Chapter 103

Baron told me he loved me. He said he always had, even when he knew I was with Ethan. He said he loved me, and I didn’t say it back.

I couldn’t even stomach the idea of loving someone like Baron back.

“Baron said he loves me,” I told Andrew one night over dinner. My mother took dinner in her room, she was having a hard time adjusting to seeing Andrew so casually after everything he’d done to her in their past, and Baron was always doing work things in the evenings.

Dinner was always just Andrew and I.

“I thought he might have had a crush on you,” Andrew mused with a smile as he dug into his steak. “I saw the way he was looking at you a few times. He’s a good man.”

I swallowed a sip of my drink to soothe the burning emotions in my throat.

He was not a good man, and neither was Andrew. However, I had to keep up appearances so I played along.

“Do I have your blessing to pursue a relationship with him after my divorce with Ethan is finalized?” I batted my eyelashes and tried my best to look like the picture perfect, innocent daughter that he wanted me to be.

Andrew smiled wide like the Cheshire Cat, “Of course. I support you full heartedly, daughter.”

I bit my tongue and put a smile on my face.

If Andrew approved the relationship, and Baron was too blind with affection to see that I was faking, then I would have ample opportunity to gather evidence on their dealings with children and the horrible things Andrew had done to Ethan, myself, and many others.

“Thank you, father,” I bowed my head and continued to eat my dinner in tense silence. If Andrew noticed the energy in the room, he didn’t say anything. Maybe he thought that’s how it always was between father and daughter.

A few nights later, Baron and I were in the beginning of a very fake relationship. We were invited to a party thrown by the Silvers family - Sarah’s pack. Andrew wouldn’t let me stay home, saying I needed to attend on his behalf.

Baron and I attended together, as partners. It broke my heart a million times over to attend such an extravagant party on another man’s arm instead of Ethan’s.

I held my head up high, though. The knowledge that I was doing this to protect the children and even Ethan was enough to give me the strength to tolerate Baron and Andrew for as long as I needed.

When we walked into the party, Sarah and Ethan were dancing together.

Ethan was holding her close. His hand placed at the small of her back, her nose just a breath away from his cheek, and they were smiling. They looked as though they were perfectly content with each other and the guilt I felt started to give way to the green-eyed monster.

“Shall we dance?” I asked Baron through gritted teeth.

Baron looked caught off guard by my sudden question, but agreed.

“Yes, if that’s what you wish,” He smiled and led me to the dance floor. There were a few couples in between Ethan and I, but I could still see him perfectly through the crowd.

Baron and I danced, but I couldn’t keep my eyes from wandering over his shoulder and towards Ethan’s towering figure.

Ethan was so, so handsome. I missed him so much.

To see him embracing another woman, dancing with another woman - it was too much for me to bear when I was stuck in the arms of a man I couldn’t stand. I couldn’t take the pressure of everything much longer.

I broke away from Baron as soon as the music ended and ran to the bathroom to take a break.

I didn’t notice it while I was running, but Ethan saw me flee from the dancefloor and he followed me worriedly.

Barging into the bathroom, I let the tears of stress and heartache flow freely down my face. I gripped the marble countertop and let my head fall as I sobbed. I didn’t know how much longer I could take this.

“Ava?” Ethan’s voice echoed in the empty bathroom.

I quickly wiped my eyes and turned to see him entering the small room and locking the door behind him.

“What do you want?” I sniffed, trying to hide any evidence of my feelings.

“Are you okay?”

I turned away from him, back towards the sink, and splashed some water on my face.

“I’m fine,” I shrugged, but I could hear the wavering of my voice. Surely Ethan did too.

My body jolted as I felt Ethan run a hand up my back, stopping at my shoulders to give them a quick, reassuring squeeze.

“Are you sure?” He whispered, trailing light kisses from the back of my neck and up my jawline.

“Ethan-” My breath hitched as his teeth nipped a particularly sensitive spot by my ear.

“I missed you,” He murmured into my skin, turning me around so that I was facing him. He pressed my body back against the bathroom counter and continued his passionate assault against my throat.

“I miss you,” I whimpered under his touch, feeling at ease and fired up all at once. “I love you.”

Ethan growled at my words, capturing my lips with his own and tormenting me with hungry kisses. They were desperate kisses, like he was a man starved and I was his life source.

His hands traveled down my body, settling just under my rear, and lifting my body so that I was sitting on the bathroom counter. He settled himself between my legs, never breaking the kiss.

I ran my hands down the shirt of his suit, unbuttoning a few of the buttons to reveal the chiseled chest beneath.

Ethan’s hands hiked up the skirts of my dress until they pooled around my waist, revealing my most intimate parts.

At that point, there was no stopping us. Despite what my mind was screaming, despite the plotting and planning that I had to do to save him, I couldn’t escape Ethan’s touch. Ethan was right in front of me, kissing me, thrusting into me - I couldn’t let this moment go to waste.

I let myself feel every minute of it, feel every inch of his body against mine.

“I love you,” He murmured as he panted. “I love you so much, I think I’ll die without you.”

“I love you,” I repeated back to him through my moans and whimpers. I loved Ethan more than he would probably ever know.

I loved Ethan with every fiber of my soul, and yet it didn’t seem like enough. I needed to prove it to him. He needed to know my love through actions and not just words.

“I haven’t signed the papers yet,” He told me during our post love-making bliss.

My eyes shot open and we were face-to-face. Ethan’s icy blue eyes bore into mine and I had to hold myself back from attempting to kiss him again. Even though that's all I wanted to do.

“You can come back to me. Be my wife,” He pleaded, eyes half-lidded and pupils blown.

I shook my head, my brain began to clear up and I realized just what we had done.

“I can’t!” I cried out, pushing him away and cleaning myself up.

Being back with Ethan was the only thing in the world I wanted, but I was worried if I told him my plan and explained myself, he would make me come back and put a stop to my investigation.

He would tell me it’s too dangerous.

So, I did what I thought was right, and I ran away.