at the nightclub that you were quitting your job,” Liam said teasingly.Hannah look flustered. She still couldn’t believe that Liam was standing in front of her. How did he even get into an exclusive event like this?‘Liam must have scored a very sweet gig here.’ She thought, looking around the place again.“I’m sorry Liam, it all just kind of happened so fast,” Hannah said and quickly added, changing the conversation, “So are you here on a job?” She asked and a wry smile appeared across Liam’s face. However, just as he was about to say something, Ethan emerged from the other end of the hallway and became instantly furious, “You!” He sneered angrily, approaching Liam.Immediately Hannah saw the stern expression on Ethan’s face she could tell something was wrong. She quickly got out of the way,
Author’s POV“Allow me to show you the inside,” Ethan said and led Hannah into the jet.After they entered the jet, Ethan gestured and the air hostesses brought a bottle of champagne.Ethan shifted his gaze to Hannah again and a smile flashed on his face. He could sense the shift in tension and the ease that was quickly settling in between them.“I know this week has been tense and difficult, but can we try to be relaxed around each other? We might just have a good time if we give it a try.” Ethan said earnestly.Hannah hesitated for a while, unsure what to say. Ethan drove a good bargain – the jet, the expensive wine. If she didn’t know better she would think that he was flirting with her. Hannah decided to temporarily ignore the rift between them, at least for the entirety of their flight. Surprisingly, the atmosphere of the jet suddenly changed. Hannah and Ethan engaged frequently in casual conversations, Hannah occasionally taking notes of certain things she liked about it.The w