Chapter 43 The Shape Of Control (Demilia’s POV)
The next afternoon, when everyone was busy in the mansion, Adrian and I sat comfortably in the garden, the sun warm on my skin. For a rare moment, something I haven't explored since the day I stepped my foot into Ethan's house, I felt my body strange calm and… steady.
“You look lighter today, more than how I saw you yesterday,” Adrian complimented.
“I feel lighter,” I admitted.
He smiled genuinely. “That’s good to hear.” I noticed how far his gaze had gone, so I calmly followed his as it shifted past me.
Behold, Ethan was standing on the balcony above, his arms crossed, and I could see how pitiful he was while watching us.
His expression was unreadable, but even at that, his presence remained heavy and undeniable that anyone can easily dictate that things weren't right. My lips curved before I could stop myself from doing so, even to the point Adrian also noticed.
“Something seems funny?” he asked. I shook my head. “No, it's just… thinking.”
“About him, right?” Adrian asked gently. I hesitated, trying to calculate my words, rather too long.
“That’s kind of complicated,” I said. He nodded. “I figured it out already.” He didn’t push me to say whatever was in my mind. He wasn't like Ethan that would like to be in control of everything.
And as I checked everything, that, somehow, made my chest ache so badly.
>>>>>>>>>>
That very night, Ethan stopped me in the hallway, anc I knew he had aot to say. Alot that he had been suppressing inside him. “Enjoy your time to the full today?” he asked.
“Yes, I did, more than I even expected.” I answered without hesitation, carefully to draw the words and get him more jealous.
His jaw clenched in fury, but there's nothing he could do. “You don’t even have the decency to deny it.”
“I don’t see the point doing that when I actually did,” I replied. He stepped closer, his presence overwhelming, familiar and dangerous.
“You’re playing a game you would end up losing at the end,” he said quietly.
I looked up at him. “Maybe you’re just losing control and that wasn't in your plan.” Something flashed in his eyes the moment I said that, but I cared less. “Be very careful of the things you say to me,” he warned.
I held his gaze, though my heart was pounding and racing uncontrollably. “Why? Afraid I’ll enjoy that too if you permit me?”
For a moment, the air between us only remained rather too charged, unstable, and of course, intimating
Then he stepped back to get something. And that hurt more than I expected.
>>>>>
Later that day, while alone again, I pressed a hand to my chest. Why did it seem to matter?
Why did his jealousy make me feel powerful… wanted… seen? Why did the idea of him not caring suddenly terrify me? I shook my head, trying to clear emiff everything from my memory.
I didn’t love Ethan. I couldn’t do that even if I wanted, because he made it very difficult for me.
I just liked seeing him jealous, nothing else is attached. But deep down, a quiet question whispered, very persistent and dangerous:
If it was only jealousy I enjoyed… why did it feel like I was waiting for him to choose me?
And why did that realization scare me more than anything else?
Ethan’s POV
“You’re already hovering around again.” The word hit me before I realized Demilia had spoken.
I paused in the doorway, one hand still on the frame, the other clenched at my side. Adrian stood across from her in the sitting room, sleeves rolled up, smiling like he belonged there. Like he had every right to exist in my house.
“I’m not hovering,” I said coolly. Demilia turned slowly, her eyes sharp, assessing. “You’ve been standing there for two minutes.” Adrian glanced between us, amused. “Should I excuse you two, or...”
“No,” I cut in. “You should take your leave instead.” That earned a silence.
Demilia’s eyebrows lifted calmly. “He just got here and should be allowed to stay as long as he wants, even sleep over if he so desires.”
“And he can just take leave,” I replied. Adrian’s smile didn’t fader. “We were in the middle of a conversation.”
I stepped fully into the room now, my presence filling it, dominating it. “This is my house.”
“And she’s your wife,” Adrian said calmly. “Not your property.” That did it, bringing out everything he had been hiding.
“Get out right now,” I said, my voice low and dangerous.
Demilia stepped forward before Adrian could respond. “Ethan, stop.”
I turned to her, thou I could already feel how sharpen my chest was.“You enjoy this?”
Her lips parted slightly. “Enjoy what, easily.?”
“This,” I snapped. “Pushing me, watching him provoke me. Watching me react.”
She held my gaze, unflinching. “You don’t react, you only control.”
The word landed wrongly, as that was all it took to treat as urgent.
“I don’t lose control,” I said. Adrian laughed softly. “That’s debatable.” I moved before I could stop myself, grabbing Adrian by the collar and slamming him back a step. Not hard enough to cause a scene. Just enough to make a point.
Demilia gasped at my new plan. “Ethan!”
“Stay away from her from now onwards,” I growled. And as Adrian met my eyes, unforgiving. “You don’t get to decide that.” I released him abruptly and stepped back, my jaw tight.
“Leave right now” I said again quickly This time, Adrian did all that we had been. But not before looking at Demilia and saying quietly, “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Tomorrow? How possible is that? The word loudly in my head long after the door closed. I needed to find solution to whatever is disturbing us. I couldn't sit back and watch the one that knew nothing apart from causing trouble to win me over this.