A GAME OF POWER

The clock ticked 9 at night.

Ethan was still buried in his swivel chair, his mind so distant.

 

"She left. She can't handle me. She knows it even though she knows nothing about who I really am," he murmured to himself, emitting a bittersweet chuckle.

 

On one hand, he was glad that she finally grabbed the chance and fled for her sanity and life in general. But on the other hand, he was at a loss because he was still thinking of her until that late, wondering what the moment would be like having her sprawled on the floor beneath him.

 

"I would have already destroyed her by now," he murmured again, squeezing his eyes shut.

 

Yes. Destruction was the only correct word for people like him to someone as naive and pure as Sofia. They were different. But he could never let her go, and trying was not even in the question.

 

Amber had been standing at the door for minutes watching Ethan battle with his thoughts and demons. She had found a way in.

 

"Even back in high school, when we were burning in our new-found love, I never drove him this insane. And now that I have become such an iconic figure in the country, making even a name for my own in the fast industry of beauty, he is drifting away from me. What fucking charm has that cheap whore used on him?" Amber wondered inwardly.

 

She looked at the ring on her finger. It was a once-guarantee that she had him all to herself. That soon, they would wed and become a family. She went out of the country for just two months, only to return recently, and he felt so distant. And when she confronted him weeks ago, he proposed separation. Said they needed a break.

 

"No freaking way, Ethan! You are all mine. I will not allow anybody to destroy what we have had all these years. I am just so close to having you as my husband. I will not lose you to anybody!" She vowed to herself.

 

She walked and sat on his desk in front of him. "I saw how that cheap flirt ran out of the building. She looked scared to death. What happened?" Amber had her expression calm and composed, but her eyes were blazing with fury. The room was dark, the lights of the city outside casting a faint glow, but the tension between them made the air crackle.

 

 

Ethan, who had just learned of Amber's presence, sat up and leaned against the edge of his desk, arms crossed, watching her carefully. His expression was unwelcoming, but he knew Amber wasn't a woman who would take kindly to being questioned, let alone replaced.

 

"How did you manage to get in?" He demanded, pouring himself a drink from what he had ordered when Sofia left. He didn't serve Amber, which drowned on her bitterly.

 

She recalled all those times that they would hang out in big restaurants, head to the club, or chill for drinks at his house, and of course, they would never have a night without the passion. But now, it seemed like he didn't appreciate her presence at all. It was mere presence that suffocated him.

 

"How did things end up this way, baby? What happened to us? What changed?" She enquired.

 

He took a sip and swallowed it. "You dodge my question, and you expect me to respond to yours?" He responded so bluntly, taking another sip.

 

Amber's anger started rising. Her temper was always the cause of her problems. "I have my ways, Ethan. By now you should know that I have equal powers like you do."

 

He smirked, as if he could tell where her explanation was heading. "So, you bought your way into my office." It was not a question. He made a statement.

 

She shrugged, pleading guilty but not apologetic. "Money and power are the wheels to get everything we want. And I have both."

 

"Wrong! Money cannot control everything!" He corrected, drowning the remnants of his liquor in one go. He tossed the glass aside and fixed his eyes on her. "It is high time you understand not everything can be bought with money, Amber."

 

"Like what, exactly?" She implored, banking all her curiosity to him.

 

"Like this, what you are chasing after. I said I needed a break. But look at you. You would rather buy your way into where you are not needed rather than accept the reality!"

 

"And what is this reality that I need to understand, huh?" She hissed, her face bright red like an overripe tomato.

 

"The reality is that this is no longer working. I can't bear the way you impose on me, trying to control me, and trying to prove the fucking point that you are powerful. That is not what love is all about!"

 

A tear dropped from her eye, but she scoured it off fast. She stood up from the table and stood aside, but close to him. "Wow! The same reason you fell in love with me is the same reason you are using against me now. How convenient!"

 

"We were young back then. We have grown. And I have come to realize that those are not the qualities I need for my woman. I am sorry, but I am no longer the 20-year-old college girl who proposed to you for the very first time. And I have been rethinking things since I renewed the vow months ago, and I just realized that I am no longer that man who desired you."

 

 

"Bravo! A well-prepared speech, but fuck it, Ethan! And fuck you as well! What do you expect me to do? Club for you?" Her anger was taking another notch.

 

"All I need is for you to respect my decision and just end this! I can't love you the way I did before. Sticking around will only hurt us both, Amber! Understand, please!" He screamed, hoping that he would understand the situation.

 

But was she ready to agree to his reasons?