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Chapter 1 Becoming Independent

Ethan quickly learnt his role as a personal assistant to Tyler. His fear of working with Tyler quickly dissolved as he realised that Tyler was now a decent human being. Upon receiving his first salary, Ethan moved out of a shared apartment and moved into a studio flat. He wanted to be fully independent and build a life for himself.

As weeks turned into months, the bond between Ethan and Tyler deepened. Meals shared after long days, glances lingering longer than necessary, the subtle electric thrill of hands brushing when passing a file - Ethan felt the stirrings of something more. Tyler, too, seemed changed. He listened, sought Ethan’s counsel, and revealed vulnerabilities carefully guarded from the rest of the world. Affection blossomed slowly, quietly, as if afraid of the light.

But love, even when unspoken, rarely goes unnoticed. Tyler’s family, a legacy of old money and old expectations, regarded him as the hope of their dynasty. Rumours of advantageous matches circled in family gatherings, and the pressure to marry a suitable, well-connected woman was relentless.

Tyler played his part with stoic resolve, attending dinners and enduring subtle reminders of his duty. His new obsession was Ethan because with him, he could be himself, completely unfiltered.

As Tyler was thinking about Ethan, he remembered that Ethan was Matthew’s adoptive brother. He hated that Ethan was a loner and hoped that maybe the brothers would rekindle their relationship.

Matthew was not a bad person, all his bad behaviour towards his brother was instigated by his parents. He once confided in Tyler, saying that his parents hated Ethan because he was smarter than Matthew and they were afraid that Ethan might become his grandfather's favourite.

So, Tyler created an opportunity for them to meet, without telling either of them. He asked Ethan to accompany him to a business dinner, knowing that Matthew would there.

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When Ethan finally met Matthew after the dinner, the air was taut with an uneasy tension that neither Tyler’s optimism nor Ethan’s cautious hope could dispel. Unlike the easy kinship that Ethan had quietly wished for, their first conversation rippled with the undercurrents of old wounds. Matthew’s presence stirred memories that Ethan had tried for years to silence: the sharp words and cruel laughter of a brother who had, in their childhood, wielded power over him not with warmth, but with a cold, calculated edge.

Tyler, earnest in his efforts, hadn’t known the whole truth - that Matthew’s interest in reconnecting was overshadowed by motives far from brotherly affection. In the past, Matthew had never missed a chance to remind Ethan of his outsider status. The bruises had not always been physical; Matthew’s barbed remarks had left Ethan questioning his worth, his right to belong, even in the family that adopted him but never bridged the gap between them. For Ethan, the scars lingered, invisible but still aching.

Now, as adults, the stakes were no longer about childhood games or family dinners, but rather about the future of the Ashton legacy - a legacy that Matthew guarded jealously. The Ashtons were searching, at last, for someone to fill an empty seat at the helm of their business empire. Whispers of Ethan’s independent spirit, his resilience and growing reputation, had begun to reach even the most insular corners of the Ashton circle. And with those whispers came Matthew’s gnawing fear: that Ethan, not himself, could be chosen to be the next CEO.

Their meeting, orchestrated by Tyler with the best of intentions, quickly soured. Matthew’s tone, cordial on the surface, was laced with veiled threats and reminders of their old hierarchy. Questions, seemingly innocent, pressed at Ethan’s ambitions, his plans, his loyalties.

As the evening wore on, Ethan sensed the trap being set. Matthew’s inquiries were not just curiosity, but reconnaissance, a careful mapping out of weaknesses and vulnerabilities.

It soon became clear that Matthew’s purpose was not reconciliation, but rather sabotage. He’d never forgotten the sibling rivalry he once controlled, and he saw in Ethan’s return not a chance for healing, but rather a threat to his own power.

Matthew’s ulterior motive sharpened: to undermine Ethan, to ensure that the Ashtons would never see him as a worthy successor. His words became edged, warning Ethan away from the family and the company, reminding him - subtly, yet unmistakably - of the pain he’d once inflicted, ready now to wield again, if necessary.

For Ethan, the revelation was a cold, heavy stone in his chest, yet not an unfamiliar one. He realised that for all his growth and newfound independence, some battles were never truly over.

But this time, he was not the frightened child Matthew had once bullied. Ethan met Matthew’s challenges with quiet resolve, understanding that the path to freedom sometimes winds through the darkest shadows of the past.

He would not run. He would not yield. The choice to build his own life - and perhaps, to lead - remained his to make, no matter who tried to stand in his way. He vowed never to get involved in the Ashton family, so that he could maintain his independence.