Chapter 101

It had been an oppressively busy day. Ethan paced the office like a man bound by hidden chains, his savage manner crumbling under the weight of a heavy object. Every time he passed, the mood seemed to change, and nobody dared to ask as to what was wrong. For the third time in an hour, he vanished into his office, and I watched him from my desk with a familiar twinge of worry.

It wasn't like him to be this way. Ethan stayed calm even when he was upset. But today, he was anything but. I hesitated, but I wanted to check on him, to see if he was okay. Our relationship had been tense for the past few weeks, and his icy indifference went deeper than I wanted to admit.

My interest turned to uneasiness by lunchtime. In the hopes of getting some insight, I cornered Ben by the coffee maker.

"Have you noticed anything... off about Ethan today, Ben?" I asked carefully.

Ben stirred his coffee without even looking at me. "Why do you ask me this?"

I pressed, puzzled by his contemptuous tone. "You're his best friend. If anyone knows what's going on, it's you."

He sighed, finally meeting my eyes. His expression was closed off, guarded in a way that was rare for him. "Ethan doesn't exactly tell me everything, Emily. If he's acting odd, maybe you should ask him yourself."

The hurt of his words lingered as he walked away, leaving me with more questions than solutions.

I stayed late that evening, trying to finish paperwork I didn't care about. Every so often, I'd look toward Ethan's office, the light pouring through the frosted glass like a beacon of tension. He was still walking.

When the clock hit nine, the office was nearly empty. I packed up my things, not because I was ready to leave, but because I wanted a reason to approach him.

Ethan emerged just as I was throwing my bag over my shoulder, his tie unfastened and his look gloomy.

"You're still here?" he questioned, his voice clipped.

"Just finishing up," I whispered casually, though my heart accelerated under his keen look. "What about you? Long day?"

He paused, his eyes narrowing slightly before he shrugged. "That kind of thing."

Evidently eager to get out, he walked for the elevator. I immediately followed him to the street, my footsteps light.

I ducked into the closest cab and told the driver to follow Ethan's because the air was sharp. With each bend, the path became less recognizable as we negotiated traffic and the city lights became blurry. My uneasiness had risen to pure fear by the time Ethan's taxi pulled up in front of an abandoned warehouse.

I gave the driver my money and slipped closer, staying out of sight. The quietness in the place felt eerie, like it was pushing against my ears. Ethan approached a guy who was waiting near the warehouse door, his silhouette clearly visible.

Their voices were too low for me to hear the words of their passionate argument. However, there was no hiding the tension between them. My pulse was racing as I huddled behind a pile of boxes, trying to take in what I was seeing.

Then everything changed as Ethan reached into his jacket.

The gun shone in the faint light, and I felt myself shiver just looking at it. As he raised it, the weight of what was going to happen fell on me, and I gasped.

"No, Ethan!" Before I could stop myself, the words burst out of me.

His head jerked in my direction, and he paused, his eyes wide with surprise. Leveraging the chaos, the man he was facing sprang forward.

"Stay back!" With a voice full of power and panic, Ethan barked.

However, it was too late. Ethan quickly pulled the trigger as the man's hand scurried toward his waistline.

The quiet of the night was broken by the loud sound of the gunshot. The man fell quietly to the ground.

I was motionless. I stared at the scene in front of me, feeling as though my body was fixed to the spot, formed of stone. With a pale face and eyes filled with something I couldn't quite put my finger on-fear, anger, or desperation-Ethan turned to face me.

"Emily..." He spoke in a weak voice that was barely audible.

As my mind struggled to understand what I had just witnessed, I staggered backward, the world tilting. "You killed him," I said.

Ethan walked over to me and said, "He gave me no choice." His eyes revealed him, but his speech was cool.

With every sense telling me to run, I shook my head. "This-this isn't you," I said.

His tone was serious as he said, "You shouldn't have been here. What made you follow me?"

"I don't-" I tried to reply, but my voice broke. "I'm not sure. I simply felt a problem, and-"

His jaw tensed, and he interrupted, "And now you've seen too much."

"What do you mean by that?" I raised my voice and ordered.

His calmness broke as he yelled, "It means you're in trouble. Emily, I didn't want you to get involved in this. But now..."

He walked away, his eyes moving to the body on the floor. I noticed his hesitancy for the first time, a small moment of doubt that caused my chest to constrict.

Finally, in a quieter tone, he said, "I need you to trust me."

"Trust you?" Incredulous, I repeated, "Ethan, you just killed someone. After this, how am I expected to trust you?"

Anger was visible in every strand of his body as he combed his hair. "It's not what it appears to be."

I insisted, "Then tell me what it is."

The ensuing silence was deafening as he paused.

I pivoted and sprinted as quickly as I could, not looking back.