CHAPTER 7: THE THING HE COULDN'T HIDE
849 Words
For a moment, nobody moved.
The woman remained wrapped around Ethan's arm while I sat frozen in my chair, staring at a sight I desperately wished didn't bother me.
Unfortunately, it did.
More than I wanted to admit.
The strange pain spreading through my chest made absolutely no sense. Ethan Hayes wasn't mine. He had never been mine. Yet seeing another woman stand so comfortably beside him felt like someone had reached inside me and twisted something painfully.
Across the table, Lucas noticed the change in my expression immediately.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
Then he followed my gaze.
Straight to Ethan.
"Oh."
The single word told me everything.
Lucas understood.
Far more than I wanted him to.
Meanwhile, Ethan hadn't looked away.
Not once.
His eyes remained fixed on me despite the woman standing beside him. The intensity of his gaze made my pulse stumble. It was almost as though he was waiting for something.
A reaction.
A sign.
Anything.
The woman finally noticed.
"Who are you looking at?"
Her voice pulled Ethan from whatever thoughts he had been trapped in.
Immediately, his attention shifted away from me.
The loss felt immediate.
And ridiculous.
I hated how much it affected me.
"Nobody," Ethan answered.
Nobody.
The word shouldn't have hurt.
Yet somehow it did.
Lucas leaned back in his chair and quietly sighed.
"Lily."
I looked at him.
"You know that's not true, right?"
Before I could answer, Lucas did something unexpected.
Something that changed everything.
He reached across the table and tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear.
The gesture was harmless.
Simple.
Friendly.
Lucas had done similar things before.
But this time was different.
Because Ethan saw it.
Every second of it.
The atmosphere inside the café shifted instantly.
The change was impossible to miss.
Ethan's entire body went rigid.
His jaw tightened.
His eyes darkened.
And for the first time since I'd met him, I saw something raw in his expression.
Something dangerous.
Possessive.
The sight stole my breath.
The woman beside him seemed to notice too.
"Ethan?"
He didn't answer.
His attention never left Lucas's hand.
Never left me.
For several seconds, the café seemed unusually quiet.
As though everyone had disappeared except us.
Then Ethan suddenly looked away.
The movement felt forced.
Almost painful.
Without another word, he turned and walked toward a table at the opposite end of the café.
The woman followed him.
But even from a distance, I could see the tension in his shoulders.
The anger.The frustration.
The hurt.
And somehow that hurt me too.
The rest of the evening became unbearable.
I could feel Ethan's presence across the room.
Could feel his silence.
His distance.
His refusal to look at me again.
Every second felt heavier than the last.
Eventually, I stood.
"I should go."
Lucas looked confused.
"Lily—"
"I'm tired."
The lie sounded weak.
But thankfully he didn't argue.
Outside, rain still covered the streets.
The cold air hit my face immediately.
I started walking toward the bus stop, wrapping my jacket tighter around myself.
Unfortunately, my thoughts refused to cooperate.
They kept returning to Ethan.
To the woman.
To the way he'd looked at me.
To the way he'd looked away.
A car suddenly pulled up beside the sidewalk.
I ignored it.
Until the passenger window rolled down.
My heart stopped.
Ethan.
For a second, neither of us spoke.
Rain fell between us.
The city lights reflected against the wet pavement.
Everything felt strangely unreal.
"You'll get sick standing there."
His voice was calm.
Controlled.Too controlled.I swallowed.
"I'll survive."
His jaw tightened.
The reaction was brief.
But I saw it.
And for some reason, it gave me courage.
"What about your girlfriend?"
The question escaped before I could stop it.
Instantly, silence filled the space between us.
Ethan stared at me.
Really stared.
As though trying to understand something.
Then something unexpected happened.
For the first time since meeting him, he looked genuinely angry.
Not at me.
At the question itself.
"She's not my girlfriend."
The answer came immediately.
Without hesitation.Without thought.
As though correcting me mattered.
Far more than it should have.
Relief rushed through me so quickly it was embarrassing.
Unfortunately, Ethan noticed.
Of course he did.
His eyes softened slightly.
Only for a second.Then the moment disappeared.
The walls returned.
The distance returned.
The rules returned.
Neither of us spoke.
Because there were too many things we wanted to say.
And none of them were allowed.
Then Ethan glanced toward the passenger seat.
Toward the woman waiting inside.
Something dark crossed his face.
Regret.
Conflict.
Maybe both.
When he looked back at me, his expression had become unreadable again.
"Goodnight, Lily."
The way he said my name felt different.
More personal.
More dangerous.
Before I could respond, the window rolled up.
The car pulled away.
And I stood there in the rain watching it disappear.
Completely unaware that someone else had witnessed everything.
Across the street, hidden beneath the shelter of a building, Lucas stared after Ethan's car.
And for the first time...
Lucas didn't look happy.
TO BE CONTINUED...
- Writer
