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1222 Words
Has Ethan been reborn too? The question refused to leave Diana’s mind even after she pulled away from him because nothing about Ethan tonight felt normal.
Not the way his arms tightened around her for that brief second before he forced himself to let go or the way his breathing had gone uneven the moment she hugged him.
And definitely not the way he looked at her like he had almost lost her once already.
Diana’s chest tightened painfully at the thought.
When they finally disengaged from the warm embrace, Ethan immediately stiffened, almost as if he had just realized what he was doing. He took half a step backward and looked away quickly, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.
“I only came here because…” he started.
Then stopped.
Diana blinked slowly.
Ethan was not a man who stumbled over words. Yet now he looked strangely nervous standing in her living room.
“Because?” she asked softly.
“Because…” Ethan cleared his throat and looked everywhere except her face. “Your phone was off.” His voice lowered. “And I just thought…”
He stopped again before suddenly walking toward the chair near the fireplace and sitting down like he regretted speaking at all.
Diana stared at him suspiciously. He was acting too strange.
Ethan leaned back against the chair, trying to look nonchalant, but the second his eyes landed on her again, relief flickered across his face.
Then something dangerously close to longing. “Why are you here anyway?” he suddenly asked.
Diana frowned slightly.
“What?”
“Aren’t you supposed to be with your future husband right now?” The way he said future husband sounded almost bitter. Sure the words themselves irritated him.
Diana’s heart skipped and again that terrifying suspicion crept into her thoughts.
Has he been reborn too? Because Ethan sounded exactly like he did in her previous life whenever Thompson was involved.
Diana shut the thought down immediately, she was overthinking.
Still, the uneasiness remained. Instead of answering him properly, Diana simply smiled faintly and walked toward him. “Thank you,” she said softly.
Ethan looked genuinely caught off guard. “For what?”
“For coming.”
For caring, trying to save me before and for being the only person who truly loved me.
But she could never tell him those things.
Ethan stared at her carefully for a moment before letting out a quiet laugh under his breath. “You missed me that much?” he teased lightly. “You’re thanking me just because I visited?”
His tone sounded playful, but Diana noticed the subtle tension in his shoulders like her answer mattered far more than he wanted it to.
How did she never notice these things before?
In her past life she had spent years desperately chasing Thompson’s affection while Ethan silently stood beside her the entire time, loving her carefully, quietly, asking for absolutely nothing in return.
The realization hurt more than she expected.
Diana smiled softly. “Maybe I did miss you.” The words slipped out before she could stop herself.
Ethan visibly froze. His eyes widened slightly before he looked away so fast it almost made Diana laugh. “That’s…” he muttered awkwardly. “That’s new.”
Diana suddenly found him adorable.
Ethan was composed, yet here he was acting like one sentence from her had completely destabilized him.
Diana turned away before he could notice the smile threatening to form on her lips. “I’ll ask the cook to prepare dinner.”
“You’re feeding me now too?” Ethan asked suspiciously from behind her.
“You sound concerned.”
“I am concerned.” His voice lowered jokingly. “You’ve never looked at me this kindly before. I’m starting to think you hit your head somewhere.”
Diana laughed softly under her breath. If only he knew.
While speaking to the cook, Diana’s eyes slowly drifted across the mansion. The maids walking around quietly.
The guards near the entrance. The workers arranging dishes at the dining table and suddenly her smile faded.
Because in her previous life most of them disappeared all because of Thompson.
At first he would complain casually. “That male worker stares at you too much.”
“That maid clearly likes me.”
“That driver makes me uncomfortable.”
Diana had mistaken his manipulation for jealousy and love. She had been stupid enough to think his possessiveness meant he cared deeply about her.
Now she realized he had only been isolating her slowly, removing everyone around her until she had nobody left except him.
Her stomach twisted violently at the memory. Especially one memory. f**k. She remembered it so clearly now.
She had walked into their bedroom unexpectedly and found Thompson standing there half naked with only a towel hanging loosely around his waist while one of the female cleaners stood frozen nearby.
The towel was literally on the floor.
Diana remembered how shattered she felt at that moment.
How embarrassed and heartbroken. Thompson only sighed tiredly like she was being unreasonable. “She came in without knocking,” he explained smoothly. “The towel fell when I got startled.”
And unbelievably… Diana had believed him, thinking about it now was so ridiculous that a laugh escaped her lips before she could stop it.
Ethan immediately looked up from his chair. “What’s funny?”
Diana shook her head slowly, still smiling bitterly.
“Nothing. I was just incredibly pathetic.”
Ethan studied her quietly for a few seconds, clearly sensing something deeper behind that laugh, but he didn’t push.
He never pushed her. That was another thing Thompson never understood.
Ethan respected her even when he loved her. Thompson controlled her while claiming it was love. The difference between the two men suddenly felt painfully obvious.
Dinner was eventually prepared, and when Diana walked toward the dining area, Ethan immediately stood up.
Without hesitation, he pulled the chair back for her.
The action was simple and Diana found herself staring at him again because Ethan did these things instinctively.
Thompson only acted like a gentleman when people were watching but Ethan…he treated her carefully even when nobody else was around. “You’re staring again,” he murmured.
Diana slowly sat down. “I’m thinking.”
Ethan chuckled softly, and the sound warmed the room strangely. For a while dinner felt peaceful.
They talked about random things.
The chef complained that Ethan never ate properly. Ethan defended himself dramatically.
Diana laughed harder than she had in weeks. And the entire time Ethan kept looking at her like he couldn’t quite believe she was smiling this much around him.
Suddenly, Ethan became quieter. His fingers tapped once against the dining table before stopping altogether. Slowly, he stood up from his chair.
Diana looked at him curiously.
Ethan walked around the table until he stood beside her. Then, very gently, he pulled her chair back slightly as though preparing to help her stand. His movements were calm but his eyes betrayed him completely because there was too much emotion in them.
“Ethan?” Diana asked quietly.
He inhaled slowly before finally speaking. “Will you cancel your wedding…” His voice dropped lower. “…and run away with me?”
- Writer
