Chapter 0016

•DARLA•

That night, I did exactly as Amelia advised me and decided that I was not going to allow Elijah to get between Ethan and me, especially now that he was upset with me.

When I got inside the bedroom and found him changing his clothes, I walked behind him and hugged him around his waist.

“I’m sorry, babe. I honestly do not like the tension between us. You know that you’re more than just my best friend and business partner. You’re everything to me.”

He sighed as he took my hands off him, turned around, and looked at me. “Can we sleep and talk about this in the morning? I’m tired right now and really need to rest my eyes.”

“I said I’m sorry, Ethan. I just don’t want us to not get along now because we are back here and working with my ex-husband. He’s not supposed to get between us.”

I tried to make the situation a little bit easier, but his facial expression did not convince me that he wanted to do the same thing. It felt as if he didn’t want to see my face.

“No one’s getting between us. You’re the one who’s allowing him to create a drift between us by making me feel as if I do not have any right to warn him to stay away from you. If you’re looking for anyone to blame here, it’s not him, but you, Darla.” He answered with a snarl.

I scoffed, shook my head, and refused to let him put all the blame on me when he also played a role in how things had been happening between us.

“Do you know why I haven’t told the kids about us?” I frowned. “That’s because I heard you the other night on a phone call which you did not want to answer in front of me, talking with her. The same girl that you told me that you were seeing and broke things off with because you wanted to be with me. I said nothing that night and thought that what was happening between us was merely a contract deal with benefits and nothing more.”

“Now, tell me, Ethan,” I scoffed. “If you were in my shoes, would you tell your children about a man you’re not sure is over his ex? You seem to forget that I’ve been in a similar situation and would never subject myself to it ever again. Not with you or any other man.”

“Darla -” He tried to reach out for my hand, but I leaned back and interjected him.

“We have a long day tomorrow. Get some rest, and we will talk in the morning before leaving. I’m tired as well,” I said before I walked out of the bedroom and went back to the living room to sleep on the couch.

***

“Can you sit in the front, please?” Ethan said when I was about to get in the back seat of the car. Our driver was off today, and he was the one driving.

I looked at him and hesitated because I didn’t exactly want to be near him, but he gave me those puppy eyes, giving me no choice but to surrender to his request.

I got inside and looked out the window to the HC building.

After pulling outside the parking lot, he turned to me and took my hand before I could open the door and hop out of the car.

“I’m sorry about Rachel, but I promise you that I’m over her and want to be with you. You’re the only one for me, Darla. I know that we agreed to do this contract deal thingy, but I’ve grown to love you and only you.”

"You called her and told her that you miss her. How do you think that made me feel knowing very well that we spent the previous nights having sex?" I frowned. "You're mad that I'm not telling my kids about us, but I can't do that without assurance of what this is."

"Can we start over?" He reached for my hand. "I can't imagine going by with my day without you. You're the only person who keeps me grounded and still doing what I do, I can't lose you."

God, I wanted to believe that so much, but the conversation that he had with her kept replaying itself in my mind and I couldn’t get myself to believe a word that he said without feeling like getting romantically involved would ruin things for us and make my experience with men even more dreadful and horrific.

When we saw the other board members getting out of their cars, Ethan and I also hopped out of the car and headed toward the building when Elijah with another board member showed up beside us.

“Mr. Anderson, good morning,” the guy with Elijah greeted. “How are you and your wife?”

“We are good, Mr. Smith, thank you. I hope you and Mr. Houston are doing well this morning.” He answered as he and Elijah shared an unfriendly look, and I internally rolled my eyes.

“Yes, we are. By the way, you and your wife look lovely this morning. I hope you’re both ready for the news that we have for both of you. We are so happy,” the guy announced before they walked off and left us behind.

As we walked up the stairs to the boardroom, Ethan took my hand, and I decided to let go of whatever argument we had and just focus on making money and creating a better future for my kids.

***

After using the restroom after the meeting, I opened the door and was about to walk out when I bumped into Abigail outside the door.

She smirked when she saw me, while her hands were folded on her arms, and I knew by the look on her face that she still held a grudge against me.

“Miss Darla, we meet again.” She scoffed. “I guess I was wrong when I thought that you would be able to keep a hundred feet away from Elijah forever. You just had to show your face again, didn’t you?”

“It’s nice to see you too, Abigail. But I have to be on my way now,” I attempted to walk past her when she stepped in front of me and blocked my path.

“Not so fast, missy. You’re the one who decided to come here and cause trouble for Elijah and me. So, I want you to know that I'm onto you and won't allow you to ruin something that I've invented so many years on. Elijah was mine long before your family sold you to him, and nothing will ever change that.”

“Get out of my way, Abigail, if you don't have better things to do than ranting about a man who's no longer in my league after being stained by the likes of you.” I sneered.

She narrowed her eyes. “Stay away from my man, or I’ll take you back to California myself,” she snarled before she turned around and left.