Chapter 217 CHAPTER 217
The garden had become her refuge.
Isabel sat quietly on one of the stone benches, her hands folded in her lap, her gaze lost somewhere beyond the blooming flowers and trimmed hedges. The palace rose behind her in silent grandeur, but she had chosen this place because it felt far enough… far enough from everything she did not know how to face.
She had learned the pattern of Ethan’s days.
She woke earlier now, just to avoid breakfast with him. On the days she woke too late, she waited until she was certain he had already left. Dinner had become something she took with the staff, quietly, without questions.
It had become easier that way.
Or at least, that was what she told herself.
But there were moments - like now - when the quiet felt too loud, and the absence she had created for herself settled heavily in her chest.
She missed him.
And that was the part she did not know what to do with.
She exhaled slowly, pressing her fingers together as her thoughts wandered back to that night. The way his voice had changed. The way he had looked at her—not with anger, not quite, but with something that had made her feel like she did not belong there.
And maybe she hadn’t.
Maybe she had simply stayed too long in a place that was never meant for her.
Footsteps approached from behind, steady and familiar.
Ethan slowed when he saw her.
For a moment, he simply stood there.
She looked smaller like this. Quieter. Not the girl who filled spaces with warmth without trying. Not the one who had sat beside him without fear, even when the darkness inside him had been at its worst.
Something twisted uncomfortably in his chest.
Are you going to keep watching her like that?
Rex’s voice cut through his thoughts, low and unimpressed.
Ethan exhaled.
She looks fine, he muttered internally.
Does she? Rex replied. Or are you just telling yourself that because it’s easier than admitting you pushed her away?
Ethan’s jaw tightened slightly.
She’s been avoiding me, he said.
No, Rex corrected. She’s been respecting what you made her believe—that she’s not wanted.
That landed.
Ethan’s gaze returned to her.
She stood by you when you were breaking, Rex continued. And now she’s hurting, and you’re letting her sit here alone because your pride is louder than your guilt.
Ethan let out a slow breath.
What do you want me to do?
For once, Rex said, stop hiding behind the crown. Go to her. Speak like a man, not a king.
There was a brief pause.
Then Ethan moved.
“Hi,” he said, his voice quieter than usual.
Isabel turned, startled. “Oh—hi,” she said quickly, rising to her feet. “I didn’t see you there.”
There was a shift in her posture almost immediately—subtle, but unmistakable. She straightened, her hands moving slightly as if unsure where to rest, the distance between them suddenly formal.
When she began to bow, Ethan reached forward instinctively, his hand catching her arm gently.
“Isabel… don’t,” he said.
She stilled.
For a moment, neither of them moved.
Then she looked up at him, her expression uncertain.
“I don’t know what I’m supposed to do,” she said quietly. “Or what I’m not supposed to do… when it comes to you.”
The words were soft, but they hit harder than anything else she could have said.
Ethan felt it.
Deeply.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
There was no hesitation this time.
“I shouldn’t have sent you away like that,” he continued. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”
Isabel blinked slightly, caught off guard by how direct it was.
“I just…” Ethan paused, searching for the right words, “…I was dealing with something. Something I didn’t want you to see. And instead of explaining, I pushed you away.”
She watched him carefully.
“I don’t understand what you mean,” she said. “But… you could have told me. You didn’t have to shut me out like that. We could have figured it out together.”
There was no accusation in her tone.
And somehow, that made it worse.
Ethan nodded slowly.
“You’re right,” he said. “I should have trusted you with that.”
A brief silence followed.
Then he looked at her again.
“Can you forgive me?” he asked.
Isabel hesitated, just for a moment.
Then she said softly, “Only if you promise you won’t do that again.”
A small breath escaped him, almost like relief.
“I promise,” he said.
The tension between them shifted—not gone, but softer now, less sharp.
Isabel glanced away briefly, then back at him.
“I missed…” she paused slightly, “…this. Talking to you.”
Ethan’s expression changed, something warm flickering through it, quiet but unmistakable.
“Yeah,” he said softly. “Me too.”
He paused, the words lingering at the edge of something deeper.
“I missed…”
The rest caught in his throat.
He almost said more. Almost let it all spill—the way he had missed her laughter filling the quiet spaces, the way her smile had a way of easing even his worst days, the lightness she carried so effortlessly into his world. He had missed her presence at the table, the way she enjoyed her meals with an honesty that made even simple moments feel alive. He had missed the way she spoke, the way she stayed, the way she never seemed afraid of him.
And more than anything, he had missed the closeness.
Missed the instinct he had fought down that day—the urge to pull her into his arms when everything went wrong, when she looked shaken and lost, when he should have been the one grounding her instead of pushing her away.
He had missed her in ways he did not yet have the courage to name.
But he didn’t say any of that.
Instead, he exhaled quietly and said, “I missed talking to you too.”
And somehow, even without the words fully spoken, they both felt what had been left between them—unsaid, but not unfelt.
A small silence followed, softer now.
Then Ethan cleared his throat slightly, a hint of something lighter returning.
“How about,” he said, a faint smile touching his lips, “we do a do-over?”
Isabel tilted her head slightly. “A do-over?”
“The ice cream,” he said. “I think we deserve a second attempt.”
A small smile broke through her expression, genuine this time.
“I think we do too,” she replied.
Ethan extended his hand toward her, steady, certain.
She looked at it for a brief second—then placed her hand in his.
He helped her rise from the bench, and together, they began walking back toward the palace, side by side.