Chapter 47 Ethan's pov

Chapter 47 Ethan's pov


Sleep refused to come.

The bedroom smelled like him. His soap. His cologne. The faint trace of blood and antiseptic that hadn’t fully faded yet. I lay on my back, one arm draped over my eyes, replaying his words like they were etched into bone.

How am I supposed to love someone I can’t trust?

That sentence had done more damage than Joe Blackwood ever could.

I turned my head toward the door, half-expecting it to open. Half-hoping he’d change his mind. He didn’t. The guest room door remained closed, a quiet declaration I couldn’t argue with.

I deserved this.

That truth sat heavy in my chest.

I’d told him I wouldn’t hide anything from him again. I’d meant it. God, I had meant it. But intentions didn’t erase impact, and my reasons—however logical they’d seemed—had shattered something fragile we’d only just begun to build.

I exhaled slowly and sat up, swinging my legs off the bed. The clock on the nightstand read 2:47 a.m.

Too late to sleep. Too early to fix anything.

I stood and crossed the room, stopping by the window. The city sprawled below, lights blinking like distant stars, indifferent to the fact that I’d nearly lost him today, no yesterday. Indifferent to the fact that I’d chosen silence where honesty should’ve been.

I told myself I hadn’t mentioned the shares because they didn’t matter. They weren't important. But standing there in the dark, stripped of excuses, I knew the truth was uglier.

I hadn’t told him because if I said it out loud, it would’ve made everything real. It would’ve meant admitting I was tied to the Blackwood Empire in ways even Joe hadn’t anticipated. It would’ve meant acknowledging that I hadn’t just been guarding Alex—I’d been circling him long before he ever knew my name.

And maybe… maybe a part of me had wanted to keep something for myself.

That thought made me sick.

A soft buzz broke the silence.

I reached for my phone on instinct, already knowing who it would be.

Noah.

I answered without greeting.

“You alive?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“And Alex?”

“He’s sleeping,” I said, then corrected myself. “Or pretending to.”

There was a pause. I could picture Noah rubbing his jaw, the way he did when he was weighing whether to push or back off.

“what is it this time?” Noah said.

“Joeseph Black wood ran his mouth about my shares of blackwood empire.”

“You should’ve told him.”

“I know.”

Silence again.

Then, quieter, “So he knows now”

“Yes.”

Noah exhaled sharply. “Shit.”

I closed my eyes. “You knew this would happen.”

“I knew it could happen,” he corrected. “I also knew you’d convince yourself it was safer this way.”

“I wasn’t trying to manipulate him.”

“I know,” Noah said. “That’s what makes it worse.”

I leaned my forehead against the glass. “He looked at me like he didn’t recognize me.”

“That’s because he thought he finally did.”

The words landed hard.

“what else haven't you told him?” he asked.

“Nothing, except that I was once in the military.”

“when do you plan on telling him, or he doesn't need to know that too?”

“I do”

“When?”

“As soon as he lets me.”

Noah hummed. “And if he doesn’t?”

I didn’t answer right away.

“That’s not an option,” I said finally.

Noah didn’t sound convinced. “I hope you know what you're doing”

“I won’t lose him.”

“You already might have.”

"What's going on between you and Aiden?" Decided to change the subject.

" you know we're Fucking Already. Stop trying to change the subject from your terrible life decisions." He replied dryly. 

The call ended not long after that. Noah didn’t offer comfort. He never did when he thought I’d fucked up beyond repair. He believed in consequences, and right now, I was drowning in them.

I returned to the bed and sat on the edge, hands clasped together, staring at nothing.

I’d been almost shot today, threatened and held at gunpoint.

None of it compared to the way Alex’s voice had cracked when he snapped at me during the argument. None of it compared to the way he’d stepped back from me like I was something that could cut him.

The hours crawled by.

Sometime around dawn, exhaustion finally dulled the edges of my thoughts. I must’ve drifted off sitting upright, because the next thing I knew, my phone was vibrating violently in my hand. I jolted awake, heart already racing.

When did I set an alarm?
A notification for a text came in. It was from Aiden.

"Alex's father was taken to the hospital."

Then I heard movement from the guest room . I quickly stood up and move towards the door only to see Alex dressed and was about to go out.

" I’m coming with you.”

“No.”

“ I want to...”

“I need to do this alone.” he said not letting me finish what I was about to say.

But I followed him anyway. This is not the time to go out alone, especially with his uncle still out there.

I parked my car next to his outside the hospital and entered into the hospital and was greeted with the smell of like a thousand drugs mixed together. 
I went straight to the VIP session, where I spotted Alex speaking to a Doctor . He was standing arms crossed tightly over his chest, jaw locked. His hair was a mess, like he’d run his hands through it one too many times. He looked smaller somehow. Younger and vulnerable.

He finished talking to the doctor stayed outside for awhile the entered the room and came back out after some time. I didn't want to further piss him off so I stayed away for awhile and came back.

He turned when he sensed me.

Our eyes met.

The look on his face wasn’t relief. It was hurt. Aiden sent me another text earlier with Alex's father's medical records.

“Why are you here?” he asked.

“I came as soon as I heard.”

“I didn’t call you.”

“I know.”

He looked away. “You shouldn’t be here.”

“I’m not leaving.”

He laughed, sharp and humorless. “Of course you’re not.”

That stung more than it should have.

“So he lied,” he said, voice trembling. “He lied about dying.”

“ I'm sorry.” my voice was more like a whisper.

“And you,” he continued, eyes blazing now, “you lied about owning part of his empire.”

“I didn’t lie,” I said quietly. “I didn’t tell you.”

“Which is worse,” he snapped. “Because you promised.”

“I know.”

“You looked Me in the fucking eyes and told me you were done hiding things.”

“I meant it.”

“Then why?” he demanded. “Why keep that from me?”

“I love you,” I said, desperate. Not minding if the doctors or nurses heard me.“Everything I’ve done, every choice,it was to protect you.”

“And who protects me from you?” he shot back.

I had no answer.

Alex turned away, shoulders shaking.

“My father lied about dying,” he said hoarsely. “My uncle tried to kill me. And the man I love...” His voice broke. “ doesn't trust me.”

"I do trust you ."

" I don't think you do."

I reached for him.

He stepped back.

“Don’t, We've had this conversation yesterday, we shouldn't be doing this at the hospital” he said.

I watched him as he disappeared back into his father's room.
His father was a caloward for lying to his son about a life or death situation, that's brutal.

But then I wasn't any better.