Vesper had been ignoring everyone for so long that even her prospective suitors started noticing something was wrong.
It was not just Vesper who had suddenly turned cold. Ivy had too. One by one, they were being frozen out of the corporation's most important projects.
This was not how things were supposed to go at all.
"We cannot keep waiting like this." Magnus snapped, a cigarette constantly burning between his fingers. "Ethan, you're the one she actually cares about. Why don't you go smooth things over?"
Ethan remained silent, his eyes glued to his phone.
Magnus's temper snapped. He yanked the device from his hands. "Hey, I'm talking to you. Forget everything else. The director's movie starts shooting soon, and Luna still hasn't secured her role. How can you just sit there while she spends every night in tears?"
Ethan finally looked up, his frosty glare piercing through Magnus. The other man's bravado faltered, but he still glared back defiantly.
"What I promised Vesper is not your business." With that, Ethan yanked his phone back and stormed off.
Back at the Lynd Villa, the butler had barely wheeled Vesper through the door when she spotted Ethan waiting in the main hall. He approached, offering a bouquet of vibrant yellow roses.
"Vesper." He coaxed, his voice dripping with false sweetness. "Come on. Don't freeze me out."
He was offering an olive branch.
In the past, that tone, so full of fake concern, would have melted her anger. But now.
Vesper traced a petal with a humorless smile. "Who's freezing you out?"
When she was truly angry, the whole world knew it. This time, she had been perfectly composed. So why did he assume she was throwing some tantrum?
As the butler discreetly withdrew, Ethan sighed and dropped to one knee, eye level with her. "Vesper, I was wrong to hide Luna's situation from you. I swear I won't keep secrets again."
The nickname turned her stomach.
"Don't call me that. I'm Vesper, the Lynd family heiress. The one you're thinking of is Luna, that homewrecker. Try not to get us confused."
That night at the villa, his desperate cries of "Vesper" had been for Luna, not her.
With practiced patience, Ethan grabbed her hand. "Vesper, if her parents hadn't died in that crash, Luna would have never become our ward. She didn't choose this. She's innocent. Why punish her? You've always been the understanding one. Can't you show some mercy?"
White-hot fury surged through Vesper.
"What exactly do you want me to understand? That she's trying to come between us, or that she's taking away the people I love most?"
Or was she supposed to accept how Luna had manipulated Ethan into killing her with his own hands? That ultimate betrayal?
At this, Ethan suddenly laughed, a pure, uncomplicated smile that held no trace of guilt.
"So that's your misunderstanding. Vesper, you're the only one I love. No one could ever come between us. Luna is just a ward of our family, nothing more. Don't misunderstand."
Vesper yanked her hand free from his grasp.
Calling her a sister was a joke. Since when did brothers kiss their sisters passionately in front of every paparazzi lens?
Her lips curled into an icy smile. "Then prove it. Send Luna away, and I'll believe you."
The warmth drained from Ethan's expression.
"That's impossible. Luna had a tragic life before we took her in. Everything we do is to heal the wounds of her past. No one has the right to force her out, not unless she chooses to leave. Not even you, Vesper. That's where I draw the line."
"Then choose. Her or me."
Aksara