Ethan doesn’t flinch. His voice rings out, final and unforgiving.
"Security. Get rid of this obsessed freak."
Strong hands clamp onto me. I thrash, panic clawing at my throat. "No! Ethan, please!"
But he just stands there. Watching. Unmoved. Like I never meant anything to him at all. The hot air slams against me as the guards toss me outside. I hit the ground, knees scraping the pavement, but the real pain is inside me—ripping through my chest. Tears blur my vision. Inside, they celebrate. I am nothing. A sob escapes me.
How could he? How could the man who once whispered promises now act like I don’t exist? Fingers digging into the cold ground, the past rushes back like a tidal wave.
***
"Are you okay?" I knelt beside the man on the mountain trail, his ankle twisted at an awkward angle.
He winced. "I think I sprained it."
I tore a strip of fabric from my jacket, wrapped it around his injury. "This should help until we get down."
He smiled. "You’re pretty resourceful."
I shrugged. "You looked like you needed saving."
We laughed. That was the first time I thought Ethan Caldwell was just an ordinary man.