Chapter 57
[ 465 words ]
Chapter 57:
I wanted to tell him I had hovered between life and death the night before.
I wanted to ask what kind of heart he had, that he could ignore his mate’s suffering so completely.
But he only looked at me, his gaze utterly devoid of warmth.
“Why didn’t you come home last night?” he finally asked, his voice rough.
The hurt in me flared at once into anger.
Why did he deserve an answer? Was I supposed to tell him I had almost died, so he and Ivy could be glad they would be rid of me that much sooner?
“I spent the night somewhere else.” I lowered my gaze, my voice even. “There’s nothing to say.”
I turned to walk away.
“Stop.” Ethan’s voice snapped through the room, cold and forceful. “Were you with Frank the whole night?”
𝘋оw𝗻𝘭оа𝘥𝗮𝗯𝗅𝗲 𝗣𝗗F𝘴 𝗼𝘯 𝗀а𝗅𝗇𝘰𝗏𝖾l𝘀.cо𝘮
My feet stopped where they were. Something cold pierced straight through my chest.
So while he had been wrapped up in his moment with Ivy, he had still found the time to suspect me of betrayal?
I turned back, met his furious stare, and shot back without backing down. “And what if I was? What of it?”
“Lianne!” He struck the desk with his palm and came toward me. “I know you care about him, but don’t forget this—Frank is a public figure. Reporters are watching everything he does. Keep your distance from him. You won’t be able to handle it if the cameras catch you.”
“Thanks for the warning.” I tipped my chin up. “But when I truly care about someone, rumors mean nothing. For him, I can endure anything and face whatever comes.”
Ethan’s face went rigid in an instant.
Then he reached for me. His long fingers clamped around my chin with crushing force.
“Say that again.”
He stepped in close, his height swallowing me in shadow.
The heavy scent of sandalwood pressed into every breath I took, threaded with something fierce and dangerous.
His fingertips were coarse and burning as they brushed over my cheek and then settled against my lips.
He rubbed hard against my bloodless lips, as though he wanted to leave his mark there, or erase some sign that revolted him.
He held my gaze for a long moment, then let go with a savage sneer.
“So you’re perfectly fine after all. You still have plenty of strength to talk back.”
I staggered back a step and tore free of him, my heart slamming so hard against my ribs it felt ready to break out.
“You still haven’t answered me. What exactly happened between you two last night?” he demanded again.
Looking at him, I felt only cold, biting irony.
“I don’t owe you any explanation.”
Those were the exact same words he had said to me the day Ivy came back, when I confronted him.
Now I was giving them back to him exactly as he had given them to me.
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