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I can’t even make sense of where the information about Ethan and Antonia came from. It all blends together into a chaotic mess of half-truths and exposure, a flood of revelations that crashed over me all at once, leaving me overwhelmed, unable to separate one wound from another.

I wipe my tears with the back of my hands and take the velvet box.

I turn it slowly, then bring it close, inhaling its scent—refined, expensive, unmistakably exclusive.

It smells like him.

I glance at myself one last time in the mirror, then take the box with me and return to the armchair, sinking into it as I stare out the window—toward the courtyard we share, toward the universe stretching beyond it.

Suddenly, my phone vibrates in my lap. I snatch it up instantly, hope flaring before I can stop it.

But it’s not him.

After the way he left, after all he said, it’s painfully clear that, to him, I’m a closed chapter.

Even if we never had a real relationship, what I did bruised his pride. That’s what this comes down to for him—pride.

And we probably won’t even have the easy, playful, back-and-forth we used to share before we started sleeping together.

He’ll ignore me again, just like he did when he believed I was dating Theo.

Or worse.

Without a trace of enthusiasm, I tap the notification, only to realize it’s from the group chat we all share… including Ethan.

Colt: The accident wasn’t an accident.

Colt: Ethan’s jet was sabotaged.

Colt: The meeting he was supposed to attend was nothing more than a trap.

I don’t think my heart can take much more of this. For a few moments, my vision blurs, the words on the screen dissolving as my grip loosens and the phone nearly slips from my hand—just as it vibrates again.

Kai: That means someone wants Ethan gone.

Colt: Exactly.

Nick: Fucking hell.

Colt: From now on, no one goes anywhere without security.

Colt: And no one leaves the house unless it’s absolutely necessary.

Liam: Hartho is tripling security as we speak.

Zayn: Do we know who ordered the hit on Ethan?

Colt: Yes.

Zayn: Okay. What’s the plan?

Colt: We let Ethan decide.

Noah: I want the names of the people who pushed those articles and stories into the press.

Ryan: Already on it.

This is exactly what I meant earlier. Whoever set this entire scandal in motion had no idea who they were dealing with.