Ethan's POV
The silence between them stretched longer than the space between their bodies. Lexi stood a few feet away, waiting for an answer. Ethan leaned back in his chair, his elbows on the armrests, fingers interlaced beneath his chin.
Her question lingered in the air like smoke. "Is there something you want to tell me? About Emily?"
Ethan chose his words with care. "There's nothing going on."
It was technically the truth. Nothing had happened. No affair. No secret rendezvous. Just stolen glances and an avalanche of unspoken history threatening to drown him.
Lexi nodded slowly, but Ethan noticed the shift in her expression — a flicker of hurt behind the composed mask she always wore.
"I see," she said, setting the dinner bag on his desk more firmly than necessary. "Well, then. I guess there's nothing to worry about."
Ethan stood. "Lexi…"
She looked up. "Yes?"
He hesitated. "I didn't mean to make you feel uneasy."
Lexi smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. "You didn't. You're just tired. We both are." She leaned in and kissed his cheek. "Eat something. I'll see you at home."
Ethan watched her leave and exhaled slowly, his chest heavy.
There's nothing going on, he'd said.
Then why did it feel like something inside him had already begun to unravel?
Lexi's POV
Lexi closed the office door quietly behind her and walked down the corridor, each step tapping out her rising anxiety.
There was something in Ethan's voice that didn't sit right with her. She had known him long enough to recognize when he was guarded. And he had definitely been guarded tonight.
Inside the elevator, she stared at her reflection in the mirror-like walls. Her makeup was flawless, her hair curled to perfection, her dress elegant. But none of it mattered if his heart didn't belong to her.
Lexi reached into her purse and pulled out her phone.
She scrolled to a contact she hadn't used in months: Rachel—PR assistant and her occasional ally when secrets needed containing.
She tapped a message.
"Need you to discreetly monitor an employee: Emily Carter. I want to know where she goes, who she sees. Keep it clean. No drama. Just details."
She hesitated, then added:
"No one can know. Especially not Ethan."
As the elevator descended, Lexi stared straight ahead, her lips set in a soft, determined line.
She hadn't fought this hard for her place in Ethan's world just to be replaced by a ghost from his past.
Emily's POV
Emily sat across from her friend Wren at a cozy bistro tucked away on a quiet street near the river. The lights were low, the wine was flowing, and the conversation had drifted from old school memories to her current project.
"So let me get this straight," Wren said, twirling her fork. "You took a high-stakes business deal in a new city, walked into the boardroom, and bam — your ex, the guy who shattered your world at seventeen, is the client?"
Emily groaned, sinking into her seat. "Exactly. And I didn't even know until I saw him."
Wren's eyes widened. "And now you have to work with him?"
She nodded. "Every day."
Wren leaned in. "Tell me he looks old and tired now. Or bald. Please, give me something."
Emily laughed despite herself. "Nope. If anything, he looks… better. And worse. It's confusing."
Her friend reached across the table and squeezed her hand. "Hey. Just remember — you're not that girl anymore. You've built a life, a career. You have power now. Don't let him take that from you."
Emily nodded slowly. Wren was right.
But later, walking home alone, Ethan's face rose in her mind again — not the man in the suit, but the boy who'd kissed her behind the bleachers, who'd sworn they'd build a life together.
How can something feel so long ago and yet so fresh it still stings?
Rachel's POV
Rachel read the text from Lexi three times, her brow furrowing.
She'd been Lexi's ally during a few PR nightmares — a leaked photo, an embarrassing tabloid story, and once, a minor blackmail threat. This, however, was different.
But Lexi paid well. And she was rarely wrong when she had a gut feeling.
Rachel replied:
"I'll look into her."
She pulled up Emily Carter's name in the company system and began compiling her schedule, office badge logs, and external meeting bookings.
"Let's see what you're hiding," Rachel muttered.
Ethan's POV (late night)
Ethan stood in the kitchen of the penthouse, staring at the untouched dinner Lexi had brought. Guilt twisted in his gut, but something stronger lurked beneath it — frustration.
He wasn't angry at Lexi. Not really.
He was angry at himself — for still wanting someone he had no right to want.
When he finally made it to bed, Lexi was already asleep — or pretending to be. He lay beside her, staring at the ceiling.
He could smell her perfume, feel the warmth of her body near his.
But it wasn't her name on his lips as he drifted to sleep.
It was Emily's.