Chapter 10
The night air hit my face, cool and clean. I breathed deeply. My legs shook, but I kept walking.
Ethan said nothing until we reached his car. Then he opened the back door, guided me inside, and slid in after me. The moment the door closed, he pulled me against him.
"You were perfect," he said quietly.
The tears came then — silent, shaking. Not tears of grief. Something closer to relief. Five years of being misunderstood, dismissed, called a liar and a pathetic woman — and in one night, the record was corrected.
"I'm sorry I didn't come sooner," Ethan murmured. He pressed his lips to my temple. "I should have been here from the start."
"No." I wiped my eyes. "I needed to face them. I needed to know I could."
He studied me. Then nodded. "You could. You did." A pause. "Now let me handle the rest."
"Ethan—"
"He put his hands on you." His voice went quiet in that way that meant someone was going to suffer. "He dragged you to the floor in front of his fiancée. That is not something I let go."
Before I could respond, my phone exploded with notifications. I glanced down.
The internet was on fire.
Someone at the dinner had filmed Ethan's declaration. The clip was everywhere. Headlines:
*BREAKING: Ethan Carrington reveals secret wife at Ashford engagement dinner.*
*Carrington Corp heir's mystery bride is Dominic Ashford's ex-wife.*
*The love triangle that has Astoria reeling.*
My social media — dormant for five years — was suddenly flooded. Thousands of new followers. Hundreds of messages.
And one from Madeleine: *You planned this. You deliberately humiliated me at my own engagement party. This isn't over.*
I stared at it for a moment. Then I blocked her number.
The car pulled up to the Carrington penthouse — a building I'd never seen before. Sleek glass, overlooking the entire city.
"When did you buy property in Astoria?" I asked.
"Three years ago." Ethan helped me out. "I always planned for us to come back eventually. I wanted you to have a home here that was yours."
The penthouse was massive — warm wood, floor-to-ceiling windows, a playroom already set up with the twins' toys.
"You had all this prepared," I whispered.
"I prepare for everything." He paused. "Except watching you walk into that viper's nest alone. I wasn't prepared for how much that would cost me."
I turned to face him. In the low light of our new home, he looked at me the way Dominic never had. Not with obsession or control or cold assessment.
With reverence. Like I was the most important thing in his world. Because I was.
"Thank you," I said softly. "For coming. For all of this."
He pulled me close again. "You never have to thank me for showing up, Julie. That's what I'm for."
My phone buzzed one last time that night.
A message from Dominic: *We need to talk.*
I turned off my phone.
No. We didn't.
---
Ethan said nothing until we reached his car. Then he opened the back door, guided me inside, and slid in after me. The moment the door closed, he pulled me against him.
"You were perfect," he said quietly.
The tears came then — silent, shaking. Not tears of grief. Something closer to relief. Five years of being misunderstood, dismissed, called a liar and a pathetic woman — and in one night, the record was corrected.
"I'm sorry I didn't come sooner," Ethan murmured. He pressed his lips to my temple. "I should have been here from the start."
"No." I wiped my eyes. "I needed to face them. I needed to know I could."
He studied me. Then nodded. "You could. You did." A pause. "Now let me handle the rest."
"Ethan—"
"He put his hands on you." His voice went quiet in that way that meant someone was going to suffer. "He dragged you to the floor in front of his fiancée. That is not something I let go."
Before I could respond, my phone exploded with notifications. I glanced down.
The internet was on fire.
Someone at the dinner had filmed Ethan's declaration. The clip was everywhere. Headlines:
*BREAKING: Ethan Carrington reveals secret wife at Ashford engagement dinner.*
*Carrington Corp heir's mystery bride is Dominic Ashford's ex-wife.*
*The love triangle that has Astoria reeling.*
My social media — dormant for five years — was suddenly flooded. Thousands of new followers. Hundreds of messages.
And one from Madeleine: *You planned this. You deliberately humiliated me at my own engagement party. This isn't over.*
I stared at it for a moment. Then I blocked her number.
The car pulled up to the Carrington penthouse — a building I'd never seen before. Sleek glass, overlooking the entire city.
"When did you buy property in Astoria?" I asked.
"Three years ago." Ethan helped me out. "I always planned for us to come back eventually. I wanted you to have a home here that was yours."
The penthouse was massive — warm wood, floor-to-ceiling windows, a playroom already set up with the twins' toys.
"You had all this prepared," I whispered.
"I prepare for everything." He paused. "Except watching you walk into that viper's nest alone. I wasn't prepared for how much that would cost me."
I turned to face him. In the low light of our new home, he looked at me the way Dominic never had. Not with obsession or control or cold assessment.
With reverence. Like I was the most important thing in his world. Because I was.
"Thank you," I said softly. "For coming. For all of this."
He pulled me close again. "You never have to thank me for showing up, Julie. That's what I'm for."
My phone buzzed one last time that night.
A message from Dominic: *We need to talk.*
I turned off my phone.
No. We didn't.
---