Chapter 35 Chapter 35
Sophia's POV
The sound of glass crashing into the ground echoed across the room as people gasped. I turned too late and saw a shard of glass flying straight toward my face, but it froze just inches from my eye. My breath hitched, my heart suddenly racing in my chest.
A thin trail of blood slid down my cheek. Then another. It took my mind a few seconds to catch up, to realize that it wasn’t my blood.
Ethan stood between Marcus and me, his hand wrapped tightly around the jagged edge of the glass shard, stopping it from moving any farther even as Marcus pressed down with all his weight. Ethan’s hand was coated in red, but his face… his face was carved into fury, as though the pain hadn’t even registered.
“E-Ethan,” I cried, my body finally snapping out of shock.
He didn’t look at me as he shoved back. One moment Marcus was lunging toward me, the next he was slammed against the platform, groaning as he tried to push himself upright.
“It seems you’ve forgotten your place, Marcus,” Ethan sneered. “Perhaps you need a reminder.”
He crossed the distance between them in two long strides, grabbed Marcus by the front of his jacket, and drove his fist into his face. Then he hurled him into a row of glass cases displaying his cheap jewelry.
Lila rushed forward, clutching Ethan’s arm before he could reach Marcus again. “Please, please stop hitting him.”
Ethan shook her off. “You should have warned your husband before he decided to attack my wife…”
“She was my wife first, you asshole,” Marcus shouted, staggering upright. “I can do whatever the fuck I want to her because I still have rights over her. What the fuck are you going to do about it?”
I saw it then. The faint curl of a smirk at the corner of his mouth.
Marcus was doing it deliberately. He wanted a reaction. He wanted to make Ethan look unhinged in front of the cameras, in front of the media, in front of everyone. And Ethan Ethan was too consumed by rage on my behalf to care how it looked. His eyes flashed gold, his jaw tightening, and I knew if I didn’t stop him, things would spiral.
I rushed forward, planting myself between them before Ethan could strike again.
“Ethan, no!”
“Move out of the way, Sophia,” he snarled, his gaze fixed over my head at Marcus. “He deserves what’s coming.”
“I know,” I said, forcing calm into my voice. I pressed one hand against his chest and guided his face down to look at me with the other. “But not like this. He’s trying to get you into trouble with the Pack Alliance. You have to stay calm.”
His expression softened, the tension in his body easing beneath my touch. He lifted a hand and cupped my cheek, his thumb brushing the streak of blood there. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine,” I assured him. “Our plan worked exactly the way we wanted it to. Let’s not give Marcus the satisfaction of thinking he still managed to get to us.”
He pulled me into a brief embrace, ignoring the cameras and the murmurs surrounding us. I eased back and turned toward the remaining spectators who hadn’t yet fled.
“I’m sorry for the commotion and the misunderstanding,” I said. “Please allow me to make up for it by offering a thirty percent discount on any purchase you make at our store today.”
I nodded to the men in suits still standing in formation, each holding one of my boxes. They stepped forward, moving through the room and handing out my store’s business cards.
“Our location is listed at the back of the card,” I continued. “Please feel free to visit us. Thank you, and once again, I apologize for the scene.”
With that, I turned toward the exit, pulling Ethan along with me. Behind us, Lila rushed to Marcus, fussing over him as though he were made of glass. I caught the sound of his harsh scolding just as we stepped outside.
A smile crept onto my face.
At least today’s mission had been accomplished.
“Are you okay?” I asked Ethan later as he drove us home. He’d been silent behind the wheel, his grip tight.
“Yeah,” he replied shortly.
I let out a slow breath. “I can tell you’re still upset about what happened. I didn’t know he would lose his temper and attack me.”
“That’s the problem,” Ethan said, his voice threaded with restraint. “Even after everything he’s done, some part of you still seems to believe he’d never physically hurt you. It’s like you enjoy playing with his feelings instead of focusing on protecting yourself.”
I stared at him, stunned. “What?”
He sighed and pulled the car over to the side of the road. “Don’t get me wrong, Sophia. I understand why you want revenge. I get it. But where I draw the line is when that need puts you in danger.”
“I know that,” I said through clenched teeth.
“He’s just looking out for you,” Kira added in my thoughts. I ignored her.
“It’s my decision whether I’m willing to take that risk or not,” I snapped. “Not yours.”
“Sophia,” Ethan began, his tone softening, but I cut him off.
“And maybe I did miscalculate how far Marcus would go,” I admitted. “Maybe I thought I could use the fact that he still has feelings for me against him. But never not once have I enjoyed the idea of that. If anything, I hate knowing he still claims to care while taking another bride simply because she’s his fated Luna.”
He flinched, understanding dawning on his face. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”
“No, you shouldn’t have,” I replied, my chest tightening. “It only proves we still have a lot to figure out.”
If I stayed in the car any longer, I felt like the air would vanish.
“Just stay and talk to him,” Kira urged. “He didn’t mean it the way you’re taking it—”
I shut her out, pushing the door open and stepping outside.
“Sophia, wait,” Ethan called as he got out. “I’m sorry. Please.”
I didn’t want him to see how badly his words had hurt me. I couldn’t afford to look broken again. Not after Marcus.
Without looking, I turned and stepped into the road, trying to get away from him.
A horn blared. Tires screeched.
Ethan shouted my name.
But it was too late.
The car made impact.