9.
1540 Words
“Pardon?” Diana asked softly. Shock had stolen the strength from her voice completely.
Her eyes remained fixed on Ethan as though she was waiting for him to laugh and admit he was joking, but Ethan only coughed into his fist and looked away almost immediately, acting as if he hadn’t just asked an engaged woman to run away with him.
Diana’s heart was still pounding violently against her ribs.
Ethan calmly picked up his fork again and focused on his food with suspicious concentration, as though the grilled salmon in front of him had suddenly become the most fascinating thing in the world.
Diana stared at him in disbelief. Did he seriously think pretending to eat would erase what he just said?
“You heard me,” Ethan muttered after a few seconds, still not looking at her.
Diana blinked once. “You can’t just say something like that and then continue eating.”
Ethan finally glanced up briefly before shrugging lightly. “I’m hungry.” The ridiculousness of the situation almost made her laugh because beneath the teasing calmness in his expression, Diana could still see the tension in his jaw.
He meant it. That was the terrifying part and somehow that frightened her more than if he had been joking.
Because a small part of her wanted to say yes.
Diana slowly looked down at the untouched food in front of her. She didn’t want to disappear quietly.
In her previous life she died heartbroken while Thompson and Nora continued living comfortably after destroying her.
This time she wanted them to suffer, she wanted them cornered. And she wanted to be the one standing there watching when everything collapsed around them.
The thought should’ve horrified her. Instead it only made her feel calm.
Ethan leaned back slightly in his chair, studying her expression carefully. “You’re thinking too loudly again,” he said.
Diana looked up instantly. “What does that even mean?”
“It means your face is having an entire emotional breakdown while you sit there silently.”
Despite herself, Diana laughed quietly.
Ethan’s gaze softened for barely a second at the sound before he quickly hid it by reaching for his glass again. He really tried hard not to show how much he cared and somehow that only made it more obvious.
“So,” Ethan said casually after a moment, “since you rejected my incredibly romantic proposal, I guess we’re pretending none of that happened?”
Diana narrowed her eyes slightly. “You call that romantic?”
“I offered emotional support and an escape plan. That’s romance.”
“That’s kidnapping.”
“Only if you scream.”
She stared at him and then unexpectedly laughed again, this time harder.
The sound surprised both of them. Ethan actually froze mid-drink for a second as though he hadn’t expected to hear her laugh so freely.
Diana noticed and suddenly the atmosphere shifted again, softer this time. Ethan cleared his throat awkwardly and looked away first.
“You laugh differently now,” he murmured quietly.
Diana’s chest tightened unexpectedly because he sounded almost relieved about it. To escape the strange heaviness suddenly forming between them, Ethan leaned back in his chair and smirked lightly. “Remember high school?”
Diana blinked. “That’s random.”
“You used to threaten people with pencils.”
Her jaw dropped. “That happened once.”
“Three times.”
“One person deserved it.The other two were innocent.”
“They were collateral damage.”
Ethan laughed quietly under his breath, shaking his head slowly. She forgot how handsome he looked when he genuinely laughed. Not the polite business smile he gave most people, the real laugh.
“You were terrifying back then,” Ethan continued. “There was this one guy from senior year who had a crush on you.”
Diana frowned slightly, trying to remember. “Who?”
“Exactly.”
“What happened to him?”
Ethan stabbed another piece of food with unnecessary force. “You threatened him because he touched your notebook without permission.”
Diana burst into laughter. “Oh my God.”
“You made him apologize publicly.”
“He bent my pages!”
“You almost bent his spine.”
She laughed so hard she had to cover her mouth. Ethan just stared at her quietly for a moment like he couldn’t stop himself. The softness in his eyes nearly made her stop breathing because there was so much affection there.
The kind a man tried desperately to hide because showing it would ruin him.
Diana quickly looked away first. Her pulse suddenly felt uneven again. “You remember weird things,” she muttered.
“I remember everything about you.” The words slipped out too naturally. Ethan immediately went silent afterward.
Diana slowly looked back at him.
His expression stiffened almost instantly. There it was again. That tiny panic whenever he accidentally revealed too much.
“I mean…” Ethan started awkwardly. “We’ve known each other for years.”
“Mhm.”
“That’s normal.”
“Mhm.”
“You’re making this worse.”
Diana smiled faintly. “You’re doing that yourself.”
Ethan muttered something under his breath that suspiciously sounded like “I should’ve stayed home.”
The warmth in Diana’s chest deepened painfully because moments like this felt so easy with hm especially after everything she had just survived.
After dinner ended, Diana eventually stood up from the table first. “You should head home before it gets too late,” she said quietly.
Ethan looked up slowly. “No.”
Diana blinked. “No?”
“It’s dangerous driving this late.”
“You literally drove here late.”
“That was different.”
“How?”
“I was emotionally distressed.”
She stared at him blankly. Ethan remained completely serious.
Diana crossed her arms. “Ethan.”
He placed a hand dramatically against his forehead. “I suddenly feel dizzy.”
Her eyes narrowed immediately. “You’re lying.”
“I could collapse at any second.”
“You’re sitting perfectly straight.”
“I’m fighting for my life.”
Diana almost laughed again. This man was unbelievable. But beneath the ridiculous acting, she noticed that he genuinely didn’t want to leave her alone tonight.
And for some reason, that realization made her chest ache softly. Maybe he was worried about her or he knew she was barely holding herself together emotionally.
She wasn’t ready to think about that yet.
Finally she sighed in defeat and turned toward one of the staff members nearby. “Prepare the visitor’s room for him.”
Ethan immediately opened his mouth. “Actually, I can…”
“You’re staying,” Diana interrupted calmly.
He paused and then slowly sat back down again like he had absolutely no problem accepting defeat. “Fine,” he muttered. “But if I survive until morning, I expect appreciation.”
“You’ll get breakfast.”
“That’s not enough compensation for my suffering.”
Diana shook her head and walked away before he could continue being dramatic. Still she smiled faintly all the way upstairs.
The mansion became quiet later that night. Diana lay in bed staring at the ceiling, unable to sleep no matter how hard she tried.
Every time she closed her eyes, she saw headlights, Thompson’s cold expression and Nora’s voice. “You were never the one he wanted.” Her chest tightened painfully.
Diana sat up immediately, breathing unevenly. No matter how much she tried to act calm around Ethan earlier, the memories still haunted her.
Death haunted her.
She rubbed her face tiredly before standing up from bed. There was no water left in her room. Maybe drinking something cold would help her sleep.
The hallway downstairs was dimly lit when she walked toward the kitchen quietly but the moment she got closer, she stopped.
A delicious smell filled the air.
Diana blinked in confusion. At nearly two in the morning… Someone was cooking. She stepped into the kitchen slowly only to freeze at the sight before her.
Ethan stood near the stove wearing black sweatpants and a plain dark shirt, sleeves rolled slightly past his wrists while he stirred something in a pot with surprising focus.
The domesticity of it shocked her strangely. Especially because Ethan looked completely out of place in a kitchen.
And yet somehow… He also looked like he belonged there.
Ethan noticed her standing there and nearly dropped the spoon. “You walk too quietly,” he accused immediately.
Diana ignored him completely, still staring. “You can cook?”
Ethan looked offended. “What kind of question is that?”
“The kind asked by someone who genuinely thought you survived entirely on expensive restaurants.”
“Ow…I’m wounded.”
“You should be.”
He scoffed softly before turning back toward the stove.
Diana slowly walked closer, curiosity taking over briefly enough to distract her from the darkness in her thoughts. “What are you making, night chef?”
Ethan hesitated for a second and then quietly answered, “The soup your mother used to make when you couldn’t sleep.”
- Writer
