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“I’m going to open a foundation to help less privileged children,” I continue, looking back at her, steady enough now to say the rest. “Irina came from nothing. She worked relentlessly to become who she was. She supported her entire family and paid for her brother’s education.”

Thalia doesn’t speak, but her eyes glisten, tears threatening to spill at any second.

With a faint smile, I go on, “I’ve never met a woman as strong and intelligent as she was. She was my assistant, but more than that—my friend, my right hand… there were times she carried the entire company on her own when I was buried in meetings and my brothers were tied up with matters just as urgent.”

Talking about Irina in the past tense is something I don’t think I’ll ever get used to. Every time I do, the guilt squeezes my chest.

“I was convinced she’d be by my side until the very end, that she’d remain my assistant until the day I decided to step down…” I’ve never said that out loud before, but I’ve thought it more times than I can count. I was certain that’s how things would unfold.

Thalia still says nothing, but she stays close, a quiet support I realize I need more than I expected.

“As I said, I’ve never met a woman as strong and intelligent as she was… until I met you, until I learned your story, Thalia.”

That makes her flinch again, this time disbelief flickering across her face.

“Irina had a loving family—people who supported her, who gave her everything they could,” I tell her, holding her gaze. “You fought your way up alone. You went through things so brutal that, when you explained everything that night in Theo’s house, I felt the urge to track down your parents and kill them with my bare hands.”

“Ethan…” she whispers again, tears now spilling freely down her cheeks.

“I won’t lie—I wish I had known all of this sooner, that you had told me,” I say quietly. “But I understand why you didn’t. We didn’t have the kind of relationship that made you feel safe enough to trust me with something that personal. Still, Thalia… from now on, I need you to tell me everything. No matter how small you think it is. And especially if someone threatens you. Your safety is the only thing that matters to me.”

She looks at me through tear-filled eyes, then leans in and kisses me softly before pulling back just enough to speak. “I don’t think I would have ever been ready to tell anyone about my past, Ethan.” She exhales slowly. “But I’m glad I did. I feel lighter… I feel supported, protected… and now by you too, not just the guys and Sierra.”

A sharp wave of guilt hits me at her words.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you during all of that, Thalia,” I admit. “I was too blinded by jealousy to see what you were going through. I thought that as long as I made sure you were safe now, that would be enough.”

“I felt so guilty for everything I thought and felt about Irina, Ethan…” she says, her voice breaking as she covers her face with her hands. “And I still do. I’m so sorry for what happened to her… it hurts so much knowing she went through that…” Her voice trembles with every word, tears slipping through her fingers. “There were so many times I wanted to call you, to text you, to explain… but I kept thinking I couldn’t bother you with something so trivial when you had just lost someone so important to you and to your company.”

“For her—and for you—I’m building this foundation, Thalia,” I tell her, brushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “I want to help children in situations like yours, give them somewhere to run, someone to turn to, something to believe in. I want them to know they can be protected, that they can have a future worth fighting for.”

“I’m so proud of you, Ethan Hardy,” she says, her tone full of warmth. “I want to help. In any way I can—I want to be a part of this.”

“I’d be more than grateful, Thalia. I don’t think there’s anyone more suited than you to be involved in this.”

Her face lights up at my words, and the sight alone makes me so damn happy.

Yes, the foundation will be built in Irina’s memory—a tribute to everything she was. But Thalia had been there too, in every thought I had since the moment I decided to make it happen.

“That’s what I was talking to Beatrix about,” I add with a fond smile. “Absolutely no sexual conversation, Thalia. So don’t ask me to fire Zayn’s assistant, please.”

I laugh, pulling her against my chest, her arms wrapping around me as she laughs with me.

“It’s alright, Ethan,” she says playfully. “It never crossed my mind that she should lose her job because of me,” she admits honestly.

And I believe her. Because I know how Thalia thinks, what kind of person she is.

I’ve known her for years, and she has always struck me as a good person. Too good, sometimes. That’s precisely why we all welcomed her so quickly, so naturally into our circle—because she saw us as people, not as opportunities, not as a way out.

“Both she and Jessica deserve to keep their jobs,” she adds, pulling me out of the chain of thoughts I’d drifted into.

“Jessica?” I ask, frowning slightly. “Who’s Jessica?”

“My assistant,” she replies without hesitation, then lifts her head to look at me, her gaze piercing, intent.

“Your assistant should go through proper training,” I tell her, remembering every time I had to activate the privacy system because of her. “She needs to learn how to stay composed, how to carry herself professionally.”

Thalia holds my gaze—unwavering, deliberate—as if she’s trying to say something without words.