Chapter 99

Ethan wasted no time in getting up from his table. He pushed back the chair with a screeching push that sounded over the subtle roar of conversations in the restaurant.

I watched on, still frozen. I couldn’t take my eyes from Ethan, but he was able to look away from me every now and then to look at Andrew with complete and utter disdain. I had never once been on the receiving end of Ethan’s cold stares, the way his anger was icy and felt dooming.

The way he was looking at me, I realized now why everyone was so afraid of him.

“Ava,” He grunted when he approached the table.

His voice was soft, no yelling or booming to appear more intimidating. It was seething, quiet. It was terrifying.

“What are you doing here with Andrew Cortenta, alone and without consulting me?” He kept his eyes trained on Andrew as he spoke. Andrew simply folded his arms and waited for me to speak for myself.

I could only assume the horrible things Ethan was thinking of me in that moment. The horrible theories that were running through his head as to why I would even bother having a cordial lunch with the man he believed to have his parents murdered.

“I-” I stuttered, looking at Andrew for help, but receiving none.

“Look at me,” He demanded. “Please don’t make me ask you again.”

I swallowed thickly. The guilt that had been eating at me for the last two weeks had blossomed in my chest at full force. I wanted to cry. I couldn’t believe that I had hidden everything from Ethan, and he found out this way. I wanted to be the one to tell him once I figured out my own thoughts about the situation.

It didn’t matter, though. I lied to him for weeks, snuck behind his back to meet a dangerous man for lunch, and at home pretended that everything was okay as we slept together at night.

We spent every single second together, there was no reason for me not to tell him.

“I apologize, Ethan,” Andrew stood up from the table, holding out a hand for Ethan to shake. Ethan made no move to do so. “I approached Ava and asked if she would give me some advice on how to approach you and make things right between us with this feud we have going on. I hate to fight, you know.”

Ethan blinked, looking at Andrew as though he was a bug on the sidewalk.

However, since they were in public, and people were starting to pay us some attention, Ethan let it slide and nodded his head in acceptance.

“Then excuse us,” Ethan said through gritted teeth, “Ava and I are going to go sit with my guests and I will talk to you about this later.”

Ethan took me back to the table I saw him and Sarah sitting at. Sarah’s father was sitting there now, confusion etched on his face as Ethan and I approached.

“I am sorry to do this, Sir,” Ethan addressed the man. “But I just received news that there is an emergency at the office that my assistant cannot handle.”

The man looked up at Ethan from his seat, his mouth full of food.

“Of course,” He swallowed and a large, knowing grin broke out across his face. “I know how things go in the business. You just call me when you’re ready to continue discussing your future with me as a business partner.”

Ethan nodded his head, thoughtfully, put a wad of cash on the table to pay for their meals, and gripped my wrist as he led me out the door and to his car.

The bodyguard I brought with me followed after us and got into his own car as well.

I wanted to tell Ethan that I wasn’t alone, that I wasn’t stupid, and that I believed a bodyguard would be sufficient enough in protecting me in a crowded diner. However, I didn’t want to bring up the fact that the bodyguard never told Ethan about my meetings with Andrew.

I was worried it would get him fired.

Ethan and I drove in uncomfortable silence. He continued right past the office, apparently not taking me back to work like he told Sarah’s father.

“Where are we going?” I asked, my voice small and timid.

“Home.” He replied in a gruff, short word.

I bit my bottom lip and looked out the passenger side window, trying to hold back any and all tears that threatened to fall from my eyes.

I didn’t deserve to cry when I was the one who hurt Ethan in all of this. I didn’t deserve to feel hurt or betrayed by his cold attitude and frosty demeanor. Ethan was the one who was lied to and tricked.

Yet, the idea of him being so mad at me formed a pit in my stomach that couldn’t be filled by anything. I wanted to hide myself away, lock myself in our bedroom and cry under the covers.

When we get into the house, Ethan rounds on me before I even have time to close the front door. The drive was silent, but the house would not be.

“I can’t believe you would behave in this way, Ava,” Ethan frowned and glared at me.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t thinking,” I tried to reach out for him, but he took a few steps back so that I couldn’t touch him. I felt my heart breaking.

“I’m upset with you - I;m so upset with you,” Ethan mumbled, holding his head in his hands. “I never would have thought that you’d be capable of going behind my back and hiding something so big and dangerous from me.”

I apologized again, but that did nothing. My pleas for forgiveness fell on deaf ears as Ethan groaned into his palms.

“Go hide yourself away, I can’t look at you right now.”

My heart sank into my knees, despair filling my brain as I thought the worst for a moment. Maybe Ethan would want to divorce again now. Maybe that’s what I deserved.

“I’m going to spend the night in my office, I just need some space.” He continued and marched up the grand staircase up to his office. I waited until the door was closed before I trudged up to our bedroom and flung myself onto the mattress.

I cried for several hours into the satin pillows, effectively staining them with the salty water.

My phone buzzed as I was getting a phone call. At first, I thought maybe it was Ethan, begging for me to come to him and explain everything.

Andrew’s contact popped up on the screen, though. Flashing and taunting me. He had ruined my mom’s life, now he was ruining mine.

I let the phone ring, and after a few minutes I got a notification that a voicemail was left in my inbox.

Rolling my eyes, I unlocked my phone and went to listen to the message. Maybe chasing away my sadness with anger would prove to be more effective than wallowing in self-pity all night.

“Ava,” The message began. “I want you to know that I will never stop trying to know you. You are my child, we are blood. We have a relationship that goes beyond silly friends or husbands. I need to talk to you, I want you to start studying under me to take over the pack when I step down. I want you to be my next alpha-”

I choked on air.

What did he say?