Chapter 3 – The Suspicion
Ethan sat at the corner of the café, nursing a lukewarm cup of coffee. He hadn't planned to be there, but fate—or maybe his stubborn need to torture himself—had dragged him to the very place Sophia often came with Adrian.
And sure enough, there they were.
Sophia, laughing like nothing had changed. Adrian, seated across from her, his eyes polite, his smile charming. Too charming. Ethan narrowed his gaze.
Something about Adrian didn't add up. His hand rested lightly on the table, close to Sophia's but never reaching for it. When she leaned forward, brushing her hair back in a way Ethan knew was meant to invite touch, Adrian didn't move an inch. His smile stayed intact, perfect, rehearsed… distant.
It wasn't jealousy clouding Ethan's vision. It was instinct.
"Why does he look like he'd rather be anywhere else?" Ethan muttered to himself.
Later that night, unable to sleep, he replayed the scene over and over. Sophia glowing, Adrian stiff. Sophia reaching out, Adrian pulling back.
And then—Ethan remembered something.
Two men at the café, seated just behind Sophia and Adrian. When they laughed, Adrian's gaze had flickered—not toward Sophia, but toward them. It was quick, subtle, but Ethan caught it.
It hit him like a jolt of lightning.
"Adrian Knight… isn't into her," Ethan whispered, sitting upright in bed. His lips curved into the beginnings of a dangerous smile.
If Adrian was hiding something, Ethan would find it. And maybe… just maybe… he could use it.
For the first time since Sophia left, Ethan felt a surge of power. His heart still ached, but his mind was already racing, plotting.
This wasn't over. Not by a long shot.