Chapter 8: The Hidden Feelings
The morning after the gala, Ava woke up in Ethan’s guest room feeling disoriented.
Sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting soft golden light across the modern, minimalist space. For a few seconds, she forgot where she was. Then the memories of last night came rushing back — the bruises, Ethan finding her, the gala, and the way he had looked at her like he wanted to burn the world down for what Adrian had done.
She sat up slowly. Her body ached, but her mind felt clearer than it had in months.
A soft knock sounded on the door.
“Ava?” Ethan’s voice was quiet on the other side. “Are you awake?”
“Yes,” she called back. “Come in.”
Ethan entered carrying a tray with coffee, toast, and some fruit. He was already dressed in a crisp white shirt and dark trousers, though his tie was still loose around his neck. He looked like he hadn’t slept much either.
“I wasn’t sure what you liked,” he said, placing the tray on the bedside table. “So I kept it simple.”
Ava looked at the food, then back at him.
“You didn’t have to do this.”
“I wanted to.”
He sat down in the armchair across from the bed, giving her space. For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then Ethan asked, “How are you feeling?”
Ava wrapped her hands around the warm coffee mug.
“Like I’ve been holding my breath for a year and finally exhaled.”
Ethan nodded slowly.
“You don’t have to go back to him,” he said. “Not today. Not ever.”
Ava looked down at the coffee.
“It’s not that simple. Adrian… he’s not the kind of man who lets go easily. And I don’t have anywhere else to go. My lease is in his name. My savings… he controls most of it.”
Ethan’s jaw tightened, but his voice remained calm.
“You have a place here for as long as you need it. And money isn’t something you need to worry about anymore.”
Ava looked up at him sharply.
“Ethan, I can’t let you—”
“You’re not letting me do anything,” he interrupted gently. “I’m choosing to help you. There’s a difference.”
The silence that followed was heavy but not uncomfortable.
Ava studied him — the sharp lines of his face, the way his eyes softened when he looked at her, the careful way he always maintained distance even when every part of him seemed to want to close it.
She had spent eleven months working for this man, memorizing his schedule, anticipating his needs, and quietly falling in love with him while pretending she felt nothing.
Now, sitting in his home, with bruises on her body and his protection wrapped around her like armor, she could no longer pretend.
“Ethan,” she said quietly, “why are you doing this?”
He was quiet for a long time.
Then he answered.
“Because I should have done it sooner. Because I’ve spent nearly a year watching you work yourself to the bone, watching you come in exhausted and hurt, and I said nothing. I told myself it wasn’t my place. I told myself I had no right to interfere in your life.”
He looked directly at her.
“But I was wrong. And I’m not going to make that mistake again.”
Ava felt her throat tighten.
She had spent so long believing she was alone in this. That no one would believe her. That no one would care enough to stand against someone like Adrian.
May you like
But Ethan was here.
And for the first time, she allowed herself to hope that maybe, just maybe, she didn’t have to face this by herself anymore.
