CHAPTER 6
1412 Words
Ethan's POV
By the time evening settled over the apartment, a heavy silence filled the living room.
Lilly sat beside me on the couch, her fingers nervously twisting the hem of her sweater.
“You ready?” she asked.
“Yeah,” I lied.
She pressed the call button, and a few seconds later—
her parents appeared on the screen.
David Carter (Lilly's Father) beamed instantly.
“Oh! Look at you two!”
His smile stretched ear to ear.
Her mother, elegant as always, clapped her hands.
“I knew it! I knew he would finally realize how perfect you are for him, Lilly!”
Lilly blushed, leaning slightly toward me.
“Eth asked me to marry me,” she said with shy pride.
Well.
Not exactly.
But correcting her would only cause another earthquake.
Her parents erupted in joyful chaos—
blessings, prayers, excitement, a flood of congratulations.
“Ethan,” her mother added warmly,
“I’m so happy you chose our daughter. She will make a wonderful wife.”
I forced a smile. A polite nod.
“Yes, Mrs. Carter.”
Everything about their reaction was bright.
Explosive.
Full of expectation.
But the moment the call ended,
my chest felt like it had tightened twice its size.
“Now your parents,” Lilly said, excited.
“Call them.”
I hesitated a second too long.
But she was already dialing.
The screen lit up.
My mother’s face appeared first—calm, unreadable.
Behind her, my father sat with his hands clasped.
“Mom, Dad…” I began.
“We… we’re planning to get engaged.”
A subtle tension sharpened their expressions.
My father’s brow lowered slightly.
“You are sure about this, Ethan?”
“Yes,” I answered immediately.
Lilly smiled widely.
But my father’s gaze remained flat.
My mother spoke next, very slowly:
“If this is what you want… we won’t object.”
The tone wasn’t cold—
but it held no warmth either.
Lilly cleared her throat.
“We hope you can come for the ceremony—”
“We’ll see,” my father interrupted.
That was it.
No congratulations.
No excitement.
Nothing like Lilly's parents.
Just… a wall.
“Is everything alright?” I asked.
My mother gave a small, stiff smile.
“We only hope you’ve thought carefully.”
Before Lilly could respond, my father ended the call with a polite nod.
The screen went dark.
Silence thickened.
Lilly blinked awkwardly.
“T-They seemed… a little quiet.”
“They’re tired,” I said quickly.
“They’ll come around.”
But inside, I was asking myself again the same question I’d been asking since I was nineteen:
Why did my parents stop liking Lilly after she turned eighteen?
Before that, they adored her.
Afterward… something changed.
Something they never explained.
I shook the thought away.
Lilly suddenly grabbed my hand, excitement filling her again.
“Eth! Now that it's all settled, we should plan it all! I want the engagement to be at the Grand Crystal Hall. It’s beautiful, perfect for photos, and—oh! I want a silver and royal blue theme!”
“Hmm.”
“And we need to shop! My dress, your suit, the invitations—omg we need invitations! And maybe a performance? Should we have a media presence? What do you think?”
“Lilly—”
“And the ring! We should choose together! I want something elegant but also—”
My phone rang.
Saved.
“I need to pick this up,” I said immediately, standing before she could protest.
She puffed her cheeks but nodded.
I answered the call.
“Hello?”
“Ethan,” my manager’s voice came through.
“There’s good news. A huge promotion for the group. The company wants a meeting tomorrow morning at 10. Contract signing. It’s important—don’t miss it.”
My brows rose.
“A promotion? For all seven of us?”
“Yes. It’s big—really big. Come early.”
“I will.”
“Good. And Ethan—tell Lilly congratulations.”
I hung up and turned.
Lilly's face lit up.
“Everything okay?”
“Yeah.” I exhaled.
“Good news. Big news. We have a meeting tomorrow morning. Something important for the group.”
“Oh…” she blinked.
“Well… that’s good, right?”
“Very.”
Lilly moved closer, resting her hand on my chest.
“Then after your meeting… we should choose the ring.”
I smiled softly—
a tired, distracted smile.
“Yeah, sure.”
She kissed my cheek lightly.
“Goodnight, my fiancé.”
The word hit me in the chest.
Fiancé.
A title I wasn’t sure belonged to me.
Not yet.
Maybe not ever.
But I swallowed the truth and whispered anyway:
“Goodnight.”
---
Next Day
The meeting room felt unusually tense the moment I stepped inside.
All seven of us were there—
Jake spinning a pen,
Lucas leaning back with his eyes half-open,
Noah scanning the stack of papers like he was decoding ancient scripture,
Ryan sitting stiff, ignoring me completely.
Managers stood at the side.
Company lawyers sat at the long glass table.
And at the far end—
Mr. Carter, calm, collected, unreadable.
I took my seat beside Noah.
Silence settled like fog.
Finally, Mr. Carter cleared his throat.
“Since everyone is here,” he said, “we can begin.”
One of the lawyers stepped forward and opened a thick folder.
“Congratulations,” she announced.
“This is a major partnership with a global agency. A modeling–music cross collaboration. A three-year contract.”
The door opened then.
Everyone turned.
A sharply dressed assistant walked in, holding a tablet.
Mr. Carter nodded.
“Ah, good. Before we proceed, where is the CEO? I was told she would be present for the signing.”
The assistant bowed politely.
“Sir, Miss Carter had an emergency. She left the building ten minutes ago.
But she will personally attend the first shooting day.”
The moment the name dropped—
Miss Carter.
Every single person at the table went still.
Jake's pen fell onto the floor.
Lucas sat up straight.
Mason's eyes widened.
Ryan's jaw clenched so hard the muscles twitched.
Noah's hands froze mid-movement.
And me?
My breath stopped.
The name echoed inside my skull like a pulse I couldn’t ignore.
Carter.
Y/—
No.
It couldn’t be.
It shouldn’t be.
Before the panic could form words in my throat,
Noah reached under the table and grabbed my wrist firmly—
a silent warning.
I looked at him.
He didn’t turn his head.
He didn’t blink.
He just tightened his hold and shook his head once.
Don't.
My mouth closed.
The assistant continued, oblivious:
“The company looks forward to this collaboration. Miss Carter has personally reviewed all details. She approved everything.”
Approved.
Everything.
My heartbeat twisted into a strange rhythm.
Ryan stared hard at the table, knuckles white, refusing to look at me.
Mr. Carter continued.
“Let’s sign.”
Lawyers passed the papers around.
One by one, the members signed—
Lucas, Daniel, Mason, Jake, Noah…
Ryan paused, his fingers shaking before dragging the pen across the page with a deep, angry breath.
Then the contract slid to me.
My signature line stared back at me.
Noah tightened his grip on my wrist again.
His voice barely audible:
“Sign it. Don’t react. Not here.”
I swallowed.
My hand felt numb as I wrote my name.
Ethan Carter
The moment the last signature hit the paper, the assistant stepped forward, bowing.
“Congratulations to everyone.”
She smiled wider when her eyes met mine.
“This collaboration will change your future.”
The room spun for a second.
Me?
Why me?
Before I could ask anything, she added softly—
“After this contract… your life will change for good.”
A strange chill crawled down my spine.
Not excitement.
Not pride.
Something else.
Something dark.
Something familiar.
Like a whisper from six years ago.
The assistant bowed again.
“You’ll meet Miss Carter in person soon. She’s excited to see all of you.”
Jake swallowed hard.
Mason tensed.
Lucas muttered something under his breath.
And Ryan?
He finally looked at me.
Eyes burning.
Jaw shaking.
And in that moment, his expression said it clearly—
"Your past is coming back."
"And you deserve every bit of what's coming."
- Writer
