Total pages in book: 40
Estimated words: 37636 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 188(@200wpm)___ 151(@250wpm)___ 125(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 37636 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 188(@200wpm)___ 151(@250wpm)___ 125(@300wpm)
"Careful."
Ethan's deep, velvety voice was rich with amusement as he caught her before she fell, and she stammered out an apology while determinedly fixing her gaze on his suit pocket.
Ethan's lips curved in a smirk when he saw where she was staring. "New decoy?"
Anah frowned. What new - oh! Her cheeks turned a deeper shade of red when she realized he still remembered her confession about using books as a decoy.
"I wish you'd be a little more forgetful."
Ethan laughed.
"And just to be clear—-"
"I know," Ethan cut her off dryly. "You didn't put her up to it."
"Oh."
"If you've known Sarah for as long as I do, you'd know that no one needs to put her up to anything. She gets into trouble all on her own."
"She isn't that bad," Anah protested, feeling the need to defend her friend.
"She is," Ethan retorted, "and her own husband would be the first to confirm this."
This time, Anah could no longer help laughing. Glancing up, she was about to ask him to share with her any of Sarah's past escapades when she caught sight of Ethan staring down at her broodingly. "Is something wrong?"
"You catch me staring at you," Ethan murmured, "and that's your first thought? That's something wrong?" He watched Anah do her best to keep herself from smiling...only to lose the battle a few moments later. It was an adorable sight. Too fucking adorable, actually, that it cut his heart into two.
And it was then he knew.
Things could not go on like this any longer.
DÉJÀ VU, Guilia couldn't help thinking when she came home to her apartment and saw Ethan lounging in her living room. The one time he had showed up unexpectedly at her place, she had ended up trying to kill herself. Tonight, though...who knew?
She crossed the room and managed to keep a smile over her lips even as her heart was slowly withering. She knew, without a doubt, that her worst fears were finally happening. Ethan had finally realized the truth, and she was almost tempted to ask him what it was that opened his yes. How did you find out that you no longer love me?
The thought had Guilia's knees wobbling a bit, but somehow she still managed to keep moving, and even her voice remained steady as she greeted him. "Ciao, caro. This is quite the surprise."
"I know." The velvety huskiness of his voice had Guilia's lips automatically curving with the kind of smile that she knew Ethan hated. He once told her she had a certain smile that made him feel she only thought of him as her personal slave, but she had only laughed his words off and told him he was imagining things.
But of course she was lying. He hadn't been mistaken about her smile. But what he was never to know was that those smiles were just another way to hide the truth, a way to hurt him so he wouldn't see that she was hurting, too...
Like now.
The sound of Ethan's voice had made Guilia realize all of a sudden that tonight might be the very last time she would be able to hurt him.
No more Ethan calling her just to say 'ciao' or 'buon giorno'.
And the thought devastated her, the pain so crippling it was a wonder she had yet to crash down and sob her heart out. Instead, she somehow found the strength to walk past him and get to the minibar she had installed in one corner of her apartment.
She sat down on one of the bar stools and reached for a pair of shot glasses. Her movement was deliberately slow, Guilia needing more time to regain her composure. An insidious thought crept into her mind just as she reached for the bottle of whisky—-
What if it was someone else? What if it was another woman that had made Ethan realize he no longer loved her?
The thought had her hands shaking in an instant, and she quickly placed the bottle back on the table. It doesn't matter if Ethan has another woman or not, Guilia reminded herself forcefully. Either way, it wouldn't change the truth, and that was that Ethan had stopped loving her for a long time now.
He had only remained by her side the past few years because he had mistaken duty and honor for love, and she had been too selfish and weak to tell him the truth. But now that it finally happened...
I'll let him go. I won't make it hard for him. He deserves that much.
Guilia slowly ran her hands down the the silky length of her dress.
It's better this way. If I love him, and I really do love him, I need to set him free.
When she reached for the bottle again, her fingers were free of any telltale tremors, and she was able to pour herself a shot. "Do you want some whisky, too, or something else?"