Chapter 59 Chapter 59
Chapter 59
“Mr. Castellan came by himself to buy food for a staff,” one of the chefs whispered like he was telling a secret he wasn’t supposed to know.
The junior chef jerked his head up.
“Mr. Castellan? Down here? Buying food?” His face showed pure shock. “Since when does he buy food for anybody? He doesn’t even come down here to get food for himself. He sends people. Always.”
Chef Liam closed the big pot he was stirring and leaned on the counter.
“That beautiful brunette lady probably got Mr. Castellan now.”
“You mean the lady who always comes for their lunch?”
“Yes. That one,” Liam answered as if the whole thing finally made sense in his head.
The junior chef leaned closer. “So he came down here… for her?”
Chef Liam gave a small shrug but the kind that wasn’t innocent.
“I’ve been here for years. I’ve seen powerful CEOs, rich clients, even foreign partners. But Ethan Castellan walking into this kitchen himself… that’s not normal.”
They both exchanged looks again.
“He actually waited for the food,” the junior chef whispered. “He didn’t rush. He just stood there like he had all the time in the world.”
“Did he say who it was for?”
Liam nodded. “He said her name. Celine.”
The junior chef covered his mouth with his palm.
“God. That lady doesn’t know what’s happening around her.”
Before Liam could reply, a staff approached the counter, and both chefs snapped straight and silent, pretending to be busy as if gossip had never crossed their lips.
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Somewhere across the city, Amelia sat on her bed with the large Castellan Annual Magazine spread across her lap.
She had been waiting for this magazine since morning. The delivery guy had barely stepped out of her compound before she tore the seal open. Everything about the publication excited her especially the dinner photography. They always captured the most elegant moments.
But who was she kidding?
She wasn’t here for the event coverage.
She was here for Ethan.
She flipped the first few pages slowly, admiring details she didn’t really care about. She just wanted to get to him without looking desperate—even to herself.
Her fingers paused when she finally saw him.
Ethan in a perfectly tailored black suit, eyes sharp and striking. His expression calm, a little distant, but powerful in a way that made the camera look like it belonged to him.
She traced his jawline on the glossy paper with her thumb, her heart tightening for reasons she would never admit out loud.
She kept flipping.
Another photo of him.
Then another.
She smiled without meaning to. Ethan always looked breathtaking without even trying. It wasn’t fair.
She turned to the next page—
And froze.
Her hand stopped so abruptly the magazine almost bent.
There he was again. Ethan. But he wasn’t alone this time.
A woman stood in front of him… her back facing the camera. Her face wasn’t visible, but her silhouette was clear. Slim. But with a soft waist and curved hips. Her dress hugged her in a way that made her figure stand out even though the photo wasn’t clear.
Ethan was behind her, angled slightly to the side. His arm extended a little, his hand resting carefully against her side—almost like he was shielding her. His eyes weren’t on the camera at all. He looked like he was trying to block attention from her, or protect her from something.
Amelia blinked.
Once.
Twice.
Her breath caught in her throat.
“What…?” she whispered.
She brought the magazine closer to her face.
The woman’s face was blurred out completely. Her back was all the camera captured. But Ethan… he looked different in this picture. Not stiff. Not bored. Not angry. Not careless.
He looked… concerned.
Her pulse quickened.
Concerned for who?
She swallowed hard and stood up from the bed without realizing it. The magazine hung from her hand as she stared down at the photo like it was mocking her.
“Who is she?” Amelia whispered to the picture.
That body shape. That hair length. That dress she didn’t recognize. She flipped the magazine to the next page hoping they captured the woman’s face.
Nothing.
Then she flipped back.
That photo again.
Her jaw tightened. She traced over the blurred outline of the woman’s back with her thumb, irritation rising in her chest. Every detail pushed her deeper into a feeling she hated—confusion mixed with jealousy.
“Why did he look like that?” she muttered.
Why was he standing that close?
Why was his hand on her?
Why was he shielding her from the camera like she meant something?
Amelia’s heart pounded, and without thinking twice, she gripped the page with both hands and tore it out—one rough, sharp pull that echoed through the room.
The paper ripped in half.
She stared down at the torn pieces in her hands, breathing harder than she expected.
She didn’t even know the woman. She couldn’t even see her face. But the thought—Ethan touching someone like that—burned her from the inside.
She sank onto the edge of her bed, the torn photo still crumpled in her hand.
“Who is she?” she whispered again, her voice lower this time. “Who is she to him?”
She picked up the photo again, smoothing out the wrinkled pieces with trembling fingers, studying the outline of the woman’s back again and again.
She tried to convince herself it was nothing.
A random guest.
Someone he bumped into.
A meaningless moment.
But something inside her didn’t believe it.
Ethan wasn’t a man who let people get close to him. He wasn’t gentle with strangers. He wasn’t protective unless it mattered.
Amelia shut her eyes briefly.
Then opened them again.
She looked at the picture one more time before dropping it on the floor.
This wasn’t going to leave he
r head anytime soon.
That woman…
Whoever she was…
Amelia knew one thing for sure:
She wasn’t going to sit still and watch Ethan shift toward someone else.
Not without knowing exactly who that woman was.