For the first time, I didn't know where I stood with Ethan.
He had returned like a storm—destroying Jason, reclaiming his power, revealing everything he had hidden.
And now, all I could feel was how far the distance between us had stretched.
He said it was "just business."
But it had never felt like just business between us.
I avoided him for two days.
I didn't reply to his texts. I left early from work. I stayed away from anywhere I thought he might be.
But deep down, I knew—you don't run from Ethan Hart. He lets you run. Then he comes for you.
It happened that Friday night.
I had just stepped out of my building's elevator when I saw him waiting in front of my door. Dressed in black, posture casual—but his eyes sharp. Possessive. I froze.
"You've been quiet," he said.
I didn't answer. My keys trembled in my hand.
"Are you afraid of me now, Vanessa?" he asked, stepping forward, his voice velvet-smooth and dangerous.
"No," I said. "I'm afraid of what I've become with you."
His gaze flickered—something cold and unreadable beneath the surface.
"You think you changed," he said. "But this was always inside you. I just brought it out."
I laughed, bitter and breathless. "You ruined everything. You played me."
"I protected you," he shot back. "From Jason. From yourself. From a life that was never meant for you."
"And what?" I snapped. "Now I'm yours? Some pretty little thing you conquered in the dark?"
His eyes burned now. "You think this is about conquering?"
He stepped closer, and I stepped back—until my back hit the wall.
His voice dropped to a whisper. "If I wanted to conquer you, Vanessa, you'd already be wearing my ring."
My heart pounded.
He leaned in, his mouth just inches from mine. "But I don't want to own you. I want you to choose me. Every day. Even when you hate me."
I hated how much I wanted to kiss him.
How much I wanted to be wrong.
But I couldn't keep losing pieces of myself in his fire.
I turned my face away. "You want to own me in every way that doesn't look like ownership."
"I want to keep you," he whispered. "Is that so different?"
I didn't answer.
Because I didn't know anymore.